Solutions To Flight Delays – Who’s To Blame!

The plane touches down three hours late and you taxi towards your gate. The tension rises in the plane, the delay disrupts everyones day and it is written on everyones face. The few people who have yet to miss their connecting flights yet, they were awarded with exit priority and rushed to the front of the plane.

A man makes his way to the front of the plane and nudges you, “excuse me, I have a connecting flight to make”. This type of superiority should be scoffed at, because at that time you are 100% convinced that your now scrambled business affairs should be considered of much higher importance than the people seating behind you in economy. It is at this exact moment that you consider creating your own fictitious connecting flight, in hopes that you too can get off this plane in a hasty fashion.

I mean, how could some poorly dressed middle aged man have priority over you? You paid good money to be sit in business class and expect that royal treatment. To think that people who have more important issues to face in life today are sitting in economy seating makes no sense to you. Therefore it can be simply implied that you are taking the biggest loss of the day due to this disruption. It crosses your mind to lash out and say something condescending to the stewardess in retaliation of your loss but you then remember that it might be in your best interest to resume the role of upstanding business man to show composure and grace to your business associate seated beside you in row 1. Your abrupt reaction might reveal your true hostile colours and entitlement so you keep your mouth zipped shut to avoid any loss of future business. Your pride will be pushed deep within for the next few minutes as you patiently wait for the priority passengers to disembark.

What seems to be a patient face is really just you formulating a plot let United Airlines know how hard done you were from this flight delay and expect massive compensation for your loss of time. You will be be bee-lining it to the customer relations desk in a fury the second you get off this catastrophe of a flight.

As you approach the desk you notice the customer service agents does a double take at you, and then almost puts her hands up in surrender with a flirtatious smile. You know before any words are exchanged that your bespoken freshly pressed suit and charming hairline is far too much for her to take in today. She is smitten for you, and you plane on using this to your sweet sweet advantage today. This vision of ‘check-mate’ brings forth some relief to your frustration for the day, but you crave more attention and compensation for the charged thoughts of anger that you have been stewing in for the last few hours.

Being the self acknowledged prick that you are, you may or may not have neglected the small fact that the other 300 passengers on the plane had brilliant plans for their day as well. But being all consumed in self you would never consider their potential and value of time. The notion that someone on this plane seated in economy who in reality holds more status and worth than yourself almost blows your mind.

Then something drastic happened as your glance crosses the row behind you, you see a young mother caring for her new born child and a flick is switched in your brain. Thoughts of compassion for the rest being to flow in, and a slight apprehensive guilt fills your heart. Could the you meetings you missed today not be rescheduled for tomorrow? Did you not get the opportunity to meet a strong business contact and potential client on this flight? Is it at all possible that the rest of the people on plane had just as important stories of frustration and loss floating through their heads?

We all come face to face with situations in life that seem to slap us directly in the face, but rarely is this the reality. The sting we feel from reacting to the problem is what hurts, and that is a choice we have 100% control over. Life throws us off balance for a day or two and then we create an emergency that needs the utmost attention to solve; or life bumps you off balance and you chose to move with it, acknowledging the non-permenance of it all and moving forward. No one else or their problems seem to matter at this junction and we separate ourselves from reality in a self centeredness.

Was the situation to blame for your feelings of loss and frustration, or was the choice of holding a negative attitude and perception to blame?

Life happens, but you don’t need to buy into the battle anymore!