Worst. Trip. Ever. Continued.

So there we were in the great state of New Jersey. No seats. No connections. But, there was another flight in an hour that we could get on the waiting list for. We were originally scheduled to get into Columbus around 3pm, plenty of time to pick up the rental car, get to the hotel, and get ready to go to the Night Before the Wedding Cook-out. Yeah, right.

So we didn't get on that flight either.

We had one last chance. The last connecting flight out of Newark to Columbus would be leaving around 7pm. And again we put ourselves on the wait list. With the power outage going on, everyone was on a waiting list. Except for the bars, which were doing great business.

Well, we did make that last flight, woo hoo! A plane full of grumpy people headed for Columbus freaking Ohio. Which sat on the tarmac for almost an hour because of back-ups across the country.

We arrived at around 9:30pm, picked up our rental car, and were on our way to the hotel. We got there after 10pm and decided to pass on the party, since we had been up all night the night before. We were in no mood to party. Naturally, at 1am, our friends and family woke us up when they returned from the party.

The next day was the wedding and it was great. My aunt and I were the only ones without a hang-over, and still resentful. A beautiful ceremony, seeing old friends, older family, and meeting a lot of good people ensued.

Now for the return trip.........

We arrived at the airport Sunday morning, turned in the rental car (red "service now" light glowing), and headed to the check-in. Everything was proceeding as planned, except for that ominous background music playing through my head.

We checked in at the gate for our return to New Hampshire through Newark (planned this time). The gate attendant had some bad news. The radar system for New England was experiencing "problems". Apparently it went down and was in the process of being totally re-booted, which would take some time. We settled down with some magazines and joked about this latest hiccup. Thirty minutes after our plane was supposed to leave, I'm starting to worry about meeting our connecting flight. I went to the gate attendant and let him know about my worries, and received a slightly convincing "Newark knows of the delay and will be holding planes for the connecting passengers."

Anyway, our flight is called, and we finally board the plane. We taxi out and sit. And sit. And sit. Finally, our captain makes an announcement, "Due to the weather situation that delayed our flight today, we have to wait just a bit longer to depart." WTF! Now they're blaming the delay on weather. Total Bullshit! If you read between the lines on your ticket agreement, it clearly states that the airline is not responsible for weather delays. A man-made problem like the original computer problems would mean they are responsible. Suspicious, indeed!

We finally got into the air almost an hour and a half late. Our original lay-over in Newark was supposed to be, you guessed it, and hour and a half. If we made decent time, we would have 0 minutes to change planes. I mentioned my wariness to the flight waitress...er...I mean flight attendant. We got the same ole "Newark will wait for all the connecting flights to arrive". Yeah, right, and that's ginger ale in Britney's champagne glass.

Upon arrival at Newark, half the plane was rushing to get out to meet the "waiting" connections. We jogged the 50 yards to the connecting gate to find an empty waiting area. I approached the desk and with patience strained to the breaking point asked, "Where is the plane? Our flight was delayed and it's only 5 minutes past the departing time! We were promised you would wait for us!"

"I'm sorry sir, it's against company policy to hold a plane for one that is late. It wouldn't be fair for those who arrived on time."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"But we'll be glad to put you on the waiting list for the next flight."

"No, you will give us boarding passes for the next flight to New Hampshire. Your gate attendant in Columbus, and your flight attendant told us you would hold the flight, since your computers were being re-booted, which made your flight late in the first place."

I guess I don't need to tell you that we were put on the waiting list. And the flight left without us. And it was the last flight to New Hampshire. And it was now 9pm. And all the airport restaurants and bars slammed (and I mean slammed!) their gates shut at 9pm while we were arguing with "customer service". And we got no vouchers for hotel rooms or meals or transportation. Just a lot of shrugged shoulders and rude "service managers".

Dinner was a bag of cookies and a Diet Coke from the snack cart on the lower level of the airport, the only thing open after hours. Our bed for the evening was chairs in the waiting area. A very over-air conditioned waiting area.

We did leave on the first flight out the next morning, and arrived with no more drama. But what a trip it was. We missed the big party before the wedding and spending those extra hours with loved ones we travelled 500 miles to see. We spent way too much time going in and out of secured areas to have a lousy cigarette (no sooty, blackened, smoker's rooms like they have in Atlanta). Way too much lack of sleep. No food.

Things didn't improve when I spent may back-and-forths with the Customer Service website for Continental Airlines. DID YOU SEE ME WRITE CONTINENTAL AIRLINES? Customer service continued to blame everything and everyone but OJ for what happened. True, the power outage was not their fault, but cancelling our boarding passes for the connecting flight was. And there was no weather problem on the return flight. They found a stray cloud and blamed it for the rest. And now I'm spreading the word on what a shitty airline it is. Continental, Continental, Continental! I warned them all those years ago, and now I will spread my wrath to all 5 people who read my blog. That'll teach 'em.