Travel snags, disasters and near misses?

[jzurdogo]

Four friends and I were returning from a trip to Tahiti and we boarded our connecting flight to find that our seats had been double booked (despite the fact the we all had boarding passes). The gate agent asked to get our baggage and return to the gate and he would put us on another flight. By this time, we had already been traveling for 18 hours, so we were ready to just get home.

One of my friends went up to the front of the plane to talk to the gate agent. An arguement between her and the gate agent ensued. But basically, she refused to get off the plane because she had a valid boarding pass and that if she got off the plane, the plane would leave and we wouldn't be on it. She kept demanding to speak to the manager of the gate agent until finally the agent capitulated and asked for five volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for a free ticket that they could use later.

I was really glad that my friend took charge and refused to leave the plane because I was ready to be home and we were only one flight away.

Does anyone have any similar stories to share, where a travel snag or disaster was averted due to quick thinking? I watch the amazing race regularly and I'm always surprised by how much they can push the bounds to get what they want. What was your situation and what did you do?