Note to subscribers: There have been problems with
email subscribers receiving blog posts. We are working to resolve the difficulty.
Thank you for your patience.
I did not intend to compose
a detailed travelogue, but attempts to reach our destination (Australia) have resulted
in a long, trying, exasperating experience. Writing is therapeutic.
We were in the Philadelphia
airport approximately eleven – 11 – hours. Two planes with mechanical problems,
scheduled to fly to San Francisco, sat at adjoining gates. Almost 300 people waited
patiently to reach the West Coast. Milling around, standing in lines, quietly
sitting and reading or talking, listening to vague announcements, many
eventually giving up, changing their reservation, deciding to try again the
next day.
It was looking less and less
likely our plane would take off. The second plane proved more promising. Finally
an announcement: passengers would begin boarding shortly. Then another communication
broadcast that our plane would probably not leave and anyone who wanted to
might be able to get on the flight leaving NOW.
We jumped at the chance.
There was limited availability on planes leaving the next day. We were told we
could get on a 5:51 p.m. flight – the time between connections would be barely
an hour.
We received new boarding
passes and walked on the plane. Moving to our seats, they were taken – in the
mini-chaos seat assignments were overlooked and people sat wherever they
wanted/could.
We pulled away from the gate
around 11:00 p.m. We were on our way to…
Washington, D.C.
That is not a typo. The
plane was not really fixed (but we were
assured it was safe to fly). It flew to Washington for parts. Another plane
would be waiting to take us to San Francisco.
The plane was in the air
about 30 minutes. As we landed yet another announcement informed us there was
limited food on the new plane. It would be wise to buy food in the terminal.
We were starved. Our 2:00
p.m. salads were nourishing but history.
We disembarked, taking all
our belongings, and entered a ghost terminal. No activity whatsoever – except
for the 140 passengers from our plane. All concessions were closed.
We waited for the next leg
of our journey to begin. Boarding was a long, tedious process. Each passenger
gave their name to the customer service reps. Names were checked off and seat
assignments verified. (If anything
happened they would know who was on the plane and could identify the bodies.)
We were 12E and12F. We
boarded the plane, walked down the aisle and discovered…
There was no row 12.
We walked back to the front
of the plane and told the stewardess our dilemma. I was concerned that the farther
back we were, the less likely we would receive any food. I was tired, hungry
and cranky.
Finally a little luck came
our way. The plane was slightly bigger than the previous one and there were a
few extra seats. We ended up with exit row seats (a lot more leg room) and no one in the middle seat (space to spread out!).
Passengers settled in, the
plane left the gate, approached the runway and sat. After a few minutes people
started to comment – problems again?
It was obvious the airport was not crowded and there was not a long line of
planes waiting for takeoff.
Before panic ensued, the
captain got on the PA system and told us not to be alarmed, the plane was
taking off. There was a short delay.
We actually took off and
headed west. San Francisco bound. A brief stop to change planes on our way
across the Pacific.
We are booked on the Sydney,
Australia flight leaving later tonight. United is supposed to give us a hotel
room when we arrive in San Francisco. It will be about 7:00 a.m. east coast
time.
Flying is a wonderful,
sometimes quick way to travel from one place to another far-away location. The
frustration of flying, however, can be awesome. Airline personnel told us
stories, excuses, explanations, anecdotes, and tall tales during our hiatus.
It took 14 hours to travel
from (south) New Jersey to Washington, D.C. At least we were not stuck in traffic on I-95.
And our Australian
Adventure continues.
Remember when they used to say that getting there was half the fun? I don't think that applies any more. But Australia!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to hearing about your Australia adventure!! I hope it's wonderful after all these annoyances (to put it mildly)!!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember when it was really fun to fly and I mourn the passing of truly excellent service.