The Road Home

Last week I was in Portland and the airfare was too expensive to take the most direct route home. So to save about $600 on the airfare I took the route that had me stop in Minneapolis and Atlanta on the way home. For a few hours time to save that much seems worth it.

The day started out with the typical Delta Delays. We were an hour late leaving Portland due to runway construction and weather in Minneapolis. Four hours late leaving Minneapolis for Atlanta and one hour late leaving Atlanta to head home. Total delays in one day were 6 hours.

I gave up the thoughts of ever landing on-time a long time back. I make my reservations and plans to always be one hour late. It’s really a shame but I’m more accurate than the airlines and I don’t stress about when I’m getting there.

I did however have a fun experience that was a first for me. I actually had a coupon to use wireless internet on the plane. So I hooked up on the 2 hour flight from MSP to ATL and it was a lot faster than I expected. The good thing I figured out is that you can hit the wireless and go to Delta’s website for free. So I was able to see the status of my next flights, find out where we were landing and even could have re-booked a backup flight if necessary. I’d have never thought of internet on the airplanes when I started my travel career. I just hope they never allow phones.

Today I’m back on my way to Houston. My flight was on-time. I am meeting a co-worker in Houston and I arrive about an hour before him. This will be the day we will be ahead of schedule.