Thought Repository

Airport Dating Service


Ok, it's been a while. Let's recap. My first week of break I was at home, it was good, I got a lot of good Hanukah/Xmas gifts. On my way back this past Monday, USAir lost my luggage. Now let me rant about this for a minute.

I guess USAir is in some pretty serious trouble. They have been screwing people over left and right this holiday season. If I were flying with a connection I might understand but I how do you lose a bag on a short direct flight from Manchester to Pittsburgh? I mean that plane only fits about 60 people, so how do you not notice that half the bags are missing? I really wish they could have at least told me that many bags were misplaced when I got there. Instead I waited an hour and a half at the baggage claim before the flight finally dissappeared from the board. In the middle someone from the airline came over and asked if anyone was from our flight. She said she was checking on it but then she ran off and never came back. Finally I went to the baggage office where they said it would be in on a flight later that night and would be delivered Tuesday morning. Next to the baggage office was a closed down baggage carosel with the whole area filled with bags that must have come in later than their owners. Someone in line suggested it was like a Yankee Swap, we had donated a bag and we could go and take a bag. I had already missed 4 busses.

It did not get delivered Tuesday, or Wednesday. I did finally get it on Thursday. However their customer service sucks. On the web all they have is a form that they are suppose to email you in response to and they don't. If you call you cannot talk to a person. You can talk to a computer but all he could tell me was that my bag "had not yet been located". Hearing that for 3 days is very frustrating, as it tells me nothing. Furthermore that computer has hours, why is a computer not 24/7? If you even manage to find an option that could possibly lead to a person, they are probably busy, and it doesn't put you on hold. If they are busy it tells you to try back later and hangs up on you! I was just about ready to go down to the airport and demand action or information in person but then it arrived. Meanwhile my cell phone was dead because my bag had the charger, so I had no phone.

Anyway, while waiting at the airport so long it almost felt I should have driven, I had an idea. People are always waiting around in airports. Occasionally you speak to them, if you're in line for somewhere the airports screw you, or if you're sitting next to them for a whole plane flight. But who you get to talk to is essentially random. I believe that someone should start the Airport Dating Serive. Not neccessarily for actual dating unless that is what you are interested, but a service that matches people and encourages them to talk. I really like meeting people in airports, and it would pass the time. Figure out who should sit next to whom on the airplane for interesting conversation, or who might want to talk in the terminal while they are waiting. I'd pay for something that amuses me while I'm waiting, I already spend a small fortune on books from the airport bookstore for this purpose. Meeting real people instead I think would be great.

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