A Layover in Charlotte, North Carolina

Greeting from the friendly skies... or maybe that is the slogan for a different airline.

The journey begins

Be that as it may, I am winging my way to Charlotte, NC. Not too extraordinary in my pre-VIP life, but sort of impressive now, especially since I am traveling alone.

Ok, so maybe not so impressive. So far, the trip has been a non-event. The angst and turmoil I imagined have not yet happened. My husband dropped me off at our small regional airport. I walked in, checked my bag and asked for directions to my gate. Gate 5. I had signed up for pre-flight text messages, so I already knew where I was supposed to be going.

Helpful and friendly

When I got to the section where all of the gates were, I asked again. The guard was extremely solicitous.

Everyone has been very nice. It really is amazing how effective the phrase “Excuse me, I am legally blind, can you help me?” can be. Really. People want to be helpful. If I had known the attention you could get traveling “blind,” I would have gone blind years ago! 😳 No, not really, but I have to admit, the care and concern are nice.

Early boarding

The attendants checking me in asked if I wanted to board early. I thought that might have been milking things a little too much. It would have been nice having help finding my seat, though. I thought the aisle numbers were a little small. It did work out, though. When you are in someone else’s seat, they tell you... nicely.

Special service requests

The airline sent me two emails confirming my special service request. Charlotte is a hub and pretty big. I would not want to navigate it on my own. I have been assured there will be someone waiting for me at the gate when we land in Charlotte. If they are not there, I am supposed to ask. I can do that.

So far, so good. We have about another hour until we land. I will pick this up after I am “collected” in Charlotte.

A glitch

2:30 PM

Uh oh. I just caused a glitch. There were people at the gate with wheelchairs. According to the people at the gate, Charlotte does not have those beep-beep-beep cars. They send wheelchairs.

I am not riding in a wheelchair. The man at the gate tried to be, let us say, delicate. The best way for me to get there would be being pushed in a chair.

Uh, nope.

A compromise

So we compromised. A flight attendant had to get to an A concourse gate ASAP. My gate was B5 (not 85 like I thought). She would point out my concourse if I could keep up. Deal.

And that is why I found myself race walking behind a flight attendant across the Charlotte airport. Got my exercise for the day!

We all know I am stubborn. Really stubborn. The plan would have worked had I been willing to go along with a wheelchair ride. The fault was not with the airline. If you are willing to take a wheelchair ride, they will accommodate you. All told, this adventure is turning out just fine.