I'm sitting at gate C14 at IAD.

Previously my flight to Tampa (flight 704) was departing out of gate D10 at 5:35PM.

At exactly 5pm they announced there was a gate change to C14.

We passed all the people on the New Orleans flight (flight 383) on the way to the new gate.

They had been given our gate so they could depart near there departure time (with a slight delay) and we were given their aircraft which has a mysterious mechanical problem.

The gate agent just showed up and explained that the plane has a mechanical problem and we can expect a status update at 7PM.

I wonder why the New Orleans flight was so important? Perhaps its delay affects more schedules?

I'm throughly enjoying the crying babies here at the gate.