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Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
I just got back from a very enjoyable and successful 4-day conference. It was a Physics Teacher's conference (My day job) and as the president of the local chapter I needed to be there. It was not so far away, from where I live to Sacramento is about 400 miles.
I was going to drive it, but my principal vetoed that. She would have had to pay be fifty three cents a mile if I drove, and she could buy me airfare for less than half of that. I flew. The flight up was on time and uneventful. My talk at the conference ended at 2:40 pm yesterday, and I ran from the conference as my flight was a 5:30 pm departure from the airport in Sacramento. That is a 12 mile drive in a cab, but I was worried about traffic and getting through TSA. I need not have worried, I was at the gate safe and sound, ready to fly at 3:30. And then it all hit the fan. An earlier flight had been canceled. That plane was deemed unsafe due to a cracked windshield from a bird strike. Many of the people on that earlier plane had been re routed, but a few were hanging out to get on my now very full flight. The airline asked for volunteers to fly the next day for a free airfare in return; they got no takers. At 4:45 or so, a plane pulls up to the gate and passengers get off. They announced my flight is boarding soon. At 5:15 they announced that this plane is not fit for flight due to an unnamed mechanical failure. (We never did find out what that problem was) Soon they asked for people with connecting flights to catch to go and re-book alternate flights. (That was downstairs and someone who went said people were close to coming to blows) At 6:00 they tell us that the mechanics have a plan. They will take the good windshield of the faulted plane, and replace the cracked windshield from the early plane that is still sitting on the tarmac. I thought it was a good plan. At 7:00 they tell us the mechanics have gotten permission to replace the windshield and predict take off in four hours. At this point those of us in the waiting room began to talk and bond. at 8:00 they offered us $12 dinner vouchers for the restaurant near the gate. At 10:30 we were told that the windshield plan had failed. We would receive a $100 credit on a future flight Soon we were told that a special plane had been ordered for us and would arrive soon. At 11:30 a plane to New York left from our gate. We gave those passengers lots of dirty looks as they gathered. At 12:40 our new plane pulled up to the gate. They told us that due to the length of delay we would get a $200 credit instead of $100. At 1:20 or so, we finally took off for an uneventful and smooth 1 hour flight. I live two miles from the airport we landed at, and it was nearly 3:00 when I rolled into bed. My wife's alarm went off at 7:00 As bad as that was, I heard Southwest airlines had it worse, their computers had been down on a national level all day. At least I am home safe.
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
stoneunhinged Inner circle 3067 Posts |
We're glad you're home safe.
But that was hardly a night from hell. You were inconvenienced and got $200. Good deal! |
Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
That is a very positive way to look at it Stoney; good attitude.
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
Daryl -the other brother Special user Chicago 594 Posts |
The delay makes a good story, you met and talked to some new people, got a free dinner and got home safely with $200.00 in your pocket. If that is hell sign me up.
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balducci Loyal user Canada 227 Posts |
Quote:
On Jul 21, 2016, Cliffg37 wrote: I don't understand this part. What did they do to you? They weren't taking your plane. And you weren't using "your" gate. Unless I missed something, I hope they gave you dirty looks back in return.
Make America Great Again! - Trump in 2020 ... "We're a capitalistic society. I go into business, I don't make it, I go bankrupt. They're not going to bail me out. I've been on welfare and food stamps. Did anyone help me? No." - Craig T. Nelson, actor.
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Unlike everyone else, I sympathise with you Cliff.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
^ What he said.
Air travel is a pain in the arse anymore and two c-notes wouldn't have meant anything to me. I'm not that easily bought and consider my time valuable. The delay was eight hours on takeoff, and Cliff didn't get home and to bed till 3:00 a.m. His credit of $200 amounts to $25/hr, not even considering his inconvenience. The next time the Principal offers to pay his airfare instead of mileage, my response would be, "I drive, or I don't go. I've got a fear of flying." Period.
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
Thank you for that Bob. Indeed, the $200 is nice I suppose, but doesn't really mean much. Plus, it is not $200 cash in my pocket. It is a credit toward a future flight.
To those of you who are thinking I am making too much out of this, you might be right. Have you ever dealt with an eight hour delay? Probably the worst part was the number of times we were told when we would be flying out, only to have it continually pushed back later and later. I wish this experience on none of you. May all your travels be smooth. Something else though. The airline could have canceled the flight. That would have meant a refund, and freed all of us up to make different arrangements. At around 7:00 pm, I spoke with another fellow about renting a car and driving down, sharing the cost and the driving. Two other ladies seemed interested as well. Had I known how late it would get, I might have gone for it. The catch here is that as long as the airline does not cancel the flight, they don't have to give refunds. It is all about the money. One last thing. The three ladies who were staffing the gate, thanked us profusely as we were boarding for being nice to them and not yelling, screaming, threatening etc. They said were were a pleasure to work with. I felt they were nice to us, and the problems were not their fault after all; why give them a hard time?
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Quote:
On Jul 21, 2016, Daryl -the other brother wrote: Cliff doesn't really have $200 in his pocket. Since his principal paid for the airfare in the first place, the $200 belongs to her. I'd applaud the maintenance crew for not changing the windshields. I'd rather be delayed than fly with the possibility of something happening to the windshield during flight. At least the airlines kept the passengers informed about the delays. I've been delayed at airports and just had to wait until the plane was ready. No explanations at all. I do sympathize with Cliff however. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
Where the magic begins
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Daryl -the other brother Special user Chicago 594 Posts |
I didn't mean to make lite of your experience Cliff. I have dealt with flight delays and they can be quite frustrating.
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Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Don't know why my post didn't appear until after Cliffs. He knows the credit isn't money in his pocket.
Where the magic begins
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ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
Quote:
On Jul 23, 2016, Cliffg37 wrote: You'd be surprised the number of people who do NOT have that attitude, Cliff. The attendants, who have no control over what's going on, nonetheless get a lot of the flack from the people inconvenienced. You and the rest of the passengers do in fact deserve a "high five" for taking the high ground on this. While I would hardly boycott them over this, I am curious... what airline?
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Poor little bird
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
Chough chough hack jet blue cough cough
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
I'd get that looked at if I were you! I never considered hack cough airlines.
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
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