The Summer of Our Discontent. (At the Airport)

As I write this, I’m sitting in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. My previous post was about a great vacation—it was great.

Getting home… Not so much.

As we were getting ready to leave Aspen, the plane broke. Maintenance issues. There were not many options. It’s a small airport. We could rent a car and go to another airport or wait seven hours for another plane.

We waited. Missed our connection and spent the night in Dallas.

It’s been that kind of summer for travel. After a year of not going anywhere, we are traveling again.

It seems the airlines aren’t ready yet.

I accept that mechanical problems happen and that the Aspen airport is small. These issues could have happened any time. It’s the other things that remind me that we are living in a post-pandemic world.

Crazy stories of people missing flights. Being redirected. From the Washington Post, “Flying is a mess this summer.” It features horror stories of people trying to get places.

Have you ever heard of the Alaska Airlines “milk run” flight? It stops in multiple Alaskan towns. My trip home was nothing compared to that.

The piece also gives some basic travel advice. Like take direct flights when you can. Pack snacks. Don’t check a bag. Have they even met my husband, Enrique Crespo?! It’s a hard no on that last one!

If you do travel this summer, be ready for long lines. Long lines for everything. What are all those people waiting for at the airport, I wondered? Subway. Not the train. The sandwich shop!

I’ll end all of this by saying it again… I had a great vacation. But it’s back to work now.

To the airlines, I would say… I know it’s hard. It’s overwhelming with everybody traveling again. Keep in mind, though, that the American people kept you afloat during the pandemic. Moving forward, we are your customers.

Treat us like it.

There, I said it. I feel a lot better.