I've been away visiting my mother for a few days and WOW am I glad to be home. I didn't think I was going to make it. Airline executives really need to wake up and smell the coffee.
I was supposed to fly out of Kansas City at 10:45 a.m. yesterday with a connection in Philly at 4:50. Due to an "operational" problem (whatever that is) the flight was delayed until 1:00. OK, I can deal with that...in fact, I just expect that these things will happen. This way, I'm not disappointed or annoyed. Of course, that meant that I would not make my connection in time. Unfortunately, the only connection they could arrange for me was at 8:55 p.m., a wait of almost 5 hours. I could deal with this too. I had a good book to read and Philly has some nice airport shops.
I arrive in Philly, browse the shops, read for a while, have dinner, then read some more. It is now after 8:00 and as yet there is no plane at the gate. I'm intelligent enough to surmise that there will be another delay. We are finally told that the connecting plane has not arrived from Williamsport yet (we could see that for ourselves), in fact, it is still on the ground in Williamsport due to bad weather. We are now scheduled to take off at 10:00. I don't like it, but what can I do? I read some more.
We see airline employees and vehicles arriving at the gate with luggage carts and that little machine that pushes the airplane when it is getting ready to taxi. We are excited. The plane must be coming.
10:00 comes and goes...no plane. Finally a supervisor comes and explains that the Williamsport plane is not going to arrive but there is another flight to New York leaving at 11:00 with room for all of us. We are re-ticketed and given new boarding passes. We are thrilled and all run down to the new gate and sit patiently for 11:00 to come. Fifteen minutes before we are scheduled to take off, a snotty airline employee informs us that the plane has a mechanical problem that cannot be fixed. A plane will fly in from Norfolk, VA as soon as the flight crew arrives. Our new take off time is 1:30 a.m. Most of us just laughed because we're too proud to cry in public. However a few passengers were becoming vocal with the snotty employee. The only thing they accomplished was to make her snottier.
As I was watching the arguments and predicting the winner, the supervisor from the first gate (at this point we think she is an angel) came down and said they had a plane and it would leave at 11:30. Did we want to be on it? As if anyone was going to say, "No I prefer to wait it out until 1:30 in the morning".
So we all skip back to where we came from, get our original boarding passes back and board the plane at 11:30 on the dot. I was back on NY soil at 12:30 a.m. You can't make this stuff up.
I felt especially bad for one woman who was trying to get to NY before her mother died. I hope she made it.
 | oh, geez! what a nightmare........glad you are home safely, though. gosh, i really feel for that woman, too. : * ( |
 | Flying is just not the same as it use to be. Sounds like you were much more patient than I would have been. Last week I took a flight to Florida from KC. On the way home a week later I had a connection in Houston. Ever been to Houston airport?? OMG! I had to use a wheelchair because of a condition. I had 50 minutes to go 4 LONG gates that was located on a different level. They literally transferred me to 3 wheelchairs, 3 electric carts, 2 elevators, and 1 tram before I ever reached gate 84. Once there (at 84) I thought I was home free. OH NO!! Then there was 84A, 84B, 84C, 84D...I had 84D. I had to walk another oh....100 yards on a bumb leg, and THEN??? Then I had to walk out on the actual tarmac to get to the plane and climb steep stairs to enter the plane. Steep as a ladder! I not only barely made the climb, I barely made the flight. I no sooner sat down than the plane started backing out!!! Geezzzzz. Glad you made it home. Albeit late. |
 | I am not sure what part of New York you live in but it would probably been easier to drive.
Been there done that would not trade places with you in the world.
Sorry you had a tough trip home. |
| crabby...we were all saying we would have been better off to rent a van and drive. It would have taken 4 hours which was less time than we spent in the airport. |
| I have done that once or twice because I did not want to sit around the airport |
 | Funny thing is, you could have rented a car and driven home. And if you had left at the original take off time, you would have been home before the flight you took landed anywhere near NY! One more reason not to fly.. And they wonder why they have trouble with drunks on flights. I'd probably be one of them! |
 | What a nightmare all right! I'm glad you're back home safe though. |
 | That is a nightmare, I am hoping that the visit with your mother was a good one and well worth the trouble!
Glad you are home safe :0) |
 | I think this is why we always drove when we travelled. I can understand the weather and mechanical problems, but there's only so much people can stand. Glad to hear you finally made it home! :) |
 | since i live in PA....I could have probably driven to Philly airport in an hour and driven you home faster than the plane!!!! |
 | Holy Crap! That sounds awful. We had a bit of traveling troubles last year coming back from Miami. Our plane was an hour last which made us late getting to Detroit for our connector. We came into Gate 12 in Detroit and had 10 minutes to run (run I say) to gate 60. We made but thought we were going to have a heartattack in the process. All to come back to Philly. So stupid but, the cruise booked it and you are at their mercy when letting them do it. No more of that and no problems since. *knock on wood* :) |
| That is just ridiculous! I probably would have lost my cool with someone |
 | Wait. You were sitting all that time in Philadelphia, waiting to get to New York? Why not just take the train? Or even Greyhound? You'd have been there in something like an hour or two. Of course, the airline keeps you waiting with "we'll get you there," but you could almost have walked it in that time! |
 | Yep, flying is such fun! I'm glad you arrived home safely...eventually! I really feel for that poor lady and hope she made it back to her Mum in time. |
 | Just another reinforcement for Us on the travel part of Our next Vacation. We will most definitely D-R-I-V-E.We do hope that Woman that was stranded with You got home in time. And although I have never been to Philadelphia, Am I wrong in thinking the Nick-Name for that City is: "The City of Brotherly Love"? If I am correct, maybe somebody ought to give that snotty Airline Employee some learning about that? Wish You luck in advance for any future travel plans. |
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