Airline Adventures

This past weekend, as usual, I was travelling through the Atlanta airport on my way back to work. What made this trip special was that our very own Rachael (HK) was back in the area. I gave her my flight arrangements in case she could come and see me. Of course, I told her, I would probably be in "guy" mode. Unfortunately she already had plans and wasn't sure if she could make it.

When Sunday rolled around, I decided that I would try to dress for Rachael. I packed my breast forms and makeup in my carry-on luggage and boarded the plane as soon as I could. I headed straight back for the bathroom and got ready. That way, the person sitting next to me would hopefully only see me dressed. The flight was late but otherwise uneventful, so I went to my next gate and started looking for Rachael. It seems she was unable to get back to Atlanta in time, so I simply sat down and read while waiting for my flight to Memphis.

This was shaping up to be a fairly boring trip until they asked for 10-12 volunteers to give up their seats. Now came a moment of soul-searching. My ticket said "David" and I didn't look like a "David". Of course, I like getting bumped thereby getting a free ticket, but I have never outed myself for anything like this. If they had only asked for a few volunteers, I probably would have passed, but by asking for that many I thought I had a good chance to successfully be bumped.

I went to the counter and found the supervisor. I walked right up to him, handed him my ticket, and immediately said, "This is really me." He was looking at me and not the ticket and replied, "I believe you." He asked if I were wanting to check in, and when I mentioned I was volunteering, he finally looked at the ticket. He was surprised to be sure, but handled it wonderfully. He thanked me and asked me to stay in the boarding area. I was relieved to say the least!

About five minutes later, the same supervisor called three names out, among them "Ms. Cox". Since he was processing my ticket and hotel, and had already showed he was going to be cool, I was very calm. (Actually, I was calm throughout the whole thing, which amazed me somewhat and I think contributed to this being "no big deal".) There were two other girls getting bumped and the four of us headed into a private office.

The supervisor kept flashing me a grin whenever he would talk to me, and I enjoyed that. The grin was not condescending or mean at all, rather it was simply the two of us sharing an inside joke. I don't believe the other two women ever had a clue. In fact one of the women asked me to show her how to get to the hotel.

As we were being processed another supervisor came in and asked if she could help. My heart started racing, because she was given MY ticket! Now, imagine this, she has three tickets, one of whom has an obviously male name, and three females. Once again, there was no problem and she never missed a beat! (In fact, my ego was stroked, because she didn't seem to know which of us was which!)

When we were finished processing, my new friend, Katt, and I headed for the hotel. We missed the shuttle, and just sat there visiting for about 30 minutes. By now I was flying and was very comfortable chatting. We talked about everything, non-stop, all the way to the hotel. I don't know about other T-people, but for me, this is what it is all about. I really enjoy when I can spend quality time with people who don't know that I am transgendered.

At the hotel, I had to deal with another problem. Of course my voucher said David! And I was not as confident that a hotel clerk would handle it as well. I decided to be proactive and when I handed him my voucher I simply said, "The name is correct." Now he looked straight at the name, looked at me a little funny and simply had me fill everything out. Once again I was amazed!

In the morning I was faced with one final dilemma. I believe that I would have still passed with my new friend even if I left off the makeup, however, I might not with the other passengers. I also know some of the people that take the Monday morning flight every week. Luckily, the person that I know the best on that flight knows about me. I decided that I would dress as a female and take my chances. I met Katt downstairs and we visited with another woman for about 20 minutes while waiting for our shuttle.

When I checked in at the airport, I used the same line: "The name is correct." This time the counter agent repeated David out loud with a small laugh. I didn't really appreciate that, but that was the worst reaction I had the whole trip! Overall I was amazed by my treatment by Delta and I will feel more comfortable flying dressed in the future!

After the flight, as we picked up our luggage, Katt gave me her number and told me to call her if I wanted to get together while staying in Memphis! I arrived at my apartment around 8:30 in the morning and washed my face and dressed for work. With a morning like that, I knew it would have to be a wonderful day!