Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Saved by the "Flat Tire" Rule

I just learned about a new thing today called the "Flat Tire" rule.
David is supposed to go to NY for business today. He is going to stay overnight and come back tomorrow around lunchtime. Well, his flight was out of a city a little over an hour away, and he had to leave by 4am to get to the airport on time. We were both up late. He was out meeting with some of his business partners, and I was at home catching up on Facebook and being a domestic goddess :) doing laundry, dishes etc. - getting ready for us to go to the beach - YAY!
Anyway, he was just going to take a nap for a few hours before he had to leave. I thought for sure I'd wake up when his alarm went off and say bye to him when he left, but I never heard the alarm, and apparently neither did he (or it just didn't go off - not sure what happened). I woke up a little before 7am and rolled over remembering that I would have the whole bed to myself this morning. But when I started to stretch my legs over to his side, I kicked him. What?!? He's not suppsosed to be here now! I said, "David! You never left!!" He got up so quickly and started calling the airline becuase there was no way he could make the flight - it was leaving in 5 minutes in a completely different city. The airline told him he would have to buy a new ticket and pay a change fee plus the difference in the cost of the tickets. I knew that there had to be another way. So I stayed in bed praying that God would make a way, and he came back in to tell me that he was just going to go there and try to fly standby. I told him that was the best idea and that I knew it would all work out.
Anyway, a few hours later I got a text from him saying he was saved by the "flat tire" rule. I misunderstood and thought he had gotten a flat tire too! OH NO! But thank goodness he hadn't. He said he would explain later, but instead I did some research online and found out that the "flat tire" rule is an unofficial rule that has been used by airlines for a long time. Many airlines are trying to get rid of that rule that says they will put you on the next available flight at no extra charge if you miss your flight due to circumstances out of your control, such as a flat tire. However, since the rule is unofficial, it is mostly up to the discretion of the airline ticket person (that's the technical term :)
So because we have God's favor, he received the mercy of the ticket person and was saved by the "flat tire" rule.
Right now he is already in Philly and should be leaving in a couple of hours for NY. So it all worked out very well in the end - I knew it would.

1 comment:

Ben & Jenny said...

hey sherry! love the new look! and i like the idea about your new focus too--i am like you, a perfectionist, and so i do the same thing with feeling like i have to post some masterpiece with photos, commentary, etc., every time i post. so, good for you for making the change :) i look forward to reading! and thanks for the "flat tire rule" tip--that might come in handy someday! -jenny