Just an FYI, if you're going to the Indianapolis Airport, it has moved.

Living in Cinci, I have never actually flown out of CVG - instead I mostly go out of IND. So last Monday our flight is supposed to leave at 7:15am. We leave the house around 4:15am and start the 2 hour drive - figuring we have time to burn since there is never traffic that early in the morning.

I know the way (mostly), but print directions from maps.google.com just to be safe.

Well... I get off exit 11B around 6:10 and drive around, a bit confused, everything looked abandoned. After about 10 minutes of saying "shit.... none of this looks right..." I go to a gas station and they tell me I'm at the "old airport".

So in a bit of a frenzy, I backtrack to the "new airport" and get to long term parking. The shuttle to the terminal takes FOREVER. We finally get to the desk about 6:55 and they tell me the plane is packed so we can't check luggage. Hindsight, I would have just driven to the terminal and checked the bags and then parked. We might have made it.

Sucks... first time I've ever missed a flight. Freaked me out a bit - I didn't know if they would stick it to me or what since it was an "internet fare", but they rebooked us and we got there about 8 hours later.

Either way - lesson of the day: always do a reality check on your airport. Sometimes they move.

What's wrong with CVG? Just get bad rates? I have flown a lot in and out of Columbus, seems like that would be closer than Indy. Shoot... even Dayton has good rates from time to time.

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CVG generally has crappy rates. There are a few times it is better, but rarely (like flying to Hawaii from CVG is a great rate often).

I prefer to go out of Columbus, it is about 30 minutes closer. Dayton is about 45 minutes closer. For example, Vegas out of Columbus on Southwest is usually very competitive with AirTran out of Indy... just depends. In general, I only fly non-stop if at all possible (and within reason). That is, I would rather drive an extra 45-60 minutes to IND for a non-stop flight than drive to DAY and risk missing a transfer or something. If you've ever had a transfer missed, you totally get me, heh. The meal vochure doesn't compensate for dicking off in the airport for 5 hours.

And WOW - just checked - prices have really changed since I booked this.
Holy cow, they've REALLY dropped.

For example - flying from IND to Orlando (MCO) for say Jan11-Jan14.
Air Tran offers non-stop both ways for $182. You can get it down to $169 if you're willing to make a stop outbound, but risking a transfer and taking 3-4 hours longer to save $13 is silly.

I just looked up DAY/CMH/CVG... you can go from DAY to MCO non-stop for only $185. If that price was available in September, I would have booked it, heh. Southwest out of CMH non-stop is pretty good too $212.

I am fairly certain prices were much higher in September before the fuel crash. But even now, CVG is the most expensive and least convenient. CVG prices start at $209 and none are non-stop. For example, cheapest out of CVG is US Air, leave at 6:40am, arrive 11:12am. So for 2 of us, we save $40 and don't mess with changing planes and spend less net travel time.

Anyhoo... travel is fun.

I've never missed a flight, but I can imagine how fucking freaked out I'd be. Closest I came was I got off a plane in ...jeez I'm not sure where, maybe Chicago or NY... when it was a 'stop over' not a 'lay over'...difference being I shouldn't have gotten off the plane. The airport was closed where my plane was waiting, and fortunately one of the flight attendants thought I MIGHT be a minor (I was 15 or 16). A security guard had to frisk me down (and spent an uncomfortable amount of time on my underwire bra : () before they could let me back into the closed terminal and back on the plane. They had moved all my stuff to first class, and I got yelled at by the security people, the flight attendant AND the pilot...cause they had to wait for me.

Honestly though in the short period of time I thought I had missed the flight, I thought about hiring a cab to get me to Philly. Because teenagers are that fucking dumb. Calling family? Nooo I'll just handle it myself! Of course I also had no idea of the distance involved since no matter where the airport was, it was not at all close to Philly. And it was Xmas time.

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I haven't yet met anyone that beats my bad airport story. Keep in mind this is before 9/11, and I'm shortening it because I don't feel like typing.

I was going from San Fran to Indy, with a stop in Minneapolis. San Fran to MN was fine, till we got there. There was a large storm system going through with tornados, so we circled above it until we ran short on fuel. Then we turned around and went back to Fargo, ND to refuel.

In Fargo, the runway could take us, but they had no way to get us off the plane because the plane was too big for the airport. So, we stayed on board... for 6 hours along with tons of other planes just sitting out. They turned off the air conditioning and electrical in general to save on gas I guess, and we just sat there with a baby crying and people bitching to the attendants (who could do nothing and were stuck with us /shrug).

After 6 hours, we took off again and landed in Minneapolis, at about midnight. Of course my connecting flight was long since cancelled, so I had to stay the night-- along with everyone else. I called a 1-800 number they gave us to find a hotel, and paid for a room (they didn't offer money), but I did get them to give me a travel voucher to get to it via cab. Because everything was booked up, my hotel was a 30 minute cab ride each way.

So, I get in the cab, say, "Holiday Inn, North" just like I was told to say... and the cab driver took me to some other Holiday Inn. I didn't know any better, so I got out, gave him my voucher, and he took off. Got in the hotel and of course they are full and my hotel is 45 minutes in another direction. I have them check every hotel within sight of this one-- no rooms anywhere. It's now 1 am.

I decide to just call the cab company back and go to my original hotel. I should back up and point out that I had two possibilities to fly out to Indy the next morning-- 7 am and 1 pm. I figured I would just sleep in and take the afternoon one, since I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere.

Weeeelllll... the cab driver never came. The hotel called ever 15 minutes-- for about 3 hours. No one came to get me. I sat in the lobby staring at a TV. At about 4 am I was like "fuck it" and decided I might as well just take the 7 am flight if I can ever get a cab company to come and get me. So we called back and asked for a cab to the airport-- and what do you know? Cab driver is there in 10 minutes. I was pissed about that, but what could I do?

So we go to the airport-- it's almost 5 now and the flight goes at 7 am. I haven't slept now for 24 hours. I make sure I have a ticket for the 7 am flight, and lay down to sleep a few minutes in front of the gate. I ask the attendant to wake me if it looks like I'm going to miss the flight.

So she does-- and I'm in a huge hurry because I was awakened at the final boarding. I grab my ticket from the lady, give it to the other one to board, and they rush me on the plane. It's only after I get on the plane and it has taken off that I notice that the ticket wasn't in my name-- it had my last name but someone else's first name. I figured this sucks for the poor guy standing in the airport waiting for a ride, so when I get to Indy I go up to the ticket counter and show them the ticket. I explain that there must be someone in Minnesota freaking out right now because he no longer has a ticket.

Apparently this was a mistake. They assumed that I had somehow stolen the ticket (even though *I* came to *them*), and held me to question me. They would not let me go until they woke up the attendant in Minnesota to verify my story-- almost 3 hours later. They wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom.

At about noon they let me go, and my ride (who I never got a hold of to tell that I was on the earlier flight) was due to pick me up at 3 pm. So-- I sat in the airport there for three hours. My ride almost missed me-- due to poor communication we didn't meet up, and he couldn't find me for another 30ish minutes.

So there you go. A long and exhausting ride, and one I don't ever want to do again.

Wow... that's a good one... err bad one
I've missed connections before, but usually results in just a few hours here/there.

That is the worst airport story I've ever heard, jesus Frib.

Only thing that could have made it worst was if you were a smoker stuck on the tarmac. They do that to my mother all the time, and she's still a smoker and it drives her batshit. (Though she's never been stuck with all the rest, ugh!)

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