Anna's Blog

 Posts Tagged ‘Flight Drama’

What an adventure I’ve had over the past 24 hours!

Who was responsible for my travel blunder? Well, in fairness, Mother Nature. However, the tenacity of the flight crew to get us out of Philadelphia was quite the experience.

6:30pm – We boarded the plane. After about 30 minutes the Captain came overhead and said, “Folks, we are going to be slightly delayed. There are about 20 planes ahead of us and we will need to wait our place in line”.

Now, for folks that have never flown out of Philly you need to know that there is only ONE way in and ONE way out. The planes line up and fly out every 2-3 minutes.

7:30pm – The Captain comes on again, “Folks, I apologize for the wait. We are getting word from the tower that some bad weather is coming in. Ummmm, at this point its not certain as to when we will be given access to take off. I will keep you posted”.

9:15 – After a lot of lightening, wind, and rain, the Captain came back on and said, “Folks, we’ve gotten word that a southern route has been given to us. When we are given clearance we will go ahead and take off. I’m sorry for the delay”.

Ya know, I have to give the Captain credit. He sounded about as frustrated with the situation as we were, but he was doing his best to assure us that he was trying hard to get us to Dallas.

10:00pm – At this point it was looking as though a flight to Dallas would not be happening today. Then the weirdest thing happened. The flight attendants said that we were nearing the 4-hour regulatory deadline for keeping people on a flight. HOWEVER, if each person would “vote” on a napkin we could elect to remain on the plane until we got an opening to take off. Argggggg!

Talk about peer pressure! Please! Why even go there? Just turn the plane around and let us start over tomorrow!

So, picture this, 80+ people on an airline that haven’t eaten and have been cooped up on a plane for about 4-1/2 hours, being asked to vote on whether or not we stayed on the plane or canceled the flight. The caveat…if even one person says “no” then the flight would be canceled and we would go back to the gate.

Well, obviously, there was at least one person (today the Captain said 7) that wanted off. I can’t blame them. I wanted off…despite making several new friends on my half of the plane. Hey, when life gives you a lemon, you gotta make some lemonade. I really enjoyed the people that I met over those trying 5 (4 waiting and 1 more taxiing in through the crowd of planes then waiting for help at the gate) hours. We bonded. It was cathartic.

12:00am – Safely tucked into bed at the Sheraton Hotel in the middle of Philadelphia, I set my alarm for an early 6am in order to share a cab with my new friends and off to sleepy-land I went.

Fast forward – 8:55am today – the flight is already delayed. I hope to see Amarillo by mornin’ (get it?)….I will keep you posted.

PS. The pics are of Mary, Billy, Marc, and Stuart. Mary lives in Dallas, Billy is from Oklahoma City, Marc is from California, and Stuart…well, I know he’s a photographer.

All of these fine folks were good sports about the whole ordeal. Sure it sucked, but people come in and out of your life for a reason (at least that’s my belief) and these new friends sure made the experience tolerable. What was missing? Well, throwing Justin and his Scottish twist into the mix would have been a lot of fun. But all-in-all we laughed and joked through the delay, networked, and kept one another company. Even the grumpsters from last night were mellow and friendly today. It was quite refreshing.

BTW – I can’t leave out the crew. Our Captain was awesome and the crew made the best of a not-so-great situation by staying upbeat and accommodating. These folks were really terrific to fly with. There is one pic with Mary, me and our flight attendant, Carol. She was really sweet, despite all the grumbling. Way to go American Airlines!

Update to the Saga of Flight 863 – I got my luggage! Nothing lost. Safely back in Amarillo nearly 24 hours after boarding the original flight.

Meeting up with Kara for dinner then I am off to bed. I am beat. This Therapite will get back with you tomorrow.