Back in Charlotte - Part 1

We made it back home on schedule, more or less. Our flight from Frankfurt to Philly when off fine. Getting to the flight could have gone better. We had to get up before 5 am Germany time to catch the 6 am train. It had rained the night before so we were worried about having to schlep to the station in the rain, but the rain stopped for us.

We made it to the airport in Frankfurt and the US Airways counter at about 7:30 for our 11:20 flight. It is way early but it is better than being a little too late. The first confusion was US Air. They had the sighs up for each of their morning flights (Charlotte, Philly, and Pittsburg). We start by gathering at our sign. Five minutes later a US Air employee tells us to form one line and that they would open the counter at 8:00. At 8 another employee came over and spoke to us like we were idiots and made us form three lines at the signs. Sheeze.

We got through the 2 US Air desks and head off to security. At least we no longer have our huge bags. We go through the most intense security screening that I have ever been through. They were searching everyone more than the high intensity searches you 'randomly' get in US airports. Once we are done with than we are heading to gate and hit another security screening. This station has a big sign for our gate right over the x-ray machine. So we stand in that line and get searched again. Once we are through this screening we notice that we didn't need to go through that search, the sigh that is only visible once you get through shows that our gate was down the side of this search.

Then we arrive at the gate area and the waiting area is closed. After an hour in the other gate's waiting area, ours opens up. There is more insanity when they start to load our plane. We are loading my group and we are in group 2. Often US Air will load groups 1 and 2 together. I see the gate agent say something into the phone and the people grouped at the gate move to get on the plane, so I get Mrs. K and myself up there. She then tells me that she is only loading group 1. I notice that there are a lot of people with lower group numbers doing the same thing. She is acting like we are idiots. As it turns out, her intercom for announcements is not working and only those grouped around the gate can hear her.

We get on the plane and everything goes well on the flight. I do like traveling with my wife. I hate having strangers, many of whom are way too big for the seats, to be next to me, elbowing me, spreading out into my space, and generally making the trip torture. That doesn't happen with my wife next to me. My only compliant was the guy in front of me. He only knew how to lean the seat back. Forward was beyond him. When he ate, he leaned forward and left the back reclined. When he went to the lav he left the seat reclined. Folks, this is a seriously rude move. A little consideration is all it takes to aviod this behavior.

We arrive in Philly just fine.

(Continued tomorrow)