Sherlocking With and Without American Airlines
By Don Hobbs

What a novel concept, staying home for an extended period of time. I have been traveling for seven weeks in a row. Last Thursday, I was scheduled to come home for a fortnight. I flew to San Diego on American Airlines and planned on returning home on them. When I heard that American Airlines was canceling flights due to an F.F.A. inspection, I called my travel agent late on Wednesday. He confirmed my fears, all American Airlines flights from San Diego to Dallas had been cancelled. I offered to drive to Los Angeles or Burbank or any other airport in Southern California if they could get me home. There were no American Airlines flights to Texas.

My travel agent told me in not so many words that it was a three-pipe problem but managed to find me a seat on a Delta flight to Salt Lake City, Utah and from there to Dallas. All I needed to do was check in a the American counter where they would issue me a ticket. Then I was to proceed to the Delta counter with my American issued ticket and re-check in. On a normal day, this might not have been too much of an ordeal, but this was the day after American Airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights. To put an extra spin on the situation, the Delta flight was scheduled to depart at 6:15 in the morning and the San Diego International Airport does not open until 5:00 AM. The San Diego traffic is as unpredictable as a teenager's heart and I was driving a rental car.

My alarm went off at 3:45 AM on Thursday morning and jumped out of bed in panic mode. I showered, finished packing, and met my co-worker in the lobby at 4:10 on 04/10. This seemed like a good omen. The rental car was gassed-up the night before, so it was a straight mad-dash to the airport's rental car return area. By the time we checked-out and the time it took for the rental car courtesy bus to deliver us to the terminal, it was 5:10 on 04/10. American and Delta are located in the same terminal but at complete opposite ends. I made my mad rush to the American side where I was shocked at what I saw.

I should really say I was shocked at what I did not see. There was only a handful of people and they were all very orderly. I was able to march right up to the counter where I was met by a pleasant, non-frazzled gate agent. She cheerfully issued my American ticket, explained where the Delta counter was located and apologized for the inconvenience. To my delight, American gave me a first class ticket and when I arrived at the Delta counter, I was half expecting them tell me American was playing one last cruel trick on me. This did not happen and I flew first class to Salt Lake City. I did have a 4 1/2 hour layover but I still made it home. It only took an extra 6 hours but such is life as an Applications Specialist.

Over the next two weeks, the events of last Thursday will fade as I rejuvenate, sleeping in my own bed, driving my own car, and most importantly, puttering around in my own library. Ahh, home is good.

Happy Collecting!!