Normally, being delayed for two-and-a-half hours would create a disturbance in the force and produce great vexation. But not today.
My flight to Dallas was delayed because the plane that was supposed to take me to Dallas was still in Miami when it should have been here in Boston. Whether American Airlines possesses even one extra plane in the event of this contingency remains inconclusive.
As I was gazing sadly at the waiting areas in front of the gate, trying to figure out what the least worst alternative was between sitting near the Desperate Housewives of Suburban Texas or sitting across from an exhausted mother carting somewhere between five and seven children (they were moving too fast for me to keep an accurate count), I noticed one of those airline lounges behind crystal doors.
And then I remembered I have an American Express credit card.
Holy Jebus. Would that work?
I walked in and presented my credit card to the receptionist. She took one look at it and asked if I was flying American. I said I was. And she said welcome, sir, and, like Homer Simpson before me, it was the first time someone called me "sir" without adding "you're making a scene."
And then it hit me.
OH MY GOD I'M IN.
Not only was I in, I was in the inner circle. The receptionist took one look at my ticket, saw that I was sitting in a middle row near the bathroom at the back of the plane, and immediately upgraded me at no cost to a more respectable aisle seat on an emergency exit row.
Still stunned by the good fortune of possessing a credit card that not only charges me hundreds of dollars each year for the benefit of a moderate APR, but that also grants me access to the most privileged areas of our nation's airports, I strolled into the Airline lounge.
Lo and behold. Free cookies. Free drinks. Comfortable sofas. Free cookies. Clean, public computers. Easily accessible power outlets. TVs tuned not to FoxNews, but to ESPN. Lounge chairs. A full bar. Free cookies.
And, best of all?
NO CHILDREN.
As far as the eye could see, the lounge was populated entirely with business travelers. No kids. No babies. No strollers. Nothing. Just business travelers who don't only look as if they have no children, but who look like they would never even entertain the option in the first place. I felt right at home.
I smiled, unslung my bag (which they checked. NO MORE SCHLEPPING), and heaved a sigh of relief. Then I walked to the bar. Beer before noon? Why the heck not?
Bliss was it in that afternoon to be alive, but to be in that airport lounge was very heaven.
1 comment:
1. Be careful, sometimes they'll charge your card later ($27) for the visit. I learned that the hard way.
2. Since I'm assuming you have Plat AmEx, you can also sign up free for the Priority Pass program that gets you into more lounges than your AmEx alone.
3. I was once at O'Hare and went into the Red Carpet Club there... only to find many screaming running children inside. THE WORST. That's why I go to the lounges - to get away from the misbehaving children - and I couldn't believe they had let them in. You're def lucky you had such a good experience :)
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