I Broke the Rules

It still pissed me off!!!!!

I was flying to my band camp (Summer Song) and i was excited! I had a 7:30 flight and was flying Jetstar. For those who don’t know Jetstar is one of Australia’s low cost airlines – effectively a bus with wings. They have a policy that check in closes 30 minutes before the flight takes off and if you miss check in, you miss your flight.

I was clever I checked in from home using webcheck in. All I had to do is check my bag and I was good to go. So on Thursday morning I got up early, woke Wifey (who was my chauffeur for the day) and headed off to the airport.

Unfortunately traffic was a little tight but no worries because my baggage was in a carry on bag so if I was late i would just carry it on. I got there at 7am. Joined the queue to check bags at 7.02am and spoke to the check in person at 7.04am. He informed me that baggage was closed. “No worries”, I said. “I’ll just carry it on”. He said it was a little heavy and I had to see the service desk.

There I was waiting in line to see the service desk dude getting concerned how close it was to the flight. When the service desk dude finished with his customer I mentioned (because I was four people back in the queue) to him that I was concerned I would miss my flight. Then he said I had been taken off the flight and I would have to reschedule.

That’s when I felt like a four year old in a lolly shop with no money. Adrenalin surged, I was going to start shouting and blame Jetstar. They would be sorry and I would never fly them again. I would tweet everyone and………. it was all my fault.

I knew the rules and I didn’t stick by them. I was late to check in. Jetstar are known for their strict adherence to this policy. I had joked with a friend the week before about how she missed her flight for last year’s camp.

I didn’t add a buffer. When planning anything I always like to add a buffer for when things are not perfect. Traffic was heavier than I thought and 5 minutes delay cost me.

I was too heavy. My baggage was 3 kg too heavy for carry on. I knew there were limits and I know Jetstar is strict. Next time I will pack differently.

I didn’t blow up and blame them for all of my woes. I still have issues with their policies but I knew their policies and didn’t follow them.

The best thing I did was take responsibility for my actions. My fault and no oneelses.

So here I am at the airport, one day later, $70 poorer and rescheduling my trip.

Where do you need to take responsibility?