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Oh man, I cut it close the other day.  On an evening flight from Boston to Los Angeles, I made it to my flight just in time!  I’d say on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being cool as a cucumber, and 10 being my dad (stressed even though we leave 3 hours early for the airport), I’m usually a 2 or 3.  I’m not too stressed.  I always make sure I have enough time to get to the airport, and if I’m running a little late, well, it’ll all be ok.

Until it isn’t…

(SEE ALSO: HELP! I’m wasting DAYS of my life in airports)

(SEE ALSO: This is why I just sprinted through the airport for the first time)

Boston and the MBTA

Boston’s transit system isn’t…the best.  Don’t get me wrong, I love this city!  The airport is close, there’s plenty of things to keep you busy, and there’s so much history and culture.  But their transit system?  It could use a little work.

Luckily, they are working on it a lot! There’s two main ways to get from Downtown Boston to Boston Airport on the public transit system.  First, you can take the Blue Line to the Airport stop in East Boston, and then hop a shuttle to the airport.  Alternatively, the Silver Line runs from South Station in Downtown Boston to the airport.  I’ve been a regular on the Silver Line ever since I started traveling.

The thing about the Silver Line is, well, it’s not exactly a “Line”.  Most of the other MBTA lines, Blue, Orange, Red (Boston sure does love to color…) are legitimate light rail.  The Green Line is kind of a trolley, trying desperately to be a light rail.  The Silver Line is just a bus.  It has a dedicated track for a few stops, but then it’s a bus, and it just runs on the roads.  That’s it.

https://pixabay.com/en/arm-wrestling-indian-wrestling-567950/

You remember when you were a kid, and you always trying to be stronger, faster, better than your older brother? Yeah, the Silver Line is definitely the baby here…

Since it’s a bus, it’s prone to a few more issues…

ALWAYS Leave a Little Extra Time

My bus broke down!  You heard right, it just,,,wouldn’t moved.  We literally rolled to a stop at Terminal B.

a bus in a tunnel

Check out the smoke coming from the engine!

Luckily for me, I was very close to my terminal.  I just walked into the airport at Terminal B and made my way over to Terminal C, ready to use my Priority Pass for a quick dinner before my flight.

Then guess what happened?  My Alaska Airlines boarding pass didn’t have my TSA PreCheck number on it!  Oh no, I thought, as I jogged over to security.  I must have forgotten to add my Known Traveler Number in my Mileage Plan account.  Security took me a few extra minutes than I’m used to, and I made it to my gate just before it closed!

(SEE ALSO: “Dan, I think I’m going to miss my flight!“)

This is just one crazy example of what could go wrong!  While I’m certainly not a pessimist, it’s ok to plan for the worst sometimes.  I’ve heard stories of people getting a flat tire on the way to the airport, their cab/Lyft/Uber driver took a wrong turn, excruciatingly long TSA security lines, it could be anything!

Both the gate agent and the flight attendant informed me that they almost left me behind!

For the best time to arrive at the airport, check with your airline.  Generally speaking, you’ll be safe if you arrive an hour and a half early for domestic flights, and add another hour for international departures.  Certain airlines and airports have other guidelines.  Always check!

So…what’s your close call story?  Did you forget something at the house and have to turnaround?  Hopefully it wasn’t your son, right before your flight to Paris!


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