I am Not in Control - the Challenges of Flying Standby

Monday, January 7 2019 was going to be my last full day in Guadalajara.  I didn't have big plans, which is good because I woke up with achy joints (at least I woke up), which is an issue as I get older.  So I opted to stay in, catch up on some reading and just enjoy life. 

It felt very lonely on Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. as I waited for the hotel van to take me to the airport.

It was especially nice to chill since I'd gotten very little sleep the night before.  Room 211 at Hotel Morales overlooks a street with several small bars.  The bars might be small but their sound systems are large.  I was awake until after 3 a.m. trying to determine if the singers were doing karaoke or just really bad professionals.  In either case, they seemed to be enjoying what they were doing.  I think my dad would have called it caterwauling. 

Luckily the gates opened when the van arrived.  

Tuesday morning came early - 4:30 a.m. to be precise.  I'd set the alarm for 5 but when I woke up, got up, showered and got ready to head to the airport at 6.   The van for the hotel (only 250P compared to 335P in a taxi) drove through the still dark and quiet central historic district.  As we headed to the outskirts of the city traffic picked up considerably as Tapatios headed to work.

It was easy to get my boarding pass at the airport.  Then through security, where I had to remember to take out my laptop.  And was told to put my large purse in a bin, it could not go on the conveyor belt unless in a bin.  Seems it is most countries that some employees find it necessary to be firm about the rules in kind of a snotty way. 

Surprisingly, there was no immigration after leaving security.  Usually, you get into another line and get your passport stamped saying you'd left the country.  Nope, instead, the small entry paper that I was given upon entry was stapled to my boarding pass by the United agent when I checked in.

Next, the long walk past all the fancy duty free stores and downstairs to a relatively small and very crowded space.  There were multiple "gates" with people lined up before them.  One of them was mine.  These were gates for planes who didn't get a jetway.  Instead, when your flight was called you handed over your passport and boarding pass/entry card.  They kept the entry card, handed back the rest and sent you through a doorway to a waiting bus.  Presumably the bus took you to the plane where you'd climb up the stairs and be on your way.  I couldn't wait to get on that bus because that would mean I had a seat on the flight to Houston.  Just an aside, I always thought it would be fun to have people get on the busses and then take them on a tour instead of to the plane.  Good thing I'm not CEO of an airline.

But it didn't look good.  According to the United website for passholders (which I'll just call "eres" to save time), the flight was overbooked and there were 17 of us standing by.  After group five was called to get on the bus, a large group of us looked at each other.  I was standing next to a woman from Calgary, also flying standby.  She was revenue standby, though, which means she'd bought a ticket but had overslept and missed her original flight.  They called her name.  She glanced back as she walked toward the bus.  A sad moment.  Like a scene from Titanic, she got the last seat on the lifeboat.

The gate agent announced the flight was full and us losers (he didn't actually say that but it was implied, in my mind) would be moved to the waiting list for the next flight, which left 5 1/2 hours later.

I wandered upstairs and found a quiet place to sit.  It was peaceful, had a place to plug in my laptop and was freezing.  I pulled a couple more clothing items out of my bag and layered up and started looking at my options. 

According to Eres, the odds weren't good for the next flight.  Way oversold and even more people on the standby list.  My creative juices kicked in.  What if I buy a ticket to Mexico City and then fly United from there?  Excellent idea, except flights from Mexico City to Houston were also sold out.  Aha - how about I use my Delta miles to get me to Houston?  Or Orlando, for that matter?

Well, I could but for the same amount of miles I could have flown first class to Europe and back.  No, thanks, Delta.  Well, what if I bought a ticket to Houston?  Well, no, not on United because all the flights were sold out.

I decided to just relax and see what happened after the next flight.  I assumed I'd be staying in Guadalajara and started looking for a hotel.  When I checked out of the Hotel Morales, I'd asked about rooms that night but they were booked.  How could that be, when everyone seemed to be trying to leave the country?

As they called passengers to board the 1:35 p.m. flight to Houston, us standbys looked around at each other.  Some had been standing by for several days.  Others, like me, were newbies.  The mood was odd, like a cross between Hunger Games and E.T.  On one hand, you would do anything to be one who gets the seat on the plane.  On the other hand, you felt for those who had been waiting and really needed to get home.

In any case, it didn't matter.  There were no extra seats to be had.  We were all losers, again.  There was another flight, 3 hours later but I decided not to bother staying to watch more people get on without me.  I cancelled my flight on Eres and booked a hotel.  I decided that since it looked like I'd be spending a few more days in Guadalajara I'd treat myself.  I'd considered staying at the  Hotel NH Collection Centro but didn't want to spend the money.  I not only booked a room, I upgraded to a room with a private terrace overlooking the main Cathedral and plaza.  Money means nothing to me!  Besides, the fancy room was still less than $70 a night.

The hallway from the hotel lobby to the parking garage.

When I first arrived at my gate, this area was packed since 3 flights were departing within minutes of each other.  Now, a ghost town.

Not nearly enough seats for all the waiting passengers when the flights were preparing to depart.  And Mexicans seem to take the same view as Americans.  First come, first served.  Young people did not offer up seats for their elders.

This is the upstairs part of the terminal where planes have access to jetways.  This security guard had a big stick.

There were lots of places to sit or shop.

My new gate.  I chose to sit alone for awhile since it was hours before boarding.  The people sitting together were waiting for a flight to Las Vegas which left from my gate prior to my flight.  And no, I couldn't get on that flight either.  It wasn't a United flight.

Apparently I was so excited about seeing a Chilis that my hands were shaking.  No, I didn't not go in.  I did check out the menu and it was some standard Chilis stuff along with typical local food.

So many Day of the Dead ceramic statues.  

Let's say I ponied up the $200 to buy this ceramic statue.  Exactly how would I get the three foot tall thing on the plane??

So many inappropriate things came to mind when I saw this.  Mostly - "This is how you want to represent the men of your country?"

If Chili's doesn't suit your needs, how about Johnny Rockets?

Honestly, is there anyway that doesn't have Subway?

This piece of artwork captured my attention.  Completely covered in beads.

Can you imagine the patience?

I wonder if it was created by someone flying standby on United? 

This group has artwork around the airport.

Another one of their pieces.  A bull's head, carved out of a large piece of wood.

New Year, New Adventures

Did you know that it is a tradition in Mexico for women to wear a pair of new yellow underwear on New Year's Eve to ensure good luck and wealth in the coming year.  I realized that I've never owned yellow underwear, unless one of my "days of the week" pairs from when I was eight was yellow.

Why am I talking about New Year's Eve traditions in Mexico?  Because my pass to fly free on United in 2019 takes effect on January 1 and my goal is to head to Mexico that morning.

The pass has some limitations.  I do have to pay taxes and fees, which can get fairly high when traveling to a distant country in business (Polaris) class.  Still, we're talking about a ticket costing hundreds instead of thousands.

Travel is stand-by.  I'm typically a planner.  I love to research before I travel.  To me, the planning and anticipation are a big part of the fun.  I like the comfort of knowing I have reserved the perfect seat on a flight that leaves at the time most convenient for me.   With stand-by travel, that's not an option.

Here's how it works.  I'll have access to a United website dedicated to employees and pass-holders.  It functions like a regular reservation site but provides more information.  In addition to showing the number of paid passengers in each class of service, it also lists those on stand-by.  That's key because while a flight may look only 3/4 full, there may be 50 people on stand-by.  The other important piece of information the site provides is the prioritization of all on the stand-by list.  Pass-holders are lowest in priority, although among pass-holders we're prioritized by the hire date of the employee who gave us the pass. 

In order to get through security, you need a boarding pass.  By listing myself on the website as standing by for a specific flight, I'll receive a stand-by boarding pass.  Once at the gate, the excitement begins.  While waiting, I can monitor the stats on the reservation site.  If there are ample seats, the gate agents may opt to assign seats and hand out confirmed boarding passes to stand-by flyers.  More commonly, everyone boards the plane and the stand-bys wait anxiously for their name to be called.

I learned in Houston it pays to be close to the gate agent as they begin calling names.  I was 53rd on the stand-by list, with three open seats.  I figured I'd be spending the night in Houston.   Then I realized that the gate agent was starting to call names.  He'd say a name, glance around, and if no one immediately responded, he'd move on to the next name.  He was calling the names in a conversational tone and I suspect that many on stand-by didn't realize what he was doing.   I stood in front of him and he finally called my name.  Score!  He laughed at my excitement and gave me both my boarding pass and a hug before I walked down the jetway.

But when I had the pass in 2017, my name didn't always get called so I learned to be flexible.  One day, I didn't get on the flight from Houston to Tucson.  I checked the departures board and saw that a plane was getting ready to leave for Phoenix from a nearby gate.  I ran over, asked to fly stand-by and got on.  For $25 I took a one hour bus ride from Phoenix to Tucson.  Not as convenient but much better than staying at the airport to try the next day.

On January 1st, I'm hoping to catch the 7:22 a.m. flight from Orlando to Houston (can you tell Houston is a United hub?).  Business travelers won't be flying because of the holiday and some people may oversleep and miss their flight, which is why it's always better to try for early morning flights.

From Houston, I'm hoping to go to Guadalajara.  But if I don't get on that flight, I'll try for Oaxaca.  And Puebla.  And Buenos Aires.  I've researched hotels but made no reservations, since I'm not sure where I'll end up.  It's a different way of traveling.  And I'm looking forward to the adventure.

By the way, another Mexican tradition is to take your luggage for a walk on New Year's Eve.  The farther you walk, the more you'll travel in the new year.  I guess I need to invest in some yellow undies and get walking.