The plane trip last Thursday was your now all-too-common Jet Blue style clusterfuck. We boarded on time for a 5 1/2 hr flight to the West Coast. That was the last thing that was on time. We spent three hours on the plane sitting @ the gate. A Fuel line wasn't registering. They actually had to siphon all the fuel out of the plane and re-fill it to see if that would shake the fuel line into working. It took two hours. We were not allowed to deplane, order beverages (make that drinks) although we could use the lavatory. The plane was full.
Every once in a while the captain, whose voice could penetrate steel, would announce in a bit-too-bright tone "Hello folks. This is your Captain speaking. We're still waiting to hear from maintenance about the fuel line and it should be 'just about' fifteen minutes before we know when we'll leave." He must have done that five times.
And he was no Bob Uecker. When they finally fixed the line, the airport shut down. T-strms in the west. No planes in or out. I thought people were going to go postal. I was sitting with a nice young couple and their 7 mo old baby. The baby kept me sane. He was a good happy baby and he loved me! Go figure.
Two hours & 45 minutes into this the Capt announced that we were hoping for clearance by 8:15EST as San Diego airport has noise abatement policies and they shut down@ 11pm PST. Honest to God, I never thought we'd fly out. I called AA to ask for a room. I envisioned spending the night @ Logan trying to sleep on a chair; taking a flight out the next morning; missing lunch with my high school boyfriend, etc. I stayed calm. Can't say that for many folks around me but what could anyone do?
Long story short, we left @ 8:15, arrived @ 11:20 and now all I have to worry about is the flight back next Monday.
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