…with a stop in Charlotte, NC.
Hey ho everyone. I’m actually writing this from the plane. No, I didn’t pay the $16 all day pass for American Airlines. I’m sitting in the cabin on the runway, as everyone else boards. This ticket is actually thanks to my dope ass bosses. So let me give a quick shoutout to KMc and SC for “hookin’ a sistah up!” Like I even got priority boarding with the First Class fancy passengers. ::raising the roof:: [For real though. If your bosses aren’t getting you last minute plane trips to go anywhere you want for Christmas, you need to side-eye them immediately, then walk out. Just kidding. You probably shouldn’t follow my advice as my life unfolds like a Spanish soap opera, regularly.]
At this current moment, there is drama happening. Children are involved.
Update at 7:26PM on my connecting flight to Houston:
So this is what happened. A woman was sitting with her three kids in seat 13 A,B, and C. Two women from gate check-in came in asking for her seat assignment. She said that because she had been upgraded to First Class, she took her mother’s seat to be with her kids. To be clear, the woman was originally in row 30, but her mother in row 13. They upgraded her seat (row 30), which she gave to her mother, and she sat in her mother’s chair.
[Now, the only reason I know this is because the conversation of upgrading her mum happened while I was standing inline to check-in at the gate thinking, “Damn… can I get an upgrade?”]
So the two AA women, including the one who provided the upgrade, are asking the woman for her boarding pass. She tells them, “My mother has it,” but they quickly dismiss her. She then tries to explain this is her mother’s seat, but took it let her mum have the upgrade. It quickly escalates and their voices become sharper and more dismissive. They don’t want to hear her at all, even though she tells them her mother has the boarding pass.
The woman who actually gave her the upgrade said she asked the mother and she didn’t have it, so continued her aggressive attitude. Keep in mind, the mother’s English isn’t so great, so when the daughter said, “Let me ask her myself, please,” and they angrily scolded, “No. Give me your boarding pass,” they missed the opportunity to bridge a gap.
After some time, the woman’s little girl starts crying, so the mother is trying to calm her while still explaining her own mother has the boarding pass in First Class.
The woman who gave the upgrade shows the mother what a boarding pass is and asks her again. Mother produces the boarding pass and hand it to the AA rep. The other AA rep tells the family they found it and walks away. No apology. No real explanation. Nothing.
Mama bird is now [rightfully] pissed, walks up to them, and asks for an explanation and apology. Does she get one? Nope. They reprimand her for standing up, and demand she take her seat. Mama bird attempts to repeat herself and they dismiss her and turn away.
They embarrassed her in front of the entire plane, sent her child into tearfest brought on by fear, and not one of them saw what they were doing as unprofessional by even acknowledging her. (click for partial video.)
These reps eventually exited the plane, and we took off.
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Things I learned on my trip –
- Airport everything is super expensive. I’m not saying I bought them, but Haribo green apple gummy bears cost $4.99 and king size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups cost $3.99.
- Blankets are a must for airplane naps.
- Airplane naps are a must.
- Children and babies are flying more now than ever, and they are usually clustered around me. Why?
- Air stewards aren’t what they used to be.
Until the return leg of this story,
xTillie
P.S. I did buy the candy. The cups are still sitting uneaten in my bedroom.