Saturday, March 9, 2013

WTF: Priority Boarding???

WTF Wednesday is a semi-regular feature of this blog. It documents the things that have made me pause, slap my forehead and say "What the f**k!" Well, that and I just like saying WTF. I'm retired. I don't have to watch what I say anymore. I'm not any one's role model.

This is not the dog from the airport, but a random picture from the Internet.
Some time last year I wrote a post about people who insist on dragging their dogs with them to crowded shopping malls.  Read the original post here.  I was, of course, in California where there are ample opportunities to see out of the ordinary sights.  I was in California again last month and once again I spied one of those little dogs encased in a doggy stroller.  This time I was at the airport waiting for my flight home.  The gate agent announced "Pre-boarding  for families with small children who need a little extra time to get down the ramp."   The woman with the doggy stroller was first in line...WTF???? 

Now if I drag my smelly, snippy little dog with me to the airport I can be seated before everyone else?

I'm writing this from the discomfort of the Salt Lake City Airport where my flight to Austin, Texas is delayed.  Originally I was to arrive in Austin around 9:00 in the evening.  Now, if the plane ever gets here, we are  looking at arriving around 2:30 am.  Yeah, I'm not real pleased with airlines and airports.  At least they have free wifi here!

15 comments:

  1. I had no idea you could take a pet onto a plane in a stroller. I thought they had to be in a carrier small enough to slide under the seat. I know an easier way to get on first. Limp to the desk and tell the person there that you cannot walk and to please get you a wheel chair. They'll even provide an attendant to push it. Easy, and less trouble than the dog in a stroller trick.

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  2. It seems they've done everything thinkable, to make flying miserable as possible. I really used to like it, but no mas!

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  3. Yes, air travel is a pain in the butt. I had no idea I could take a doggie stroller to get priority boarding! Sheesh!

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  4. I'm sitting here with my kitty on my lap. I love mt kitty but I would not be taking her on an airplane. I guess I won't be getting priority boarding.

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  5. I hope she at least had to pay full fare for the mutt

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  6. Layovers are fair game for complaining.

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  7. As a former owner of two stroller-eligible small dogs, who indeed had grown smelly and snippy, I think it's ridiculous to carry a dog around in a stroller anywhere, never mind onto any public conveyance. (Would a jet be considered a public conveyance?) But then . . . I could see me doing it down the road sometime, God help me.

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  8. I think they oughta have special flights for those who must travel with pets.
    I have some other even less PC opinions about some other travelers.

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  9. I AM LAUGHING. I'm not laughing because you had to wait in line behind that woman with the dog who got priority seating. I'm laughing because your sentiments are expressed so well. I'm sorry this trip has been such a bummer.

    A few years ago on a flight to Boston, a woman boarded with a cat. It was black. The cat was in a container that was held together with twisty ties from a bread container. The cat became terrified in the flight. The cat got loose. The cat ran all over the plane. It was awful. The woman and the cat sat right in front of me and to the left on the other side of the aisle. At first, after the cat escaped, she didn't even tell the flight attendant. The cat was finally captured. The flight attendant was very kind and helpful. I couldn't even believe it was happening. I wish she'd had a sturdy stroller.

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  10. Oh, Lord! I have yet to experience this ... but I'm sure my time will come!

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  11. Yet another reason to hate flying ... hope and trust you made it home safe and sound.

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  12. OMG! Those pet strollers are so strange! Whatever happened to exercising your dog and playing with it at home? And leaving it home when you go out? We have a neighbor who has never walked her little (smelly, snippy) dog. When a pet-sitter tried to walk it, the dog just lay down on the sidewalk and refused to move, insisting on being carried. Once, years ago, we got the foolish notion to leash train our twin cats Timmy and Gus who were and are very sociable. What a scene. They dug trenches in our front yard as we tried to lead them on the leash. End of trial. As much as I love the four cats we have now (which include the now geriatric Gus), I wouldn't dream of taking them anywhere on a whim, either to a mall or on a trip. I don't assume that others find them nearly as enjoyable as we do. What are these people who take their pets on planes (and expect priority boarding) thinking?

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  13. Ouch! Waiting and not making connections, and arriving late at your destination, oh my! Glad to know that you are not losing your keen observational skills.

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  14. I've traveled internationally with my dog before because I was relocated and didn't have anyone to leave him with. There were so many regulations, customs, airline rules etc. and it also cost an arm and a leg too. The carrier had to be a certain size, I couldn't just bring anything since it had to be able to fit under the seat and I wasn't allowed to take the dog out of the carrier at any circumstances during the entire flight unless it was a service animal and my dog was not. My dog didn't make a sound for the whole time since he was already crate trained and tired too. We didn't get a priority boarding but I remember how hard it was going through all the aisles, people jumping in front of us and pushing on my bag...so while I understand how silly it looks to carry a pet on an airplane with you, now I also see the other side of the story.

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