# Delayed Flight? 11 Tips to Help



## The Davy Crockett (Aug 8, 2013)

Unless you really never fly, I'm sure you've had the joy and pleasure of experiencing a delayed flight.

This article from Slate has 11 ways to help speed up getting to where you are trying to go.

I personally find #10 to be too unfair and too selfish to ever even try it. :angry2:


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## jebr (Aug 8, 2013)

9 is also a jerk move, really. The gate agents are human, too, and if they can tell that you're not wanting to work with them very much, I'm going to bet that they're not going to do a whole lot for you...they're likely going to follow protocol to the letter.

Also, take out your liquids. You're waiting in line anyways on the way in, so the line isn't moving any faster before you get past security. And it takes all of 5 seconds to put the liquids back in.

I'm going to agree with a commenter in the article: "Pretty sure the author is THAT guy/gal. You all know who I'm talking about."


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## tp49 (Aug 8, 2013)

...and I always thought yelling "do you know who I am" as loud as you can at the gate agent or any other airline employee was the most effective way to handle a delay. :giggle: :hi:


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## Tracktwentynine (Aug 8, 2013)

There are some reasonable tips in there. I fly a decent amount, and I've learned over the years a few good things, too.


*Never check a bag*. If you need to change, your bag might not make the connection.
*Check the Board!* If you're connecting, as soon as you get in the terminal, check the display board to see if your flight is delayed. Look for other flights going to the same place.
*Be proactive*. If you wait until they announce that your flight is cancelled, it will probably be too late to get on the next one.
*Be flexible*: If your flight to Washington Dulles (or JFK) is cancelled, ask to get put on a flight to Baltimore (or Newark) or Washington National (or LaGuardia). There are transit connections between those airports and the city, so you can still get where you're going.
*Know your options*: Related to the above, you should know your options. Are there other airports nearby? Can I easily get from that airport to where I need to be? When are the other flights for my destination scheduled.
*Ask*. If you don't ask, you're certain to get a "no". If you do ask, you might just get a "yes."
*Be persistent*: If the gate agent can't help you, go to Customer Service. If that doesn't work, try calling the airline's customer service line.
*BE POLITE!* How would you feel if some jerk came to your desk and started shouting at you? Most airline employees are just doing their job the best they can. There are some bad apples out there, but don't take it out on them. It's not their fault. They might just take it out on you.
And to expound on a few of those:

*Ask*:

I had a long weekend, and part of that I was going to spend in St. Louis. I only had a little more than 24 hours in the city, and I wanted to make the most of it. I had to connect at Chicago - Midway.

My flight landed on time, and I should have had an hour layover. As soon as I got off the plane, I went straight to the status board. My connecting flight was an hour delayed. I noticed right above it, there was a flight to St. Louis boarding right then.

I went straight to that gate and talked to the agent. "Hi. Sorry to bother you. I know this isn't really a big deal, but I'm on the next flight to St. Louis, and it's delayed an hour. Is there any way you can get me on this one?"

She asked to see my boarding pass, and then handed me a new one. "Go right ahead sir. Enjoy your flight."

*Be Proactive*:

Earlier this year, I was supposed to fly from Washington National to Houston Hobby via Atlanta.

The plane that was to take me to Atlanta arrived at the gate and discharged its passengers. But the gate agent said they expected a bit of a delay while the mechanics inspected a widget that was being troublesome.

I went up to the agent and mentioned that I needed to make a connection in Atlanta. She told me that it was too soon to know whether I'd miss it, but that after my flight, there were 2 more going to Houston. There was another DC-ATL flight scheduled 90 minutes after the one I was supposed to be on.

I hung around the podium. One lady was very upset because she was probably going to miss the last connection to Minneapolis and be sleeping in the Atlanta Airport. The agent told her that she probably wasn't going to make the connection because the airline was going to have to drive the replacement widget down from BWI Airport. We were already 40 minutes into the delay, and I know that it takes at least an hour to drive from BWI to DCA, so that meant the widget wouldn't even get to National Airport until 10 minutes after the next flight was scheduled to leave.

So I immediately went to the gate agent and got in line behind the upset lady. When I got there, I explained that I had overheard, and I was willing to bail from the delayed flight and get on the next one. She said okay, and printed me a new boarding pass.

As soon as she finished with me, she announced to the gate area that the flight was going to be really delayed. Everybody surged up to the desk. A few people got on the next flight. But most people didn't because there were only a few open seats.

If I'd just waited until the announcement, I'd have been stuck in Washington for hours.

*Be Flexible*:

I was connecting at Cleveland to a flight to Baltimore. That flight got cancelled due to mechanical problems, and the next two flights to Baltimore were full.

I told the agent that I'd take the first available seat to Washington National or Washington Dulles (I even considered Philadelphia + Amtrak, but tickets on the corridor were selling at high bucket). I ended up on the next flight to National.

I also shepherded two of my fellow passengers on Metro to Union Station, and explained how to catch MARC to BWI, where they needed to get their cars. Neither had ever been on a subway before.


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 8, 2013)

:hi: Good tips Tracktwentynine! They will work with Amtrak and other Service Industry staff also, Ive used them myself!


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 9, 2013)

#9 and #10 are both cheeky moves. I'm not willing to try them unless I have lots to lose. I mostly fly intercontinental so #1 and #2 dosen't work for me. Long-haul flight often run only once a day with the same airline, and I can't think about trying to stuff all those large bags onboard. #4 is kinda bad as well because of the aforementioned low frequencies and I don't want to fly stanby plus a bad seat on a 10-hour flight. I once got stuck in the middle block of 2-5-2 on an United 77E. Not again!

Anyways, the most useful for me are #3 and #5. But if there really is a mechanical issue, I'd rather have the plane get checked up and maintained properly, even if it means an indefinite delay. I've been delayed some much on Amtrak that a 3-hour flight delay is a piece of cake. I expect flights from the airline's hub to have less delays because they can get maintained easier or swap for another plane.


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## jis (Aug 9, 2013)

Yeah I also almost always check a bag and have had zero problem so far. This included a most convoluted through checked bag involving two different PNRs on two different airlines with separate tickets EWR - SFO - NRT - SIN - CCU involving UA and SQ. Frankly I almost fainted when the bag showed up on the belt in Calcutta! 

I usually take the earliest or the lastest flight of the day, such is the nature of my travels relative to business. Of course on long haul international routes this entire concept is quite meaningless, so best ignored.

If you are on an airline with a upto date IT platform, they should be able to tell precisely where the aircraft to be used on your flight is coming from and where it is located at this time. It is very useful to figure out what to do next. OTOH if the airline involved believes in management by obfuscation there is no hope 

In my experience what you see at the FAA site 6 hours before your flight may not have much relevance to your flight unless we are talking of significant weather event or an air crash or such, which at the end of the day are not all that common, if you happen to fly a lot. The again, the New York area airports are always yellow or red, which is neither here nor there either.

OTOH like in every other situation it is better to have situational awareness of where you expect to be going. For example the FAA site will tell you nothing about the fact that no flights are landing at Heathrow because of fog in the morning these days, and yet it will affect every evening flight out of New York to London involving diversion to all sorts of unpredictable airports in England. Use all sources of info available to you that is of relevance for your destination.

I usually carry out #4 sitting in my hotel room and get better results. But ones mileage may vary, and certainly the hotel room method won't work unless you have a reasonably high status with the airline since you;d never get through on phone or even on the internet.

In #5 what you do will vary depending on your circumstance. If you are a statusless flier then what is suggested minus the bit about liquids is reasonable advice. If you have status typically at well equipped airports you can get through much much faster without ever having to take anything out or taking your jacket off, and you are guaranteed only a walk through a magnetometer, no fancy scanners.

#7 United First Class Lounge? Indeed. What is meant is United Club, which has very little to do with First Class in more sense than one. Again, if you have status call the Elite Desk first instead of dicking around with gate agents and Clubs.

#8 In my experience it is a very rare gate agent who will be able to give a truly informed answer on this one. But no harm asking.

#9 and #10 are somewhat on the sleazy/obnoxious side IMHO, but that is just me.


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## amtkstn (Aug 9, 2013)

10 reasons why I don't fly anymore.


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## PRR 60 (Aug 9, 2013)

I'd add using airline same-day change if possible. Sometimes a meeting ends early or the trip to the airport is quicker than expected. For passengers with status, many airlines allow same-day space available changes with no fee or change of fare (hello, Amtrak?). Without status, sometimes a flat fee is applied. Even with a fee, it can be worth it.

If there is an earlier flight, head to the check-in counter or the gate agent and see if you can get on. Getting in the air is 90% of the battle, and getting an earlier flight may beat a delay that develops later.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 10, 2013)

amtkstn said:


> 10 reasons why I don't fly anymore.


Not that I take a liking to boring modern airliners with the same seats, same looks, same service, etc., but you just try to get a train or bus to carry you across the Atlantic or Pacific. Sure, you can take QM2 to England, not outlandishly expensive either, but no liners across the Pacific.

Besides, air travel is very safe, and it's not always bad when I fly. Sure, 4-6 hours with no food (other than a pricey snack box) dosen't seem great, but a long Great Circle Flight is actually doable for me.



jis said:


> Yeah I also almost always check a bag and have had zero problem so far. This included a most convoluted through checked bag involving two different PNRs on two different airlines with separate tickets EWR - SFO - NRT - SIN - CCU involving UA and SQ. Frankly I almost fainted when the bag showed up on the belt in Calcutta!


Wow, that's a long one! I guess you are an UA/Star Alliance FF, huh? Could've maybe flown NH with a transfer at NRT. I'm sure you know that UA FFs get Mileage Plus when flying any other allied member.

I try to get a morning departure for long-haul flights by the origin's time zone because I don't like sleeping on a plane in Y. But that does cause a slew of problems when you arrive.

Doesn't India use a half-hour time zone? Seems quite interesting why they would. Also, have you ever been to HND? Is that better or NRT? I've only been to NRT.


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## NW cannonball (Aug 10, 2013)

PRR 60 said:


> I'd add using airline same-day change if possible. Sometimes a meeting ends early or the trip to the airport is quicker than expected. For passengers with status, many airlines allow same-day space available changes with no fee or change of fare (hello, Amtrak?). Without status, sometimes a flat fee is applied. Even with a fee, it can be worth it.
> If there is an earlier flight, head to the check-in counter or the gate agent and see if you can get on. Getting in the air is 90% of the battle, and getting an earlier flight may beat a delay that develops later.


#1 -- Check the board -- always check the board immediately when you get off the plane. Or immediately when you get to the airport. Always. See the canceled, see the alternate flights, see where to go to get the alternates. Mostly you don't need to know all this, but when there is a disruption, the knowledge is invaluable.

Once - arrived 2 hours early for my departure - but the airline was running 1.5 hours late. Got on the earlier delayed flight and made my connection - the flight I was reserved on was 2 hours late and wouldn't have made the connection. Sometimes a late plane can help make a connection if it's earlier than a worse delayed flight.

Once - at ORD - after long long international flight - saw on the board my last leg home canceled but saw what gate earlier flight and got there first .

Another good idea - if you don't know your transfer hub airport by heart, study the map in advance of your flight - situational awareness will help you get where you need to be -- before the redirected crowds arrive.


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## NW cannonball (Aug 10, 2013)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> amtkstn said:
> 
> 
> > 10 reasons why I don't fly anymore.
> ...


Yup - all India is one time zone UTC + 5.5 hours

Never arrived Haneda - the flights from North America are fewer than those to Narita and arrive early early morning hours - also a bit cheaper. But now that I know my way around Tokyo a bit -- much quicker and cheaper from HND to the middle of town. Next time, will seriously consider Haneda - if able to sleep on plane will get almost a full day more in Tokyo, compared to late afternoon arrivals NRT. Have your SUICA or PASMO in hand.


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## jis (Aug 10, 2013)

India does half hour time zone to avoid doing two time zones.

I am a Million Miler in UA Mileage Plus and hence lifetime Gold, so yes, I do indeed fly quite a bit on UA.

I like HND and am glad that more HND slots are about to be allocated to US airlines.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 11, 2013)

NW cannonball said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
> 
> 
> > amtkstn said:
> ...


I might try out Haneda as well. NH flies there from LAX with a 77E, DL from SEA/LAX, and AA from JFK. No way to challenge NRT's massive numbers of flights, but it's a decent amount if you get a good deal.



jis said:


> India does half hour time zone to avoid doing two time zones.
> I am a Million Miler in UA Mileage Plus and hence lifetime Gold, so yes, I do indeed fly quite a bit on UA.
> 
> I like HND and am glad that more HND slots are about to be allocated to US airlines.


That's at least better than China's awkward single time zone. China dosen't use its proper longitudal time zone, istead use a more easterly time zone, making sunrise/sunset times confusing towards the west, like Lanzhou and such.

Do you enjoy Mileage Plus Gold benefits on other Star Allaince members?


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## NW cannonball (Aug 11, 2013)

jis said:


> I like HND and am glad that more HND slots are about to be allocated to US airlines.


Good to hear more slots at HND


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## jis (Aug 11, 2013)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> Do you enjoy Mileage Plus Gold benefits on other Star Allaince members?


I am actually yet to enjoy my lifetime Gold benefits, since so far I have been Platinum by the EQM collected each year.
And yes either way I get Star Alliance Gold status on airlines other than United who are members of the Alliance.


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## SarahZ (Aug 11, 2013)

#9 irritates me. I'm the agent who would want to bump you to the end of the list just for standing there getting on my nerves. If you are polite and do as you're told, I might want to bend for you. If you stand there when I've asked you to please sit down multiple times, I'm NOT going to want to give you the best service because you're being a jerk to me. Respect me, and I'll respect you. I'm so sick and tired of customers who think they're better than the person serving them.

#10 is just plain ballsy and wrong. Now I'm going to suspect everyone ahead of me who uses a mobile boarding pass.


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## Texan Eagle (Aug 11, 2013)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> I might try out Haneda as well. NH flies there from LAX with a 77E, DL from SEA/LAX, and AA from JFK. No way to challenge NRT's massive numbers of flights, but it's a decent amount if you get a good deal.


And from 1st September Japan Airlines will fly the 787 Dreamliner SFO to Haneda. This flight is currently on 772.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 11, 2013)

jis said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
> 
> 
> > Do you enjoy Mileage Plus Gold benefits on other Star Allaince members?
> ...


Nice, that's good to know. I've flown a good amount, but I fly lots of differnet airlines. With this knowledge, I can try to fly one alliance instead of switching alliances all the time.



Sorcha said:


> #9 irritates me. I'm the agent who would want to bump you to the end of the list just for standing there getting on my nerves. If you are polite and do as you're told, I might want to bend for you. If you stand there when I've asked you to please sit down multiple times, I'm NOT going to want to give you the best service because you're being a jerk to me. Respect me, and I'll respect you. I'm so sick and tired of customers who think they're better than the person serving them.
> #10 is just plain ballsy and wrong. Now I'm going to suspect everyone ahead of me who uses a mobile boarding pass.


Bravo on that one. Are you an actual agent for anything?



Texan Eagle said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
> 
> 
> > I might try out Haneda as well. NH flies there from LAX with a 77E, DL from SEA/LAX, and AA from JFK. No way to challenge NRT's massive numbers of flights, but it's a decent amount if you get a good deal.
> ...


JAL 1 is actually going to be a 787? I thought this route would be more appropriete for a 77W. I'm sure JL1 used to go to NRT, since it is obviously the Japanese flagship.


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## Texan Eagle (Aug 11, 2013)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> JAL 1 is actually going to be a 787? I thought this route would be more appropriete for a 77W. I'm sure JL1 used to go to NRT, since it is obviously the Japanese flagship.


Yes, JAL 001 is going Dreamliner in 20 days from today, I will try getting a photo of it on Sept 1 from SFO and post it.

77W is probably too much capacity for JAL from SFO right now. United has two daily 744s, ANA has daily 77W, Delta has daily 763, plus nearby SJC has ANA's daily 787 to NRT.. doesn't leave much traffic for another 77W I guess. But yes, JAL 1 is the only flight from SFO to HND.


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## Anderson (Aug 12, 2013)

My two cents on #10: It depends on how your airline is doing boarding and whether you'd actually cause an obstruction. If you're just "slipping in" with BC/FC boarders and then right off to coach...frankly, no harm there IMHO. I've done the equivalents on Amtrak many times at WAS from the Club Acela. After that...I'd like to think airlines board the planes back-to-front as a rule, but I have no idea there.


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## Devil's Advocate (Aug 12, 2013)

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>1. Plan to take the earliest flight of the day whenever possible.</p></blockquote><br />Where I live the first big wave of flights is 5:30AM to 6:30AM, which means I'd have to be at the airport no later than 4-5AM, ready for a cab ride at 3:30-4AM and waking up at 2:30-3AM. Why even go to sleep in the first place? I'm not a morning person so screw that.<br /><br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>3. Six hours before your flight, go to this website, it is the FAA map of the general takeoff status at airports.</p></blockquote><br />Unless you have decent status by the time you see this map really light up it's probably too late for you to do much about it without buying another ticket. A better way way to prevent serious problems with delays is to avoid connections as much as possible, which is one reason I often fly WN on domestic trips.<br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>4. If your flight is delayed, get to a front counter agent as soon as humanly possible and petition to get on an earlier flight or on standby for a plane that’s on the ground and ready to go. Find out which airplanes are currently on the ground. Try and get on one of them—change your ticket or get on standby. Do not wait for your airplane to be fixed or wait for an inbound flight to arrive. Just switch. Express a sense of urgency and sound convincing. You must get on the standby list at the outside counter, before you get to the gate, when it will be too late. When there’s any delay—weather, mechanical or otherwise—your goal is to get onto whatever plane is currently at the airport and has a crew.</p></blockquote><br />This advice sounds borderline mindless.<br /><br />"Get on a flight, ANY flight, never look back, RUN!"<br /><br />I've seen people bounce from flight to flight and end up in a worst situation than they started with. Amy Webb might as well be writing an article about how to cut your commute time by constantly changing lanes.<br /><br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>5. Get through TSA as fast as possible. Your goal is to get to the gate. Get in a line without kids, people moving slowly, or people with medical devices of any kind. Avoid people who look like they probably don’t travel often. Follow men/women in suits or people who’ve already taken their laptops out of their bags: Chances are good they will be motivated to move quickly, like you. Do not take your plastic bag of liquids out of your suitcase. Very few airports enforce this rule, and it’ll slow you down.</p></blockquote><br />Up in the Air anyone? Unfortunately that advice makes a lot of assumptions that rarely work out in the real world. Excepting status lines most of the time everybody is mixed together. The idea that an entire line is going to be devoid of children, families, elderly, and newbies is rather unlikely. Even if there were such a line you're probably be unable to join it, either because it would be full or because some other decision you'd made in the TSA's security tree put you on another path.<br /><br />The suggestion about liquids is terrible advice where I fly. The TSA loves to investigate my bag of liquids as much as possible. They're going to pull it out anyway so I simply pull it out for them. It takes all of five seconds. That way my bag doesn't have to be processed twice while doubling my scan time. As for the rest of this "advice" it's boilerplate from the TSA's own instructions.<br /><br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>6. If your flight is late, introduce yourself to the gate agent. Ask if the delay is mechanical, weather or “irregular operations.” If applicable: Remind agent that you should be first on the standby list—Even if you aren’t, play dumb and desperate.<br />Why this matters: This will let the gate agent know that you know how things work, and s/he will be more likely to give you more information, which you will need to make decisions going forward.</p></blockquote><br />This is hilarious but useless advice that risks causing far more trouble than benefit. The honest truth is that you don't really "know how things work" if you're reading Amy's article for actual advice. The gate agent probably has little or no idea what's actually going on and "playing dumb and desperate" while also claiming to be first in line is a bad way to get them to help you.<br /><br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>7. If the gate agent isn’t being helpful, find the nearest lounge. This will only work for a travel lounge that’s for your airline (United First Class lounge, for example).<br />Why this matters: The agents in the lounge are less busy—and let’s face it, less stressed—than the agents dealing with angry travelers outside.</p></blockquote><br />The "lounge dragons" aren't going to do better than the elite status desk and could easily do worse since their primary function seems to be denying access on any grounds they can come up with, kind of like a operating on commission in reverse.<br /><br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>9. Stand next to the gate agent, even if they ask you to sit down.They’re more likely to give you that standby seat...just so they don’t have to look at you anymore.</p></blockquote><br />Maybe you can nag and bully your way to more information and faster service somewhere else, but where I fly that's not going to help you much. I've seen arrogant folks bumble their way into a perpetual holding pattern again and again. Airline staff are among the most jaded and unsympathetic people you're likely to meet and if you try to mess with them you're not likely to get what you want.<br /><br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>10. If it looks like your plane is taking off but you have a carry-on and are near the end of the boarding process, use a mobile boarding pass. If your code is all that’s showing, the agent won’t be able to see that you’re in the last boarding group. You’ll be able to walk right on to the plane ahead of everyone else, which means you’ll have first access to the overhead bins.</p></blockquote><br />Ugh.<br /><br /><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"><p>11. Always get names and times. You’ll forget them later, so write everything down while it’s happening.</p></blockquote><br />Maybe we should all write to Slate and complain about the terrible service we received from Amy Webb? LOL


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## Devil's Advocate (Aug 12, 2013)

^ Wow. Is it just me or is the editing on this forum completely messed up at this point?


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 12, 2013)

Devil's Advocate said:


> ^ Wow. Is it just me or is the editing on this forum completely messed up at this point?


This happens to me when I use the mobile version of the website. I've seen others with the same problem. Alan will be by to fix both your post & mine.

There is supposedly a fix that just hasn't been implimented yet do to the move of the site. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Aug 12, 2013)

Anderson said:


> My two cents on #10: It depends on how your airline is doing boarding and whether you'd actually cause an obstruction. If you're just "slipping in" with BC/FC boarders and then right off to coach...frankly, no harm there IMHO. I've done the equivalents on Amtrak many times at WAS from the Club Acela. After that...I'd like to think airlines board the planes back-to-front as a rule, but I have no idea there.


That didn't work for me. The gate agent got angry at me for trying to board a UA 757 with the First passengers. I was refursed boarding so I had to wait at the back of the Economy line. Eventually I got on the plane and my seat was still there.



Devil's Advocate said:


> ^ Wow. Is it just me or is the editing on this forum completely messed up at this point?


Yes, can't read it at all.


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## Ryan (Aug 13, 2013)

Yeah, the software update can't get here fast enough.

Here's your post in (hopefully) a more readable format.



Devil's Advocate said:


> > 1. Plan to take the earliest flight of the day whenever possible.
> 
> 
> Where I live the first big wave of flights is 5:30AM to 6:30AM, which means I'd have to be at the airport no later than 4-5AM, ready for a cab ride at 3:30-4AM and waking up at 2:30-3AM. Why even go to sleep in the first place? I'm not a morning person so screw that.
> ...


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