"Once I got there"? Here's the story. I'm on a 6:30 AM flight from Sacramento to Portland, which gives me plenty of time to take public transportation to the hotel. It's just a MAX Line (Light Rail) ride away.
I walk into the airport and go to the Alaska kiosk to check in. It won't take my reservation number. I try my last name, that doesn't work. That's odd, I think, must be a problem with the kiosks. I look at the flight listing board and see that it says my 6:30 AM flight to Portland is ON TIME. While I'm watching the board, the flight status changes to CANCELLED.
Oh, crap. I get in line and while in line, call Southwest and ask "Do you have anything going from Sacramento to Portland now?" They have an 8:30 flight, so I get a reservation.
At the Alaska desk, the Alaska rep says "We had a mechanical problem, but we can put you on the flight through Seattle which leaves at 7:00 AM and arrives in Portland at noon." My writing workshop session at Potlatch is from 10-12, so that won't work. I ask about putting me on the Southwest flight and he says "let me see what I can do" and goes to talk to the manager.
Thankfully, they will pay for my Southwest flight. I get a voucher from the rep. All around me, people are virtually screaming at the Alaska people about the delay and the Alaska reps are totally stressed out. Not a job you want.
I dash over to Southwest (in the other terminal), check in and go get breakfast. I get online (thank goodness Sacramento now has free wireless Internet) and send email to all the emails I can find associated with Potlatch and the writing workshop saying "flight cancelled, arriving Portland at 10AM, will get there ASAP."
Everything else goes smooth, I hit PDX at 10AM, jump on the MAX light rail, jump off at the stop, find the hotel, dash upstairs to the hospitality suite, find out where writing workshop is, dash into the room and arrive at 10:45 AM. Pretty good, all things considered.
(Workshop experience in Part 2 of Potlatch post.)
