How to Miss Your Flight in Three Easy Steps

Remember that trip we took to Seattle in August? Well, it turns out that it wasn’t all fun and games. Nope. There were a few stressful moments.

Like when our tire blew out on the way to the hotel.

Or, when the taxi we’d arranged to pick us up arrived a half an hour early and we weren’t ready to leave for our flight.

Or when we scrambled to get to the airport at 5:00 in the morning only to find out our flight was canceled and we didn’t fly out until 10:30 instead of 6:30.

Or when our taxi didn’t show up at all to take us to the cruise port and we were stranded in Downtown Seattle with all of our luggage.

Or when we could not find a cab when we were stranded.

Or when I called a cab company and they sent a cab for one person and we have five. 

Or when we were so fed up with cabs after the cruise that we decided to walk from the airport to our hotel with our stuffed luggage and it was a wee bit further than we had anticipated. 

Ughh. I think you get the picture, don’t you?

All of those little events were a bit taxing- some more than others- but none of them were as tense as when we arrived at the airport kiosk, punched in our information and read that our flight had already departed. We had actually MISSED our flight home, back to Ohio. 

And you know what was more stressful than that realization? When I realized that MY HUSBAND realized that we had missed our flight AND that it was MY FAULT.

At this point, you may be wondering how one goes about actually missing a flight. Turns out, it doesn’t take much effort.  I’ll even tell you step-by-step what you need to know incase you ever decide that your family vacation just wasn’t nerve-wracking enough, and you need a bit more excitement thrown in.  Are you with me?

#1 Book your flight through your favorite carrier and whatever you do, DO NOT print a copy of your itinerary. 

#2  Glance through your departure times once and convince yourself that your brain is like the safe at Fort Knox and allows nothing to escape. Even if you’re the type of person that forgets where they placed their car keys five minutes after stepping inside the door.

#3  When you suddenly wake up from a sound sleep, the night before your flight, and you have a nagging feeling that you should double check your travel plans, ignore it and go back to sleep.  After all, what’s the worst that can happen? 

All kidding aside, I certainly never intended to purposely miss our flight. I was horrified when I realized that we were actually supposed to be landing at 9:30 a.m. in San Diego and NOT departing from Seattle at that same time! I nearly vomited.

Thankfully, United Airlines, was most understanding and accommodating. They even waived the fees that could have been up to $150 per person to make changes to our flight plans. I’m truly grateful to them. However, we were assured that if this ever happens again- we will be charged.

So, heed my warning and make sure you check and double check those flight times on your next vacation!

What is the most stressful moment you’ve ever experienced on a vacation?