This was a very traumatic week for both SMART and I, that was made none the easier by Delta Airlines. When SMART heard several weeks ago that I was going to Clearwater Beach, FL for an East Division – Southern Region meeting he said ‘Me too, me too!” Then, to my complete surprise, SMART said that he did not want to drive, he wanted to fly.
I explained to the little fellow that with the changes in air travel security since 9-11, and now with sky rocketing price of crude oil negatively impacting the airlines profits to the point that they were adding multiple fees to the cost of a ticket, that it might not be possible for him to take his first flight in one of those big ‘iron birds’, but, that I would try to make it happen.
Immediately, I phoned US Airways to inquire as to how I could best get a SMART Car on flight from Charlotte to Tampa. After punching thirteen buttons as requested to do by the automated phone attendant, and then being placed on hold for a period of time that did not end, I hung up and called Delta.
My first impulse was to take the cheap route and avoid purchasing a full fare ticket for SMART. I inquired of Delta’s carry on policy on SMART Cars. They said that they did not have any specific policy, and that I could carry on SMART, but that he would still have to fit in the overhead storage bins. Nope, not a possibility. SMART wanted his own seat.
I then asked the Customer Service Agent about the possibility of purchasing a child’s priced coach ticket for SMART. She responded that it might be possible, but that she would first need to see a photo of a SMART Car. She gave me her email address, and I immediately sent one of SMART’s better infant photos. Ten seconds later the agent got the photo, and I got the answer that I did not want to hear. Delta would allow me to purchase a child’s ticket for SMART, because he was younger than a year old, but because he was a two seat vehicle, I would need to buy two tickets. Nope, I was not going to shell out that kind of money.
My next option was to check SMART as a piece of luggage. The agent said that I could check SMART, but there would be a service charge of $10.00 for every hundred pounds over seventy-five pounds. SMART grimaced when he heard this, but he sucked it up, and said that he would be good for the additional cost of my ticket. SMART is a penny pincher, that is obvious, so he immediately drove off to the nearest CAT Scale he could find to get his weight. He wanted to know his costs. At 2,315 pounds his part of my ticket would cost $244.00.
Fast forwarding, the real tragedy of this story is Delta lost my luggage. They think SMART is in Atlanta, but that is not a certainty. I hope this saga does not end in a R.I.P.
