Trapped in Anchorage

Hey Team!

I am writing you from the lovely Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, AK. Currently, I have been here since about 3:30 this afternoon and my flight doesn't leave till 2:00 AM Monday morning. Here's the scoop:

My 2:00 AM flight on Saturday, December 18 was overbooked by about 15 people. I have no idea what possesses airlines to sell 15 seats they don't have, but that was the scenario. It was basically luck of the computer as my friend Laura started to check in AFTER me and got a seat. Anyway, I rushed over to the gate to get a seat and literally the guy in front of me (with the same no-seat issue) got a seat. So, we (me and the other 14 people behind me) were forced to anxiously wait for anyone to volunteer their seat for compensation (which didn't happen) and then wait for everyone present to board so the stewardesses could check for open seats. The one open seat went to a man with military preference. He was on a mission...to bang his girlfriend I bet.

In any case, my flight left without me. I was compensated $400 towards future flights and booked on the very next guaranteed seat out of Anchorage, which wasn't until 5 PM today. I know what you're thinking. I said I was on the 2AM flight out.

Well, missing my ANC flight messed up my Seattle flight to Minneapolis and because I was switching airlines (from Continental to SunCountry), I was SOL. Continental was only responsible for getting me to Seattle.

So, after calling SunCountry a bunch of times, I discovered that the only flight from SEA to MSP is at 9:00AM. So, if I had taken the 5:00 PM ANC - SEA flight, I'd have arrived in SEA at 9:30 PM and have had an almost 12 hour layover waiting for my next flight. So, I played the system. I showed up for my 5:00PM flight knowing it too would be overbooked and volunteered my seat for ANOTHER $400 payout and a ticket for the 12:40AM flight. So, I sat at the airport bar and had the airline pay for my meal while I drank beer and watched the Packers (lose). Then I sat down to catch up on school work and wait for my flight.

However, about 30 minutes ago, the GateKeeper (his name is TC) came by and asked if I'd be willing to wait till 2AM for another $300. I said sure. I'll just grab a coffee and crash on the plane.

So now, I will arrive in SEA at 6:30 AM, have a short layover in SEA, and not have to purchase a hotel/try to sleep in the SEA airport. I think it is a great deal.

Let's look at the exchange:

I lost:
- 48 hours in Minnesota with Tyler, Katie, Susan, and Andrea (all of whom I will still be seeing by the way)
- $264 for having to rebook my SEA-MSP flight (again, it's a different airline so Continental isn't liable)
- food and drink money
- a lot of sleep (I was up for about 24 hours from Friday morning to Saturday morning)
I gained:
- $1100 in airline tickets
- $38 in food
- 2 nights in a hotel
- the experience of finally knowing what happens to people when the flight is overbooked (I can now put that mystery to rest)
- a night out with friends (Mark, Nate, Adam, Rico, and Danae all came to Anchorage last night and we had dinner at the Moose's Tooth and went out for drinks at Chilkoot Charlie's)
- about half of my schoolwork done
- a dent in the December playlist

What do you think? Was it worth it? I was really frustrated for a while, but I think it will all work out in the end. I've learned often you have to roll with the punches.


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