A smile goes along way!

On Friday, I was traveling from Buffalo to Philadelphia. It was 5:30 am when I arrived at the Buffalo airport and it was bustling with people.  Let me give you a little weather report….the east coast had severe thunderstorms on Thursday night.  Planes don’t fly in thunderstorms and I am ok with that.  When you travel, weather can delay and cancel flights.  Personally, I would rather deal with a cancelled or delayed flight than the plane having issues in a thunderstorm.  I am not saying it is fun to deal with delays or sitting on the tarmac, but it is better than the alternative.

Ok, so back to Friday……Buffalo was crazy because of the storms the night before.  I could tell by looking at the board (lots of delays and cancellations) that the UsAir staff was going to be dealing with lots of angry people.  Yes, I understand we all have places to be and things to do.  However, yelling at the agent isn’t going to get you anywhere.  I walked up to the machine printed out my boarding pass and smiled at the agent.   Due to cost, I was flying through Boston to get to Philly.   He looked at my itinerary and asked if I wanted a direct flight.  I said YES!  I got in two hours earlier….YIPPEE!  A smile goes a long way.

I go to the gate and realize I am on a delayed flight…..mandatory flight crew rest.  Again, I am ok with the crew having to get rest!  I don’t want a tired pilot flying the plane.  Boarding the plane was a comedy show.  There was a twenty person group flying to San Francisco.  They board Zone 1 and then this group (they were zone 4)……I have never seen this happen before.  There were (zone 2) passengers concerned about getting their baggage on the plane.  That is a very valid concern.  Ever since they started charging to check bags, overhead space is at a premium!  Good thing the flight was only 1/2 full.  We board, take off and land safely!

It’s was early and people were tired, so they weren’t happy.  I do have to say I was smiling and laughing my way through it.  There was nothing else to do and I got home two hours early!!!

“Travel with Laughter”