Have you ever been running so late that you’ve missed your flight? I cut it very close the other day on the United Airlines 6:35pm departure from Newark to Milan. I wasn’t able to complete online check in because I was randomly asked to have a United Airlines ticket agent double check my passport before issuing my boarding pass.  I got into a cab at 5:05pm – the middle of rush hour – and didn’t make it to Newark until 6:10pm, well past the one-hour-before-departure cut off for international check in.  If I had my boarding pass it would have been plenty of time.  But I still had to check in, so I quickly scanned the ticket agent faces and looked for someone who seemed friendly and potentially sympathetic.  I found one and politely asked her if there was any way that she could get me onto the flight to Milan.  She initially, with a lot of regret in her voice, said no, but then I asked the magic question which had me sitting on the plane 10 minutes later:

“Could you call the gate and ask them if they will accept a late arriving passenger?”

With that, she called the gate, chatted for a few moments, then checked me in and printed my boarding pass.  Thankfully, I have TSA Pre-Check and there was no line for security.  Plus, I get to leave my belt and shoes on and all of my possessions in my bag, even laptops and liquids.  The plane door closed and we departed a few moments after I sat down and I admit, I was very lucky.  Had I missed the flight, United would not have been obligated to do anything for me, however, as a courtesy they will usually try and figure out how to get you to your destination.  I had a few ideas for Plan B if I didn’t make it:

• Apologize, apologize, apologize: when it comes to airlines, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar.
• Ask to be routed to another city (and/or take a connecting flight): evening flights to Europe from New York are a dime a dozen so I would have asked to go to London, Paris, Rome, or Frankfurt and then onward to Milan.
• Buy a new ticket: walking up and buying a new ticket would have been insanely expensive but it’s always an option, as is the more cost-conscious choice to redeem miles to get to your destination.

Also, don’t plan on keeping your original seat.  Since I missed the check in cut off time 1 hour before departure, my seat could be – and was – given to someone else.  I ended up in a middle seat for the 7 hour flight, but at the very least it was in Economy Plus, with extra legroom.

Have you ever missed a flight?  Did they get you to your destination?