Traveling with Amateurs

Because I’m a consultant, I travel to a client site by airplane every Monday morning and leave every Thursday night. I fly a lot. I know when to board with my group (luckily I have status and that’s right after first class), how to put bags in the overhead, when I can use my cell phone again, how to claim bags at the baggage claim (if I’m desperate and need to check a bag), etc. Now I’m not trying to act like I’m god of travel, but doing it every week you with other people that do it every week, you get spoiled a little and the whole thing just flows smoothly (as far as travelers go, we all know the airlines screw stuff up more than they get it right).

So today is a Saturday and I was flying from Chicago to Phoenix. This means everyone was a non-traveler. What was my first sign? I was one of two people boarding in the “status” group. Normally there’s 20-30 people. And then there was the people who couldn’t figure out how to get a bag into the overhead because they jammed it way too full. This obviously held up the line for quite a while, luckily I was right behind them and my seat was in front of them so I could get my bags up and sit down. Then you had the people putting small bags in the larger overheads making it tough to fit everyone’s bags. And then baggage claim. EVERYONE needed to be right next to the carousel before bags were even coming out. Then they’d get a bag, plop it right next to them, and wait for their other bags. Meanwhile, I’m just standing behind them as they push past me. When I see my golf bag coming through, they act like I’m being pushy. Ugh! With a little patience I finally got out of there and got to my cab.

Now I’m relaxing in a beautiful Hilton suite waiting to play a round of golf. Tomorrow morning, another round. This makes the hell that is traveling with amateurs worth it.