richard
May 19, 00, 9:22 pm
All sailing stories are basically the same:
1. protagonists go on boat (with some foreshadowing)
2. big storm happens (and other stuff)
3. everyone survives
So this story is like those stories, hence a nautical flying story.
<b> FORESHADOWING <b/>
At 6:15am I sleep walked to Dulles. I took the mobile lounge thingy and noticed out of some corner of my brain, "my, a United Express customer service counter, I haven't seen that before." Soon I realized after walking throughout the concourse that I was mistakenly in the A concourse. So I went from A to C and checked in. As I waited, I idly looked at USA Today and the Washington Post and noticed those squiggly lightning bolts on the weather map. What does that mean. The legend said "thunder storms."
Boarding was on time. I sat in 2A on the A320, very comfortable. My seatmate, I discovered, sells helicopters (medium sized ones) throughout the world. We chatted during a normal flight. I sat in 2A and refused a bagel or muffin. Carb city http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
In Atlanta, UA uses the T gates which is very convenient compared to the rest of the Hartsfield nightmare.
<b> BIG STORM HAPPENS <b/>
I did my business in Atlanta after taking MARTA to my destination. Very good use of $3.00 round trip. I arrived at ATL and saw that the flight was delayed only 1 hour due to "accrued delay."
The flight had been due out at 12:50. About 1:30pm, they announced departure at 1:50. We all boarded at 1:30. I sat in 2D on a 737, one of only 8 F seats. We had the new seats and it was rather comfortable. The steward (this is a nautical story after all), Jason, was very nice. The captain repeatedly stressed that we should enjoy Channel 9, he was a real flight enthusiast.
We taxied out to take off position, but suddenly there was another weather hold on DUlles. We had to taxi off to the side ramp and wait.
We waited and waited. Finally, an hour or so later, we taxied back. We got off the plane. I headed next door to the tiny, cramped and crowded RCC. The one person there finally came around announcing that our flight was leaving.
We boarded again. We taxied out to our position. Then, another weather hold.
We moved aside and waited. Jason offered everyone sandwiches. The curtain was closed, and we had excellent chicken breast sandwiches with a cold eggplant/olive/onion/pepper salad and a roasted tomato, along with a generous dish of excellent fruit. The whole time, Jason and the crew were serving drinks, the captain was cheerful, it was all upbeat, despite the fact that it was a completely full flight (other flights to Dulles had been cancelled outright and those folks were on this flight too.)
<b> EVERYONE SURVIVES <b/>
At 6:00, we finally took off. We had to steer around a few storm cells and descend through a lot of fog. A perfect landing at 7:11pm, and the Dulles airport was a bastion of inactivity. Almost no take-offs or landings.
On the way back home, traffic on the airport access road was backed up due to a nasty accident so I had to wait some more.
So that is my nautical storm story. Okay, the FAA and UA prevented us from actually flying in a storm, but still... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
1. protagonists go on boat (with some foreshadowing)
2. big storm happens (and other stuff)
3. everyone survives
So this story is like those stories, hence a nautical flying story.
<b> FORESHADOWING <b/>
At 6:15am I sleep walked to Dulles. I took the mobile lounge thingy and noticed out of some corner of my brain, "my, a United Express customer service counter, I haven't seen that before." Soon I realized after walking throughout the concourse that I was mistakenly in the A concourse. So I went from A to C and checked in. As I waited, I idly looked at USA Today and the Washington Post and noticed those squiggly lightning bolts on the weather map. What does that mean. The legend said "thunder storms."
Boarding was on time. I sat in 2A on the A320, very comfortable. My seatmate, I discovered, sells helicopters (medium sized ones) throughout the world. We chatted during a normal flight. I sat in 2A and refused a bagel or muffin. Carb city http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
In Atlanta, UA uses the T gates which is very convenient compared to the rest of the Hartsfield nightmare.
<b> BIG STORM HAPPENS <b/>
I did my business in Atlanta after taking MARTA to my destination. Very good use of $3.00 round trip. I arrived at ATL and saw that the flight was delayed only 1 hour due to "accrued delay."
The flight had been due out at 12:50. About 1:30pm, they announced departure at 1:50. We all boarded at 1:30. I sat in 2D on a 737, one of only 8 F seats. We had the new seats and it was rather comfortable. The steward (this is a nautical story after all), Jason, was very nice. The captain repeatedly stressed that we should enjoy Channel 9, he was a real flight enthusiast.
We taxied out to take off position, but suddenly there was another weather hold on DUlles. We had to taxi off to the side ramp and wait.
We waited and waited. Finally, an hour or so later, we taxied back. We got off the plane. I headed next door to the tiny, cramped and crowded RCC. The one person there finally came around announcing that our flight was leaving.
We boarded again. We taxied out to our position. Then, another weather hold.
We moved aside and waited. Jason offered everyone sandwiches. The curtain was closed, and we had excellent chicken breast sandwiches with a cold eggplant/olive/onion/pepper salad and a roasted tomato, along with a generous dish of excellent fruit. The whole time, Jason and the crew were serving drinks, the captain was cheerful, it was all upbeat, despite the fact that it was a completely full flight (other flights to Dulles had been cancelled outright and those folks were on this flight too.)
<b> EVERYONE SURVIVES <b/>
At 6:00, we finally took off. We had to steer around a few storm cells and descend through a lot of fog. A perfect landing at 7:11pm, and the Dulles airport was a bastion of inactivity. Almost no take-offs or landings.
On the way back home, traffic on the airport access road was backed up due to a nasty accident so I had to wait some more.
So that is my nautical storm story. Okay, the FAA and UA prevented us from actually flying in a storm, but still... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif