Travel Cutie

To be (bumped) or not to be (bumped)? And if it were up to me, the answer would be YES, with glee, bump me, please! It’s so much fun and it hasn’t happened to me in quite a while…

I came across this post https://renespoints.boardingarea.com/2019/12/19/my-tips-on-volunteering-to-receive-bumps recently and it explains nicely how bumping works, and there are some great examples, too.

Of course, I have a couple of my own good stories, as well. Like the time (more than 20 years ago) that I got bumped from a flight going from Boston to Amsterdam, where I would then connect to Paris. I was travelling alone, with carry-on luggage only, and volunteered to be bumped, upon check-in, but was told by Northwest Airlines (HOW I MISS THEM!) that they didn’t need me.

I took my seat, began to read, and also to sweat; this plane was uncomfortably hot. Then the child seated directly in back of me began vigorously kicking the seat in front of him- which was MY SEAT, and his mother didn’t even say a word to him. I was so glum; this would be a long flight I realized…

Then, magically, a flight attendant appeared by my side, like a genie out of a bottle, and she asked me if I was still willing to give up my seat. Was I dreaming? Oh, was I ever ready to give up my seat! And she whisked me and my carry-on bag briskly over to a flight leaving immediately for London Heathrow, where I would then re-connect to Paris. Ironically, I landed in Paris 45 minutes EARLIER than I would have if I had stayed on my original flight, and I was also $400 richer, and not even with a travel voucher, but a bank check, yup, that’s right, good old-fashioned money, honey. THAT was a good bump.

Then there was the time that I was standing in line in CDG Airport in Paris when an Air France rep asked me if I would be willing to volunteer to give up my seat on my flight from Paris to Boston. She explained that with the new EU rules, if they ended up not needing me, I would still receive 300 euros, just for being so kind a passenger as to offer to give up my seat if it were needed. Mais oui was my immediate response! But you already knew that, didn’t you? And as it turned out, they didn’t need me, I got home on time, and with 300 euros filling my pocket. La vie est belle, n’est-ce pas?

I do have more bump stories, and hopefully I’ll find a few moments to share them with you. In the meantime, safe and happy travels to you and yours.