After Panamá, I was scheduled to go to a work training in CT, so I flew there directly. My flight from Miami was delayed and I only got into the Hartford airport around 1am. According to the pilot, we were late because the aircraft had been delayed in San Francisco, but somehow I can’t imagine the overbooking helped make up for that delay either. Some 5 people had to give up their seats in exchange for a $300 voucher, and it took some time to find and/or designate the volunteers who were to stay behind. On top of the flight delay in Miami, a plane had just landed a few minutes before ours in Hartford and we were told we would have to wait some extra time for our luggage as the other plane would be unloaded first.

By the time I was waiting in line for a cab, I really just wanted a bed and would have slept in the airport if I didn’t have a room reserved a few miles South. It was finally going to be my turn for a cab when this guy came storming out of his cab into the terminal: “I am not paying $30 for a bus! It’s not fair! I got to that cab first! I don’t want to share my cab! I don’t want other people in my cab! Why do I have to make 2 stops before I get to my hotel?” I was about to jump right into his seat but his cab took off, leaving the dispatcher somewhat dumb-founded. I was too tired to say anything, but there were many insults going through my mind. This guy had let the last cab go, there were no cabs waiting in line there, the dispatcher was calling individual cab companies to have them send people, and we had to stand there and listen to some prima-donna who was delaying every one because he would not share his cab. Grow up, buddy, you may be a business traveler, but you obviously haven’t seen much of the world’s airports. They pack cabs in all airports at late hours, even in the US. Once public transportation is shut down, that’s the only option to get home. They also packed cabs in New York during the public transportation strikes last year, and there are laws that allow cabbies to do that when demand exceeds supply. I finally got a cab and was in bed by 2am: just in time for about 4 hours of sleep!