When I refer to catering to "airline employees", I place this in quotes, because I am not assuming that my seat was in fact given away to one, I am covering this possibility, as well as the whims/ego of the boarding gate agent, which justme has validated as a factor in who gets on the plane and when - hence the use of the term "discrimination".
Also, for those who do not know what "slippery slope" means; to state a conclusion, like "if you were not allowed to board the plane, you were of necessity late" is to engage in this logical fallacy. In other words, the "law is written as it is spoken" if you will.
And for the record, my arrival at the gate was not the result of a whimsical trip to the "gift shop", or "bathroom"; my arrival at the gate was delayed by the fact that the Bill of Rights ceases to exist once a person enters an airport (i.e. the TSA engage in "random" searches) and a malfunctioning airport tram - both completely out of my control.
A couple airline employees have stated in this thread that departing the check-in counter with no checked baggage for a domestic flight a full 40 minutes before boarding (I arrived at the airport approximately one hour before my departure time) should have been plenty of time for the airport staff to get me on my flight - and it in point of fact WAS.
So, here are a few suggestions on how not to alienate yet another paying customer from air travel in the future:
When I departed the check in gate, I received a boarding pass with the precise time of this incident stamped on it. I find it extremely hard to believe that the boarding agent was not in possession of, or couldn't simply verify this information on her computer screen, and, therefore, given the level of surveillance and personnel (once again, paid for by taxpayers) in US airports couldn't have determined that I was on my way to the gate, and exactly where I was (modern airports have been equipped with intercom systems and cameras for decades, have been over-staffed in the last decade, and just about every airport employee is equipped with a radio). I realize this additional courtesy is too much to ask of the prima donnas occupying "service" positions in airports these days, and the use of the aforementioned technology and staff to ASSIST the passengers rather than ABUSE them is too much to ask as well, just as it is too much to ask greedy airlines to stop overbooking flights (even though they get paid whether the passenger shows up or not), so please consider the following: when I went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse last week, there were more people who wanted to eat there than there were tables, so I was told an approximate wait time, placed on a list, and handed a beeper. When a vacant table materialized, my beeper vibrated, and I claimed the table. If I had ignored my page, or wandered out of range during the approximate wait time I would have had no one to blame but myself when my table was given to another customer, however, I witnessed the hostess personally look for people on the grounds who were on the list, but did not answer their page, before their table was given up, out of COURTESY - and she makes considerably less than an airline employee, her industry is not taxpayer subsidized, and what the average customer spends at Outback is less than what the average airline ticket costs. The airlines wouldn't even have to hand out beepers, or depend on the competency of their excessive staff, or the technology appropriated by the TSA - just ask passengers for their cell phone numbers at check-in (Yes, this might mean airport/airline staff will have to indulge the "service" aspect of their position a little more). I don't think anyone who flies now does not possess a cell phone, and quite frankly, if Outback can afford to hand out beepers with no deposit or guarantee they'll be returned, the airlines can certainly afford to do the same with cell phones or simple walkie-talkies if need be, given the fact that the passenger has already purchased a ticket (and the airline has their credit card information as a security deposit). Discuss . . .
