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magidThis weekend I was in DC for a cousin's wedding. Many fun, interesting, and quirky things happened.
This post is not about them.
Instead, you get to hear about the trip home.
The weather was clear, and we had no mechanical issues. Yet I got home more than two hours late, and at three in the morning, that's noticeable.
The wedding was afternoon-into-evening, so we (I was traveling with my parents) got tickets on the latest flight we could, BWI to Manchester, NH. We left the wedding early (phooey; I hadn't expected it to run nearly as late as seemed likely once it had started), got to the airport with an hour and a half to spare, and were in line to board in plenty of time for the 10.30 pm flight.... when an employee announced that we would be waiting 45 minutes for people on two other flights that had had mechanical problems. Not only would they be put on our flight, we'd be adding a stop in Hartford to drop them off. Needless to say, this was not a happy thing for any of us, and it was more interminable for me by having part of one book left, one which I'd already decided wasn't worth finishing. Plus I was tired, and hungry.
OK, then. We board forty-five minutes late, then the people from the other flights board. Everyone is belted in, luggage stowed, ready to go.
And then we sit. And sit.
And sit.
At some point, we're told that there's a plane that needs repairs in Hartford, so we're waiting for two technicians to join our flight.
Excuse me? Everyone sitting on the plane has been inconvenienced already, either by having a plane problem or having their flight delayed and a stop added, and we're delayed again so they can move employees around, employees who aren't already there and ready to go?!
So. We wait. I start estimating: six people across, about 25 rows, mostly full plane, perhaps 140-150 people, times two-thirds of an hour. About a hundred person hours, altogether, of paying customers' time, time when all of us would be happy to be getting home and going to bed, dammit. Grrr.
After another 45-50 minutes, we leave. The technicians never arrive, but we finally go because the pilot is getting close to the end of the shift he can officially fly.
So, ten minutes after I should've arrived in Manchester, we leave BWI. I can't sleep on planes, but I tried to keep my eyes closed a lot, hoping I'd be awake enough to drive home when we finally arrived.
People deplaned in Hartford, and we got to hear how it wouldn't be long, since they had enough fuel to get to Manchester. This is supposed to make me happy?
They got a new pilot on, because the other one had timed out, even though the flight from Hartford to Manchester was "15 minutes".
I wish they'd had as much consideration for all the people who had paid for a nonstop flight and had gotten such rotten service. Other than the flight attendants apologizing (and it was obviously not them who had made any of the decisions), nothing was done to make it up to us. Not on the level of extra peanuts or free drinks (not that I wanted either, but the offer would've been nice), nor anything else. Oh, they did say that they'd 'make it up to us next time'; ie, they'd like our business again. This was my first experience with Southwest, and I'm unlikely to try it again. This was just dismal.
Thankfully, it was cold for the drive home; it kept me awake. And the cop I breezed by while doing 70 didn't move, either. So I get home at 3 am, hungry and not as tired as I had been on the plane. Food sounds appealing, and then I make another mistake: I start checking what's happened on my friends page while I eat. Yeah, very dumb.
I am so tired today.
This post is not about them.
Instead, you get to hear about the trip home.
The weather was clear, and we had no mechanical issues. Yet I got home more than two hours late, and at three in the morning, that's noticeable.
The wedding was afternoon-into-evening, so we (I was traveling with my parents) got tickets on the latest flight we could, BWI to Manchester, NH. We left the wedding early (phooey; I hadn't expected it to run nearly as late as seemed likely once it had started), got to the airport with an hour and a half to spare, and were in line to board in plenty of time for the 10.30 pm flight.... when an employee announced that we would be waiting 45 minutes for people on two other flights that had had mechanical problems. Not only would they be put on our flight, we'd be adding a stop in Hartford to drop them off. Needless to say, this was not a happy thing for any of us, and it was more interminable for me by having part of one book left, one which I'd already decided wasn't worth finishing. Plus I was tired, and hungry.
OK, then. We board forty-five minutes late, then the people from the other flights board. Everyone is belted in, luggage stowed, ready to go.
And then we sit. And sit.
And sit.
At some point, we're told that there's a plane that needs repairs in Hartford, so we're waiting for two technicians to join our flight.
Excuse me? Everyone sitting on the plane has been inconvenienced already, either by having a plane problem or having their flight delayed and a stop added, and we're delayed again so they can move employees around, employees who aren't already there and ready to go?!
So. We wait. I start estimating: six people across, about 25 rows, mostly full plane, perhaps 140-150 people, times two-thirds of an hour. About a hundred person hours, altogether, of paying customers' time, time when all of us would be happy to be getting home and going to bed, dammit. Grrr.
After another 45-50 minutes, we leave. The technicians never arrive, but we finally go because the pilot is getting close to the end of the shift he can officially fly.
So, ten minutes after I should've arrived in Manchester, we leave BWI. I can't sleep on planes, but I tried to keep my eyes closed a lot, hoping I'd be awake enough to drive home when we finally arrived.
People deplaned in Hartford, and we got to hear how it wouldn't be long, since they had enough fuel to get to Manchester. This is supposed to make me happy?
They got a new pilot on, because the other one had timed out, even though the flight from Hartford to Manchester was "15 minutes".
I wish they'd had as much consideration for all the people who had paid for a nonstop flight and had gotten such rotten service. Other than the flight attendants apologizing (and it was obviously not them who had made any of the decisions), nothing was done to make it up to us. Not on the level of extra peanuts or free drinks (not that I wanted either, but the offer would've been nice), nor anything else. Oh, they did say that they'd 'make it up to us next time'; ie, they'd like our business again. This was my first experience with Southwest, and I'm unlikely to try it again. This was just dismal.
Thankfully, it was cold for the drive home; it kept me awake. And the cop I breezed by while doing 70 didn't move, either. So I get home at 3 am, hungry and not as tired as I had been on the plane. Food sounds appealing, and then I make another mistake: I start checking what's happened on my friends page while I eat. Yeah, very dumb.
I am so tired today.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-22 03:30 pm (UTC)