Woman Schedules Impossible Travel Itinerary; Kills Self.

[bertha katzenengel]

Am I nuts? The flight I got on JetBlue for my trip home for BIL's birthday party leaves Dulles at 7:00 AM.

I like to be at the airport two hours before flight.

It takes at least one hour fifteen minutes to get from my house to Dulles when there is no traffic.

This is on a regular working day.

I will have to leave my house at 3:00 AM.

:banghead:

Your tale?

[ceile]

1. That's awful!

I hope the BIL is worth it!

No tale, except once I thought we were going to miss our flight to Dublin because my SO at the time tried to take gardening shears in his carry-on. Idiot!

[QMPMom]

2. Dang, and I thought leaving at 4:30 am was bad.

I hope you have a good time.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Tried to fly standby from Houston to Dallas one Thanksgiving

Yea, laugh.

Ended up going home, taking the car, and driving there because it was faster.

[AlCzervik]

4. i had to leave at 3:30am for a super shuttle pick up to back back to Boston

which would have been fine if it was just me but waking up my daughter at 2:45am was a most unpleasant experience and to top it off we had the worst driver ever, he was late picking us up so i knew he would drive it like it was stolen all the way to the airport and he did. We got there and the check in line was at least an hour long--worst morning ever.

[Hobarticus]

5. I had a flight home from overseas moved up an HOUR

....while I was standing at the counter. First flight out of Hong Kong that morning. I was running late thanks to the hotel shuttle service.

I didn't have breakfast yet, coffee, nothing. I said, "you can't do that!"

She said, "sorry. You'd better get moving".

[SKKY]

6. Flying from Tokyo to San Francisco nearly killed me in 2004...

We would fly out of Narita at 4:00pm, 12-13 hours in the air, then land in San Francisco at 10:00 am the same day.
I did that 5 times in 2004.

Can you say "jet-lag from hell"?

[cwydro]

7. Oh wow...

I see what you mean.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. Any chance you can stay at the airport hotel the night before?

That's what my mom does when she flies out of Dulles. They have a free shuttle to the airport...

[bertha katzenengel]

18. oh, man, what a great idea.

i'll check $ matters with The Great and Powerful V! ;)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. Try Orbitz...

or AAA discount if you have it. You should be able to get something nice for not too much money. Orbitz lists some pretty swanky places for under $100 a night.

[matcom]

9. we ALWAYS get the early flight out

but we stay in a hotel at the airport the night before and get to leave our car in their parking lot. they even shovel out our car when it snows

[BikeWriter]

14. Yes, but you are the owner and CEO of Matcom News.

[LisaM]

10. Second the airport the night before option

My family always does that; there are often reasonably-priced places. You could probably get by arriving at 5:30 a.m. too. I would guess that standby isn't an option with JetBlue, when I've flown them, they only have one flight a day.

[sbj405]

11. Park and fly,

http://dulles.airporthotelguide.com/washington_dulles_park_fly.html

[bertha katzenengel]

19. Yes, that's what Goddess recommended. Looks great -- except I'm going

to have to call those hotels. I looked at one -- room rate was $240! Maybe that's great for business travelers with unlimited expense accounts. But me, as it is I'm going to have to forgo my car rental if I do this....

Thanks so much for the link. I didn't know such a service existed. :)

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Learning to calculate time zones, the hard way.

Years ago, before moving to the west coast, I wasn't good at remembering to calculate ACTUAL time, as opposed to the local times that appear on the itinerary. I found a dirt cheap flight from Boston to San Francisco with a connection in Denver. What I didn't notice was that my original flight had two stops. We arrived in SF 12 hours after leaving Boston. My SO stopped speaking to me after the second stop.

[Ramsey]

13. I can't do that anymore

Those early morning flights. You have to get there so early now, it's just insane. Oh, and I am sooooooo not a morning person. I'd have to stay up until 3 am, and then I'd be dead the whole day.

I'd go the night before.

[skygazer]

15. Drove from Vermont to NYC in a blizzard one year

My friend and I had a business selling natural fiber clothing and accessories and had arranged to be at a trade show in NYC which started at 8 am. It started snowing at about 5 the night before and piled up rapidly so we got the bright idea of leaving early. We headed out at midnight and barely made it in time (normally it takes about 4 to 4 1/2 hours).

But it was the best time!! We were about the only car on the road (except for the huge plow trucks) and had to go very slow but once we hit New York, it was like a fairy tale city, all pretty and white and covered with snow, cars buried, people on the sidewalks having snowball fights. We got stuck once on a little side street and a group of guys ran out from a parking garage and pushed us out, waved happily to us - it was great.

One of my favorite memories.

My advice - make it an adventure.

[Gormy Cuss]

17. You know you're from Vermont when....

:rofl:

I had a five hour trip to Maine from Boston once in a blizzard, and thought myself fortunate because I was about a minute behind the plow. Very few other idiots were out that night. Oh yeah, and the trip should have been only about two hours long.

[tigereye]

16. lessee

I had to take a training course for a licensing exam
The exam was in Philly
I live in Pittsburgh
The training was in March
Freak snow storm occurs
Brave husband of colleague gets us to the airport on time
Despite
Massive jams on the parkway
Plane delayed for several hours
Sit on plane inhaling de-icing fumes - gag
over Philly, hit massive turbulence (it's warm there)
pilot tries to land twice
stomach massively upset and ....
plane unable to land without instilling death, so
we fly TO BALTIMORE!
no snow, so
we transfer to a BUS!
I am laughing at this point!
After journey we arrive
At Philly airport
THE TIME?
3am
Tired fellow traveler and I manage to collect our wits
to find a cab
Arrive at hotel at
FIVE AM!
in brain dead state
Then awake...
at 8 AM for
Sadly
The psychological statistics refresher!
ALL DAY LONG!
Meet woman who drove from Pittsburgh through the storm
took her 10 hours.
About the same for me
Should have been a one hour flight!

:(

but it is a fun story to tell, and needless to say I passed the exam!

[ZombieNixon]

20. Oh, in order to make my Albuquerque to Chicago flights three times a year,

I have to leave my house at 1 AM. No sleep the previous night. A 3 AM departure is something I'd consider luxurious. :o

[Fredda Weinberg]

21. I got you beat

My JetBlue flight leaves tomorrow at 6:15 - boarding starts at 5:45. I'll be taking two buses and I've got their schedules ... the first will be at the corner 2:30 AM.

But it'll cost me just $2, as opposed to a $40 taxi fare. I'll be traveling with JFK employees, so standing in East NY at 3 AM will be as safe as rush hour.

I'm headed to Overtown, in Miami, Florida ... as grim place as you can find in the USA, torn apart by I-95 and just recovering from urban blight. I'll be doing (again) what I can to help and who knows ... maybe this time it'll work out ... I certainly wouldn't do this for $$$.

So good luck on your trip - I'll try to enjoy mine. Nighty night.

[bertha katzenengel]

22. Best wishes, Fredda.

Safe travels, and may your work be rewarding.

[Fredda Weinberg]

23. And may yours bring gratification

I prefer to take the first flight out ... short lines at security, no backup flight delays ... it's a civilized way to travel.

[madinmaryland]

24. It is possible to sleep on the plane!

I used to sleep on the train, and when flying would nod off just enough to take the edge off.

Good luck!

:hi:

[bullwinkle428]

25. I had a 6:30 A.M. flight from Midway (Chicago), and live in eastern Iowa -

I would have to stay up through the night to make the drive to the airport if I didn't stay at a hotel near the airport. Even with the hotel, I woke up a 3:30, and was ready for the shuttle at 4;45, which ended up getting delayed until 5:20 because they were waiting for people. Got to the airport around 5:40, and was one of the last to board, but did make it!