Stand-by stories

Twice now I have traveled to Chicago on business and both times it snowed when we were trying to get back. The last time - a little over two years ago - there were four of us, it was snowing pretty hard, and our flight kept getting delayed and delayed. But I noticed that at an adjacent gate , the earlier flight was loading passengers - and kept adding more people. So we went over and got in line, and were fortunate enough to get on the plane. We got in around one in the morning, but it was about the last flight that made it out.

This time there were 5 of us, and we got to the airport in 2 different cars. I had checked in at the hotel the night before, but when my co-workers checked in, they were offered the option to go stand-by on an earlier flight, since ours was delayed. They didn't accept, but after going through security, the four women thought it over and decided to go for it. There was a fairly long line at the gate, but we still put our names in. The airport has nice screens that show who is waiting for an upgrade, who is standby, and how many seats are expected to be available. The first time we noticed, there were 31 seats, and 45 names on the list. We were numbers 34-37. We did all get on the flight, though! There were even empty seats - like the one next to me.

Our male co-worker had checked a bag - something about wanting to take his shaving cream - and besides, had decided the line was too long. Of course, these days you can't travel stand-by if your bag is checked. So as far as I know, he's still at the airport. The flight on our original schedule was canceled. I believe there may be two more flights out tonight, but not sure how that will work for him - I had a message saying I was scheduled on the flight at 10 am tomorrow.

The moral is - if you're only going for one night, never check a bag. And always get on the standby list if you have that option.

Bravo was very glad I made it home tonight. I got the kind of welcome he usually gives Jason and Karis.