Missed Flights, Mom Travel Story & Standby Purgatory

Summer Camp Travel Fiasco, Part 1

As a mom travel story in the making, I’m sharing the raw reality of travel drama, from solo travel anxiety as a mom flying standby, with the full stress of traveling to pick up kids. This is summer camp parenting at its finest, with a full travel fiasco (or two) for good measure. And yes, this is a true story.

Mom Travel Story Begins: From Camp Drop-off to Airport Showdown

I’ve been sitting and begging at the airport for 3 solid hours. My heart is racing and I can feel a lump in my throat that my mind is battling. I’m trying to keep hope but it’s hard. This is the second flight for which I’ve been rolled over to the Charleston airport standby list.

I need to get on this plane because my daughter – who has been at gymnastics camp for the past 5 days – is waiting on the other end of my arrival.

Admittedly this was a close call. The drive to camp from home is 10 hrs, so flying makes the most sense. I dropped my daughter off at sleepaway gymnastics camp on a Sunday. To get her there, she and I travelled together, flying out of Charleston around 7am, arriving in Atlanta, then grabbing a connecting flight to our destination. Once there, we hopped in a rental car for the 1.5 hr drive to the camp’s location. It was a streamlined process, taking less than 30 mins to drop her off at gymnastics camp before I turned around and repeated the trip back home. By 11p, I was in Charleston, showered and back in my own bed while my daughter started her week at gymnastics camp.

Running on Fumes

Upon my return, the course of the week was exhausting. I cooked very little and made the fewest commitments possible. There was only 1 trip to the gym for my workout (instead of my usual 3) and lots of nodding off midday throughout the week. My garden was sadly neglected. Quite frankly, I don’t have the stamina I once had 10 yrs ago for an intense day of travel. It’s God’s blessing that my professional workload is light right now because I wouldn’t have been able to manage otherwise.

My in laws arrived 3 days later, late on a Wednesday evening. They graciously came to town to help me with our son given the return trip I’d need to take that Friday to pick up my daughter. Added bonus – they got to attend our son’s theater performance, signaling the end of a multi week camp. It was a production of Willy Wonka Jr, and he played dual roles of Candy Kid and Squirrel.  His roles were minor but he was fantastic.

Standby Stress: When Solo Travel and Motherhood Collide

The Early Morning Disaster

After the play, I climbed into bed early on Thursday night, well aware of my unfortunate plight to catch a 6:40am flight out of Charleston the following Friday morning. I had the timing all planned out and written down the night before, aware that my morning-time delirious mind often wreaks havoc by rethinking plans in moment. My goal: be out of the house by 5:10 at absolute latest, for the 20 min drive to airport. This would’ve worked – except I overslept, not fully awakening until 4:54am. Of course, once I realized the time, I bulleted through dressing and grabbing my day trip essentials – passport, phone charger, sunglasses for snoozing on the plane, and a notepad.

The drive to the airport was supercharged. I was fast but not reckless. My brain was entirely focused on the destination. I arrived at the Charleston airport and pulled into the daily parking lot, in my delirium forgetting that the economy parking lot, though more expensive, would’ve been closer to the terminals. 

I parked and power walked my way into the airport, politely racing past everyone in my path. I turned the corner and was shocked at the thick TSA line. Mind you, it wasn’t thick for a major hub like Atlanta, but it certainly had more folks than I anticipated, given that last week’s early morning flight had a near empty TSA line. Note to self – FINISH the second part of the TSA precheck process!!!

Probably took 15 minutes to get through TSA, but that was 15 minutes I couldn’t afford. As I raced up to my gate, they were letting the last 2 people on the plane. I later realized the airline marked me as a no-show, and had given my seat away to one of those 2 people. This is definitely on the “real travel nightmare” list.

Heart Racing, Hope Fading: A Family Travel Blog Moment

Reality Sets In

There was no negotiating. There was no upgrade that I could buy, no nothing that I could do to get onto that plane. There was no other plane departing shortly from another airline. There was nothing available to a nearby city. The only option was to standby on the next flight, on the same airline, from the same terminal.

Yet, I’m not crying. I haven’t lost hope. There’s no airport emotional breakdown over here. Instead, I’m wracking my brain for other options that the trained Delta employees have not offered or identified. After all, I’ve been solving problems for businesses for over 20 years as a management consultant. I used to travel hardcore for work and I knew the ins and outs.

But there were 2 big problems over which I had control or workaround: (1) these flights are oversold, and (2) I’m flying out of a smaller hub. The options for getting out of Charleston are super tight, which means that there were no solutions available to me except the dreaded standby list. 

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t the time or patience for the standby list. When I go to the airport, I need as much certainty as possible around my travel plans. When it comes to picking up a kid, certainty is an absolute requirement.

Worn Down by Delay

I’ve already emailed the camp administrative team that I’m experiencing flight delays and will be late to pick up. They were understanding and accommodating, which I appreciate to no end. 

And of course my kid has now called me twice from the camp community phone. She is exhausted. Though her voice is calm, I can tell she is simply beside herself, ready to leave. And I can’t blame her. She’s been doing gymnastics for 6 hours each day for the past 5 days. Tired is an understatement. I feel so terribly for her and so irritated with myself for not being able to make the original flight.

While I’m waiting for the next update from the ground in Charleston, I head to grab a bite to go and hit the bathroom to fight the beginning of my tears. I’m not going to cry. Promise. Not yet at least.

The Real Cost of Overbooking

Ok. One or two big tears have escaped. Don’t get it twisted – I’m not sad. I’m horribly frustrated and angered. I’ve learned my original, 6:40am flight departed earlier than the indicated time. I’m also now fully realizing that every single flight is oversold. They want a butt in every seat and while I understand that from a business perspective, it creates a huge unfortunate loophole from a customer experience perspective. It feels like I will never get out of Charleston, and never get to my child.

And no, I didn’t make the standby flight.

The next round of the standby list is also challenging. I’ve learned that I’m second up but of course I move down the list if anyone with priority status comes along. The gate agent starts asking for volunteers to take $1,000/each for giving up their seats. I’m elated at the thought of someone leaving the plane and creating space for me but that elation quickly dissipates. I’m not sure if those volunteers actually get that money since – 20 minutes later – they are informed their spots are no longer needed (but thank you for your willingness).

…stay tuned to part 2 of this saga, releasing Wednesday next week. Oh my, it gets worse.