For the past little while, we’d been hoping to make it back to Kansas for a visit. We’d looked at options and just weren’t coming up with something that would work. Ticket prices for flights were really high and driving 14ish hours there and back again wasn’t going to work into our schedules and allow us enough time for a few at least days to visit, too.
We kept looking and hoping we’d figure something out. Well then, a few weeks ago, I was looking into flight prices for a conference trip and discovered that the flight prices had been knocked in half for that trip. I quickly booked that flight and then decided to go check on flights to Kansas again.
I could hardly believe it when I realized that flight prices were almost half of the lowest price we usually ever see!! We found dates that would work and went ahead and bought the tickets and got excited for our trip.
I thought I had gotten smart to choose an 8:25 a.m. flight. That way, we wouldn’t have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get out the door and to the airport for a 6 a.m. flight like it seems we usually have to.
Well, my bright idea turned out to be not quite so bright. We usually try to get to the airport a little over an hour to an hour and a half before our flight leaves. We had planned to leave our house at 6:30 a.m. to put us at the airport at around 7:00 a.m.
The morning didn’t go as planned and it took us quite a bit longer to get out the door. I thought we’d still be okay, though, because I figured that Nashville traffic wouldn’t start getting bad until around 7:30 a.m. I assumed we were still early enough to completely bypass all of that and make it to the airport with a little time to spare.
Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that Nashville traffic starts getting crazy much earlier than we thought. We ended up getting stuck in traffic within a few minutes into our drive, which added more time to our trip and then meant we were running later and got stuck in more traffic.
By around 7:30 a.m., we realized we were probably not going to make our flight. Traffic on the highway was crawling and we still had 10 minutes left in our trip — without traffic. We figured that the soonest we’d be to the airport would be 8 a.m. and our flight left at 8:25 a.m.!!
We had a 2+ hour layover in Dallas, so we called the airline and asked if there was any way we could get bumped to a later flight and still make it on our Dallas flight. They said absolutely and started getting that set up.
We breathed a sigh of relief. This was all going to work out! Yay!
And, um, then the customer service rep came back on the phone and said it would $1,000+ per ticket for us to change to the later flight. $5,000 to change our tickets to the later flight?!? What?!?!?
Jesse politely asked the reason and they said, “I’m so sorry, but because you got such a low, low price on your tickets, it means that you would have to pay a lot more to change the flights.”
Whoops. I guess there are good things and bad things to getting great airline ticket prices! 🙂
We decided to just do our best to hope for a miracle and try to make our flights. We pulled up to the airport at 8:01 a.m. — 24 minutes before our plane was supposed to take off!
We still had to drop the car off, print our tickets (we hadn’t been able to get them to print online), get 5 people through security, and make it to gate. I told the kids we were going to be ninjas and ninjas we were… and it also helped that there was no waiting at security!
Somehow, by some miracle, we all made it to our gate with two minutes to spare before they closed the door to the plane! I was dripping sweat and panting, but we made it.
I think that is one for the books… and I may have sprouted a few new white hairs yesterday, too. Also, I’m pretty sure we were quite the sight as we basically just scooped everything up that came off the security belt, hung on tight, and ran as fast as we could to our gate. 🙂
The moral of the story: if you’re going to buy cheap airline tickets, make sure that you actually plan enough time to get to the airport. And also? Don’t make assumptions about Nashville traffic.
Lesson learned. 🙂
Pam Jones says
Plan for Nashville traffic to be bad. You will never be disappointed!
Crystal Paine says
😉
Kathy says
I’ve gotten to the point that I just expect things to take longer than normal and the unexpected WILL happen. Because the stress bothers me so much, I just always arrive early for EVERYTHING….Read, text, call, eat, play games…whatever… it just isn’t worth it to have to push myself to that extreme. And believe me, I had to learn this lesson over and over…but now…I’m always early….
Julie says
Wow, that sounds like quite an adventure. I’m glad you were able to make it but am surprised the airline let you on that late. They usually have the flight locked up and ready to go well before that. I learned a long time ago that I can’t handle the stress of having to worry I might be a little late to the airport so I always leave way earlier than necessary. Hope your family has a great time in Kansas!
Autumn Beach says
Why, oh why, am I just now learning you used to live in Kansas?! Where in Kansas?? It’s my home. 🙂
Crystal Paine says
We lived in multiple locations in Kansas. I was born and raised here and then lived here until we moved in May.
Autumn Beach says
Oh my goodness…me TOO. Please tell me you didn’t live in Kansas City. That would be like living next door to a rock star and not knowing it until they moved! I’m kind of kidding, but you get the gist. Anyway…we’re in Shawnee, KS. I would love to come hear you speak if you ever speak anywhere near Kansas City! Do you post your speaking engagements in advance on your blog? I’m one of your newest fans, so please forgive me if I should already know this.
Crystal Paine says
We did live in the Kansas City area for almost two years. We still love that area so much!
And welcome! My speaking engagements are listed on my speaking page. We haven’t updated for 2015, but we should be doing that soon.
Autumn Beach says
Aw, man…that makes me happy and sad all at once. Well, welcome home, girl! 🙂 I hope you and your family have a wonderful visit. Off to check out those speaking engagements!
Mary says
Wow! Most impressive! My dad is a retired truck driver, and he always warned me about Nashville traffic. 😉 Lesson learned!
Leigh says
Nashville traffic is not nice to me. It takes me about 1 hour to go 17 miles from my home to my job M-F and I work odd hours. When I worked 8-5, it took 1.5-2 hours each way. So glad you made your flight.
adrienne @ whole new mom says
So glad that worked out for you! I was just in Nashville in September. Didn’t see much but I loved what I did see. I forgot you had moved there!
Rebecca P. says
FYI – if it happens again and you think you are going to miss your flight, don’t buy a new ticket over the phone, but show up at the ticket counter being very polite and pathetic and there is a good chance that they’ll just put you on the standby list for the next flight for free. This article in USA Today talks about the domestic “flat tire rule” some airlines follow. It would be worth a try over paying the $5000 for sure! http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/burbank/2014/04/02/missed-flight-traffic-flat-tire-rule/7170459/
Ron says
First, glad you made it. Second, the airlines and rental car companies tell you to plan to be at the airport two hours before your flight for good reason. I fly about 80 times a year throughout the US and I’ve learned many times this is good advice. I haven’t missed any flights but a few of my coworkers who don’t follow this rule have missed a few.
Jessi Fearon (@TheBudgetMama) says
You are awesome! I’m so happy that you made your flight! I once missed my flight…when I was sitting at the gate because they changed the gate without me realizing it. I was deep into a book, (My Sister’s Keeper) and I totally didn’t hear when they announced that they had changed the gates. Lesson learned, don’t read a great book while sitting in the airport. 😉
Tracy says
Well done — I think I would have just sat in the car and cried under that stress!
That’s a very cute pic 🙂
JG says
It is ridiculous that they wanted to charge you $1000 per ticket to change the time. The claim “because you got the tickets for such a low price” is ludicrous—the airline set the price and you shouldn’t be penalized to such an extent for taking advantage of a sale. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t charge a fair fee to change a flight time but I would complain to the airlines about that attempt to price gouge.
Pamela says
Great job! That’s pretty impressive! I hope you guys enjoy your trip and fingers crossed your next flight is a lot less stressful!
Ashley says
Many airlines and airports require that you be checked in no later than 30 minutes before boarding – some require longer! Just as a heads up for readers 🙂 Glad you made your flight, and enjoy your trip!
Jen says
Luckily you work at home and don’t have to deal with the traffic to get to work every day! 🙂 It routinely takes me 60-90 minutes to drive 18 miles to and from work every day in Austin, with 15 miles of that being highway. I’m moving a week from Sunday and cutting my commute down to 6 miles. Four months of that drive is enough!
Amy Noland says
Not sure what airport you flew into, but it sounds like you made it before, or despite the crash at Mid-Continent. Read your post as they were breaking the news.
Dawn Camp says
I can’t believe you made it! We tried to save time here in Atlanta once by bypassing traffic and taking the MARTA (transit authority) train the rest of the way to the airport. The train took an hour to get there and my son missed his flight.
Katie says
Ah ! So glad you made it hope you had a great trip!
Stacey says
Oh my, I would have been dripping in sweat and crying as well. We used to live in Murfreesboro and would drive into downtown Nashville and many, many times I was late to appointments and events due to know understanding the traffic. After a few years, I finally got it done and then we moved. 🙁
Guest says
Do you mind sharing where you found the lowest fares? There are so many websites out there!
Crystal Paine says
We actually got them directly from the airline itself. (This time, it was through American.)
Ann says
Kayak.com lets you compare major airline prices for a range of dates, but doesn’t include the low cost airlines (like Southwest or allegiant)
heidi says
We have family in Nashville and have experienced t he traffic from Franklin to the airport. But, I love the airport. So small and friendly. We fly from Baltimore or Philadelphia which are so large and not friendly.
Crystal Paine says
We LOVE the Nashville airport, too! The people are so friendly and helpful!
Becky {Milo & Oats} says
Yup, I have a little more adrenaline going just reading this post:-) So glad you were able to make it!
Jennifer says
Sounds like a photo finish! Good job 🙂
Becky says
Wow – I’m so glad to hear you made it just in time. Hope the rest of your trip is much more relaxing and fun! Despite what they said, I’m not so sure that the high fees were because you got such a good deal. A few years ago I booked a last minute (expensive!) flight back to visit family because my grandfather had had a stroke and his health was quickly declining. I was stressed and distracted when booking and without thinking I entered my nickname “Becky” instead of my legal name “Rebecca”. I realized it the day I was going to fly out and called to ask to have it changed so my ticket would exactly match my driver’s licence. The representative said that changing the name would be classified as reissuing the ticket to another passenger, and there would be a $500 fee. He assured me that security would not let me through unless I changed it. I was shocked and said I’d call back. I’m usually a “rule follower”, but instead of changing it ahead of time I gathered up any paperwork I could find with my nickname, legal name, address, SS#, etc; and prayed and hoped that I could convince the security agent I really was the same person. I left extra early just in case I couldn’t get through and needed to change the ticket at the airport. When I got to security, the agent never even questioned it… and I didn’t bring it up. If I’d had to pay, it would have been worth it to make it home, but I’m so glad I didn’t blindly listen to the airline representative. So, all this is just to say, don’t let them stop you from searching for great deals on airline flights! 🙂
Laura's Ramblings says
I had that happen one time in Louisville. We lived in Indiana and I was flying out of Louisvile to go home for my sister’s wedding. I got the time change all messed up and got there right as the flight was supposed to be leaving, NOT the hour in advance that I should have planned for. I was flying Southwest, and they ALWAYS leave on time. Except that day. They were late. A little voice in my head said I should go ahead and get to the gate, even though it was too late. I was floored when I found out they were still there and I wouldn’t have to stress about getting to a wedding on time! I am always amazed at the grace God gives me during crunch time! So happy you have a Grace Story to share, too!!
Nicole says
We just recently moved to Nashville and were suprised at all the traffic! I’ve been wondering if you have any suggestions for kid friendly things to do around nashville that are either free or low cost. My mother and father in law gave us money for the zoo and we did that recently and for all of us I think it was about $50! The baby was the only one who was free! Anyway..the zoo was awesome but now were looking for some less expensive things to do. I would love suggestions from you, Chrystal, or from anyone else who reads this! thanks so much
Leslie says
For not much more you can get a zoo membership for the entire family for the year! I believe if you take your receipt back to them for your day’s visit, they will credit that towards the purchase of the family membership.
WELL worth the money and they have several family events through the year- Halloween and Easter for certain.
There are also a lot of parks that your kids can play at, you could take a ‘tour’ of Nashville and surrounding areas to see them all. We spend a lot of time at Pinkerton Park and Granny White Park in Franklin and Brentwood. Also Radnor Lake has great trails that are appropriate for the little ones. AND if you’re on Groupon, they had $5 for $10 worth of Sweet Cece’s frozen yogurt, good through January. My kids love going there for a treat and I love getting it half price!
Jenny says
The zoo is a great suggestion. Last summer they had movies outside at dusk and other weekend events that would completely justify the expense.
Lori Sharp says
OH NO!
We had the same thing happen to us in Nashville! Joe Biden was coming to town and we didn’t know. They had closed all but one exit to the Nashville Airport and we had 25 minutes to get through security and get on our plane. Turns out we got to the gate and our plane had a flat tire… we were saved! Glad things worked out for you! Nashville traffic is a mess lol
Crystal Paine says
Yikes! I guess that’s one time you could be grateful for a flat tire!
Sarah@bakingwithmom says
By God’s grace… 🙂
We don’t live in Nashville but we travel through it often on vacation. The only time we attempt to drive through Nashville is from 12:00 am to 5:00 am. It keeps our stress levels down being we are from a two stoplight town. Traffic backed up outside of the school in our town is about as much as I like to handle. 😉
Elise says
Whew! Glad you made it on time! We love to hate Nashville traffic around here. 😉
Laura says
That stressed me out just reading it!
Crystal Paine says
😉
Amy says
So glad you made it, now you can enjoy your trip, and laugh about this later.
Nora says
I’m stressed out just reading that!!! Seriously what a feeling of panic.
And $1000 per ticket? That’s insanity and just makes me mad!
Glad it all worked out.
Jessica @ The Mom Creative says
YES to crazy morning Nashville traffic. Just awful. We always give ourselves 45-60 min for commute on a Monday/Friday or any morning or evening flight. Glad you made it. xoxo