Commercial Flight Boarding: An Olympic Event?

I spend a lot of time waiting. I'm waiting in traffic jams. I'm waiting in a store checkout queue. I'm waiting to board a train. I'm waiting to board a flight.

With all the waiting, I've acquired a hobby of people watching. And no matter the situation, there's always an interesting story to tell when I finally arrive at my destination.

Usually, I'd tell the story to my friends and we'd have a good laugh; then, I'd forget about them. Recently, I realized that many good stories are being lost. That's when I decided to start this blog: "Watching the Wheels Go Round and Round" and record the richness of life as it plays out while I wait for something.

I encountered a doozy of a story when I had a layover in Pittsburgh. There, I observed the most ill-prepared passenger ever in the history of commercial aviation. And her traveling woes were compounded by a series of unexpected airline mishaps. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes and someone were telling me this story, I would have thought that the speaker was weaving a tall tale.

As I wait for my flight, a young women ran in to join the queue at the check-in counter at the gate. There was excitement on her face, like that of a child on Christmas morning. Looked like her first time flying.

Nothing interesting about that.

But wait... She's carrying two large black plastic trash bags for her luggage!

I wandered, "Does airport security allow the carrying of fully stuffed trash bags? Are they going to allow trash bags as carry-ons? Are they going let her check trash bags in?" This situation is definitely one to watch.

The queue was unbearably slow and my anticipation of seeing the situation unfold was getting the best of me.

Finally, she reached the head of the queue.

Gosh, I wish I had a camera for the expression on the faces of the airline check-in agents! The look of surprise and the attempt to hold back laughter while trying to pretend for this passenger that this happens all the time. One of the agents had to look away to hide her lost of control of her facial expression.

Well, the answer to all my questions were "no". She can not carry on nor check in a couple of garbage bags. So, the agents gave her a couple of flat unassembled cardboard boxes and packaging tapes. Then, they sent her off to properly box her luggage.

It took her quite a while to fold and tape up the cardboard boxes and even longer to stuff them with her belongs. Finally, she rejoined the back of the queue once again.

No, her excitement hadn't faded, yet.

Unfortunately, by the time she reached the front of the queue, they had already closed the gate and the aircraft had started to taxi to the runway. So they sent her to the ticket counter to change her flight. (Note to the Pittsburgh Airport people: The distance between the gate and the ticket counter is too far to be practical for anyone who has to change their itinerary when they are already at the gate.)

So she, left the gate area with determination on her face.

This passenger was gone only a couple of minutes when the aircraft came back to the gate. Apparently, the pilot encountered some mechanical failure while sitting on the runway.

Hmmm... Looking like an episode of some television sitcom.

When she arrived back at the gate (about fifteen minutes later), she dropped her cardboard boxed, rush to the head of the queue and started talking frantically with the check-in agent. The agents agreed to watch her boxes and she dashed back to the ticket counter. In the mean time, the check-in agents started talking (I think) to the cabin crew as the other passengers in the queue waited with impatience on their faces.

Uh, oh! There's bad news on the faces of the check-in agents.

When the hapless passenger returned, the agents informed her that the flight is full and she's unable to board.

Back to the ticket counter for her!

Another fifteen minutes later, she returned to the gate area clutching to her new ticket as if clutching for her life.

She collected her cardboard boxes and joined the back of the check-in queue once again.

Suddenly, the door to the gate opened and a very irritated passenger stomped out. The thirty-minute wait was too much for this portly passenger.

The check-in agent frantically waved the trash bag passenger over, grabbed her two cardboard boxes, and sent her dashing to the ticket counter, once again.

Fifteen minutes later, she came running back into the gate area, her arms raised as if to break the tape at the finish line.

She made the flight and they closed the gate.