Greetings…

I’m at the airport waiting until the plane I will be going on to
Chicago arrives here in Phoenix from Los Angeles. Flyboy drove me
here and hung around a while to make sure I was getting on the
flight before leaving “just in case”. Flying standby is a condition
of flying free and although it can sometimes be a little rough on the
nerves when you are trying to get somewhere and you may or may not
have to go by way of Zambisia to get there…

With kids getting out of school, summer vacations starting and people
taking advantage of some great deals, this time of the year can be
a lesson in “creative flying”…

I always have a few back-up plans. St. Louis, Omaha, Kansas City,
and even Las vegas are cities I have gone through to get to Chicago.
A Non-revenue passenger is what we are called and I’m sure you can
tell by the name that non-revenue means non-paying…

Although it hasn’t happened to me, the worst case scenerio is to go
back home if you can’t get on a flight and start all over the next
day. As I said, that’s a rarity and traveling alone also gives you
an edge in getting a seat, especially if couples and families are
traveling and don’t want to be split up…

There are quite a few tips and tricks we use to get where we need
and want to go and just in case there are a few non-revs who work
for the same airline as Flyboy and don’t know a few of these tricks,
I’m keeping my mouth shuit to mnake sure they don’t learn anything that
could get me “bumped” off a flight…Hahahahaha

WHile “we” all love having the perk of free air travel and being the
spontaneous type that I am, last minute, no-planning flying is right
up my alley. However, if there is somewhere we absolutely HAVE to be
at a certain time, we buy tickets just like everyone else, we lose
luggage like everyone else, and we want to sit as far away from little
kids like everyone else too…

I mailed a box filled with my clothes and “Stuff” so I wouldn’t have to
lug it all over the place depending on how creative I had to be flying.
I have done this a few times and I have to admit, I like not having a
bag other than a little carryon to worry about…

Non-revers rarely check bags either because while we may start out
with the intention of flying nonstop to a destination, it doesn’t
always happen and not worrying about where we or our luggage is
going or ends up takes away a stress that we really don’t want or
need…

My sister will be picking me up and the person on the other end that
is waiting to pick up a non-rev are klept informed the whole way.
With the communication items available, you can call, text, tweet,
or Skype anyone to let them know the status of your travels…

I just heard from my sister as I’m typing this and I told her to
leave me alone, I was busy…

Then I realized her house is an hour away by car from the airport and
walking might take me a few days. I decided I better not push my luck
and called her back…

Have a great weekend everyone!