Parka re-discovered

---

Ok, let's start with saying that I made it to Alaska. In our last installment, I had to get off the plane in Seattle, grab my parka, go back through security and catch my flight. So this is how it went down:

By the time I actually got off the airplane and into the terminal I had 16 minutes to my next flight. I was at Gate D16 and needed to be at C18. To make this more visual, think of a "U" Shape. I was at the top right of the U and had to get to the top left, which was probably pretty close to 1 mile. No moving walkways or anything to help me out. When I got off the plane I grabbed the first customer service agent and asked if I would make it. She said, "they know a bunch of you are coming so you'll be fine...just get over there as soon as you can." I jogged, yes I really jogged, over there and decided that I would have to FedEx the jacket from Seattle to wherever I was going to be next. As I arrived at the gate, breathless, I saw that the door to the jet way was closed and that there were a number of disgruntled passengers complaining. Some were complaining because they were kicked off the plane, Alaska oversold the flight (they do this regularly here but almost everyone always shows up) and others were complaining that we were coming from San Diego and that they didn't hold the airplane. The real irony here for me is that the only on-time fight I've had with Alaska was this connecting flight in Seattle, none of the others I've flown have been reliable whatsoever.

Alaska Airlines knew we were on board the San Diego flight and at 12 minutes until scheduled takeoff (giving us only 4 minutes to get to the other gate), they gave our tickets to standby passengers and locked us out. When they say that they have the customer in mind, they are lying through their teeth! So, here I am stuck in Seattle for a couple of hours. Realizing I had lots of time now, I managed to get Anthony on the phone and tell him that I was coming out. He had actually just gotten there so it worked out just fine for us both. He handed me off my jacket and had to go back to work. The parka was back in my hands and I knew, regardless of when I got to Alaska, that I would be warm enough there.

Since I had some time to kill, I decided to go to Alaska Airlines "Customer Service." They gave me a huge song a dance and apologized...I didn't want an apology, I wanted them to acknowledge that the policy had to change. I knew it would never happen but that was my initial goal. I had complained enough about their customer service and that I was told that they were holding the flight for us that they felt that "I'm sorry" just wasn't going to cut it. After about 10 minutes of talking they gave me $12 in meal coupons for the airport. I don't know if you've ever received these but essentially they are only good for food at that airport on that day and cannot be used for a gratuity or alcohol. In addition, you can't get any change back from these coupons or credit for them if you have a balance left. You either have to use them all or not, the airline only pays what you spend though. I went around to the various restaurants and found a "Chili's Too" where I could by a huge Cheeseburger and Diet Coke that would total $12.00 exactly when tax was applied. It seems petty but it was important to me at that time that they pay as much as possible even though it would go unnoticed by accounting.

I got into Anchorage around 10:30 at night and went down to baggage claim. They had told me that none of the San Diego passengers bags had made it on the flight because there was too little time (2 hours just isn't enough I guess) so I waited at the carousel for my bags anyway. I got a call from the team lead, he was also at baggage claim on the other side of the terminal as he had just arrived. I went over to meet him and when he got his bag, we went over to see if we could find mine. Another 35 minutes and multiple loads at baggage claim and I went to the baggage service counter to have them look my bag up. It had not, as promised, been delivered. Apparently the flight I was originally on had been delayed 45 minutes so it got all of our bags. Now I'm fuming...the plane sat there on the tarmac for another 45 minutes but they wouldn't let us on...I really hate Alaska Airlines. The baggage guy looked in the back and found my "phantom" bag in about 5 minutes and we headed for the hotel. Everything went well, got checked in and then went to bed around midnight. Since I had to get up at 4:00 AM to get on my next Alaska flight, I crashed as fast as I could.

Headed to Kotzebue on tomorrow, Nome on Wednesday, and Bethel on Thursday. I'm on the "flight a day" program. With that I'll leave you, next installment due out soon.

---