I realize there have been many rants in my LJ lately, but this just put me in a VERY grumpy mood that listening to Josh Turner only slightly lifted...

I flew back to DC from Atlanta today. Security was good to go through--the line was long, but it was always moving, so it took me only half an hour from being dropped off to getting on the train to go to the terminal.

Then, everything was on time, so things were looking good. Until I boarded.

I was in zone 9, which really stinks, since that was the last zone to board. I had planned and packed for the weekend to be able to carry on my luggage to save significant time at the airports.

But when I get on, there seems to be no room for my suitcase in the overhead bins. There is almost a spot over my seat, but it's filled with coats. Were I more gutsy with strangers, I would have asked whose coats they were and moved them, but I didn't. Usually there are flight attendants hanging around to help people with luggage and moving stuff for people, but there was no one in sight this time.

I then followed the lead of several other people experiencing the same problem and took my suitcase up to the front to gate check it. The flight attendants took it no problem, but they still didn't even go back to the back of the plane to check for more room.

The woman next to me in the center seat I will call Little Miss Very Important Business Person (LMVIBP)--she was reading the Wall Street Journal and dressed in a business suit. First, she was sitting in my seat when I came in, even knowing that the flight was full to overflowing. Then, once seated, she couldn't stop digging in her blazer pockets, which meant she kept elbowing me as she dug for pills, whatever (she didn't put the seatrest down).

She also kept emailing on her Crackberry, even after the pilot told everyone to turn off electronic equipment. She did eventually turn it off, but only just before takeoff. At one point during the flight she even turned it back on to see if she had gotten a signal (totally against the rules, by the way). Finding none, she put it back in her pocket (off). NO ONE is that important that they have to check email while on a commercial jet for an hour and a half. Really.

My flight was at 8:20, so I was up very early and quite tired. I was asleep when she woke me up (I was in the aisle seat) so she could go to the bathroom. Someone should have reminded her to go before she left. I mean--a 90 minute flight!!!!! Then I never really got back to sleep for the rest of the flight.

The icing on the cake came when it was time to deplane. LMVIBP practically pushed me out of the way to get into the aisle to get her stuff out of the overhead bins. Not only was she the owner of one of the coats over my head, but she had also put BOTH of her carry-on pieces of luggage (a roll-aboard and a smaller tote) in the overhead bins! I just about went Izzy (from Grey's Anatomy) on her--SERIOUSLY?????!!!! I had only stood there awkwardly for a while trying to find a place to put my suitcase for like five minutes, and she never made a move to actually do what you're supposed to do and put the smaller of your carry-ons under the seat in front of you!

And unlike what's supposed to happen when you gate check something, I had to go to baggage claim to get my suitcase. It took 20+ minutes, and the longer I stood there, the madder I got. It would have been one thing if I had planned on checking my bag, but to have to wait because of this one woman just ticked me off.

I hope she got to where she was going and is very successful in whatever business crap she was up to.

Tags: rants, travel