DEPARTURE CHAOS PART TROIS

All this and a little more DELTA Drama.

Last seen hustling to Gate B24 at JFK Terminal 4, our determined to get there in time duo makes it with time to spare only to come upon…

A real surprise in the method of boarding.

Yup, those brilliant minds at DELTA, or maybe some JFK refugees from the Inquisition have come up with another way to confound the process of getting a large mass of people onto flying cigar tubes quicker [in their minds], with a total disregard of the lack of patience the flying public has for the airlines never ending search for ways to alienate everyone.

Have you seen the new gate boarding pass check in devices they are now using at JFK?

Perhaps it's just endemic to DELTA’s new international concourse but I think not.

Talk about slowing down, not speeding up the process!  First the gate crew had to calm the usual encroachment of those anxious to get aboard early, Chucky included.  Then they attempted to explain how to use these nifty looking, but a bit quirky thingys where you step up and put your feet on the little yellow footprints, leave your bag behind you, place you boarding pass “face down” on the scanner, look into the camera and if all works right, it takes your picture and prints you a receipt with your seat assignment.

The operative phrase here is “if all works right”.  Which in the case of #1 of the 2 scanners did not.   Of course this held up the line with the agents arbitrarily sending some folks over to the old way where another agent scanned you in [no footprints, camera or little swinging gates to let you in] just the good old fashioned scanner pedestal that works just fine. All this while they were trying to educate each-and-every-traveler, unfamiliar with this new “improvement” on how to:

   “Step on those little footprints maam, no… leave your bag off the step, now put your boarding pass here … no, here. Now look at the camera… oh wait…

Uhhh Charlie, this one is on the fritz again…”

And so-on.  Needless to say it was a

“Grade A Cluster-F#@k”.

Whoever decided this was a Better Way needs to be made to stand in line in Zone 3, amid all the sweaty, fuming travelers who hauled ass to make the connection only to find this mess.

Chucky was about to take a picture of all this to post but the agent waived him onto the little yellow feet and he of course got the machine that took 5 minutes to get it right and issue him and DL receipts for different seats than the ones they reserved. WTF!!!

They originally booked 32F&G – side by seats, as these were the closest to the front that were left when the booked, but now they got receipts for 26F&G.  Oh boy, now the foggy headed, sniffling DL was about to panic that they may get booted out of the wrong seats.

Not to worry Dear Hearts and Innocent bystanders.  They got the right seats, were able to Stuff the “Stuff” in the overheads with room to spare, and settled in for the blast off and the afore mentioned Wine and snack service.

The flight was supposed to be 7 hours 36 minutes, but we must have had a serious tail wind or the guys up front made serious magic because instead of arriving at 6AM, A’dam time, we pulled into the LAST gate at the end of the international concourse [somewhere near Brussels] an hour ahead of schedule, in totally nasty weather.  This causes more issues with the transfer to the hotel not to mention early check in.

This is from A’Dam after a sleepless night for him, and a total zonk for her as they are a day behind in posting… so more to follow.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The still numb,

Dragon Lady