Flying Standby

When we got our seat assignments to Paris

Flying stand by is such a guessing game. When I flew out to California my flights out went just as we planned. Charlottesville to Atlanta then to Sacramento.  Coming back was a whole different story. I got to the Sacramento Airport at 5:45 in the morning and didn't leave that airport till after 12:00 (lunch).  I had intended to take the same route back but was having no luck getting to Atlanta.  Eventually I made my way up to Seattle then to Atlanta then to Richmond where Mark picked me up during his planning time at school. On my flight to Seattle I got a seat in First class which was nice but funny too as it was the shortest of my flights.  I don't prefer to spend 6+ hours in an airport then 2+ more in another one but when you're by yourself and have good books to read its actually pretty pleasant.  I met some really nice, helpful standby travelers while waiting in airports out West.  They have been flying standby for years and happily helped me list myself on other flights and gave me tips.  Most people Mark and I talked to who fly standby or work/ed at airports told us there was no way we were going to get out of Charles De Gaulle when we wanted.  They were sure we would get bumped off the list or have to pay to get home. They all said it was really hard to get out of there and that the agents at the airport were quite unhelpful and gave preference to French travelers over others even if they weren't supposed to.  This admittedly made me really nervous but when you are flying standby you just have to be wiling to risk it! I would not describe myself as a risk taker or a spontaneous person who loves or seeks an adventure but flying standby will add more of that into my life for sure. I am however a fairly even tempered person and don't get mad too easily and fully believe that things will work out. I know I will always eventually find a way home. And fortunately for us we didn't have any of those things happen to us with this trip.

We really lucked out with our flights for our trip to Paris. We planned to take the direct flight from Raleigh to Paris leaving early evening Saturday and that is the one we took.  Having only one flight to make is really helpful when flying standby.  As much as we love the Charlottesville Airport for its size and convenience there aren't that many flights to places we want to go that are direct flights.   We tentatively planned to take the same flight back seeing as how we would need to get our car from there but made sure we knew our other options too.  Our whole trip got rearranged due to the Railway strikes in France and this ended up working in our favor as far as flights go (now if we can just get a refund from them for our unused tickets.) Originally we were going to fly out Saturday travel by train to Montpellier to see a friend of Mark's then take the train back to Paris on Wednesday and stay in Paris from Wednesday - Saturday.  When we read about the rail strike the article specifically said to not travel Tuesday and Wednesday by train. It also said that Air France (partners with Delta) was planning to strike on Saturday so some flights would be affected. Even if our flight wasn't strictly Air France preference would be given to those who were revenue customers over us to help with canceled flights.  So we ended up flying out Saturday as planned and then flying home Thursday.  We looked at all the lists the night before (Wednesday) and decided to switch from the Raleigh flight to one going to Detroit as it was a larger plane and had more open seats.  From Detroit we would take a flight to Raleigh all together to pick up our car then drive home or split up and have some take the flight to Richmond and some go to Raleigh.  The flight from Detroit went from being pretty open Wednesday night to really tight Thursday so when we got through security in Detroit (yes we had to go through security again even though we never left the terminal after our Paris Flight, maybe it was because it was an international flight?  It was annoying and unexpected for sure) and talked to the agent we listed Mark on the Raleigh flight and Lydia, Jared and I on the Richmond flight.  There were only 3 seats on the Raleigh flight so we were really nervous about picking up our car.  The Richmond flight was really open so we all got seats together in comfort class.  Jared even had the seat next to him empty.  We debated sending one child with Mark and one with me but because there was so much more space on the Richmond one the three of us went together.  We spent about 2.5 hours in the Richmond Airport waiting or Mark but it was fine.  We all got home on the day we wanted for free.

When thinking about this trip I was the most worried about getting out of Paris.  Mostly because of what everyone had told me.  I felt that if we could make it to the United States then we would be fine.  We were extra lucky for our flight from Paris in that we all got seats in Delta One, or First Class.  First Class on an international flight is amazing.  I admittedly can not think of many other times in my life when I have felt more out of place.  From the food (delicious!) to the real glasses and silverware? The cloth napkins?  Padded chairs that recline to be completely flat, pillows and down comforters, ice cream?  It was amazing.  Jared could not get over it.  He was in heaven.  It was a highlight of the trip for him.  We will have to remind him that not all flights are created equal and he is in no way entitled to first class every time we fly and that he needs to just be grateful when we make flights wherever our seats are.  On our flight to Paris we did not end up with seats together but the agent managed to get 2 together in the main cabin and 2 just one row apart in comfort class.  We had Jared sit in the row in front of Mark, the seat right in front of him in comfort class and Lydia and I sat together in the main cabin.  It worked out fine.  I was just so glad we all made it on the flight. I can't really imagine trying to get more than the 4 of us on a flight together but we know people who do.  I am so glad it worked out.  We had a great trip and Mark even managed to convince his Mom to use her flight benefits from him working and join us for part of the trip.  We were really nervous about sending her home on her own since Mark would be in the air and unable to help her with listings but she got on her direct flight to Salt Lake and got Delta One too.  We are so glad we could have this adventure and also so glad to be home and have a few days to readjust before normal life starts again. Mark of course can't wait to fly internationally again!

Charles De Gaulle Airport, ready to attempt to get home. 

Lydia's suitcase maneuvering skills were greatly enhanced from this trip.  

We love Delta One.