I was scheduled to head out to Chicago today for a quick lunch meeting:
My scheduled flights:
4/21 UA505 BOS 7:45a ORD 9:20a 320
4/21 UA528 ORD 4:44p BOS 8:01p 72S
My girlfriend (from now on known as g'f) left last night for New York on DL Shuttle, and was to come home tonight on DL Shuttle. She planned to get on a 5:30p flight and meet me at my United gate.
My alarm jarred me up at 4:45a. It was the last thing I wanted to hear. After my long seder (four cups of wine...
) and chatting a little too long on FlyerTalk Live with Jon Toner and Hammertoad, among others, I didn't get much sleep!
After getting ready and taking my loving beagle to my neighbors, I hailed a cab and got to Logan's Terminal C by 6:30. I went straight to the RCC and checked-in. The flight was scheduled ontime.
I thought a walk around the terminal might do me some good. Around 7:15 I went to the gate and saw those god-awful words: "Flight Cancelled". The agent said that the A320 was experiencing mechanical problems and was unable to fly. They'd reaccomodate us. As the line was a mile long, I ran to the RCC, which also had a long line. I went into the club and called up 1K Reservations. They wouldn't be able to reaccomodate me until a 10:00 flight. By the time that got into ORD and I got into the city, I would have already missed the bulk of my meeting.
I could have gone to one of the RCC agents and had the ticket endorsed to AA, but I was so tired that I just caught a taxi home.
I never went back into the office, let them think I'm in Chicago
.
In the end the mechanical problem with the A320 turned out to be a blessing. Later in the day northeast air travel came to halt. All flights ORD-BOS were cancelled. I would have been stranded overnight in Chicago.
I relaxed most of the day and spent some time on FlyerTalk Live chatting with my fellow FlyerTalkers.
Then came the issue of my g'f in NYC. She didn't have her cell phone on, so there was no way I could contact her. I didn't know if she would get home or not.
Then my dear friend "Chairman's Preferred" called me from his cell phone. He was stuck on the Philly tarmac. His PHL-TPA flight pushed back ontime at 12:30, but at 3:00 he was still on the ground.
We chatted for a little while and I gave him my sympathy.
I logged onto FT Live and Burkey and I were trying to track DL Shuttle flights between LGA and BOS, to see if she could have possibly taken off.
The worst part was that while she was trying to get flights at LGA she thought I was in ORD, so she couldn't communicate with me, as she left her cell phone off.
Finally she called me at 8:30, assuming that I just arrived from Chicago (or, better put, hoping that I did). I explained what happened earlier. She said that all Delta Shuttle flights from LGA to BOS were cancelled, and she didn't want to hastle with US Airways Shuttle. I advised her on Amtrak, but the best they had was a "redeye" that would arrive at BOS at 3:30a. By no means worth it.
She was at the apartment of my friend "NY Emerald Flyer" (also a FT), and she'll try to get home tomorrow morning.
Later CP called me and told me that he finally left at about 3:30 and arrived into Tampa at about 6:00. At least he is home safely
.
Well, I'm home alone again tonight. I hope my g'f can come home early tomorrow, because I'm off to NRT on Sunday am
.
What a day...
BB
PS: There are probably tons of errors, spelling/typos, in this, as I'm still dog tired. Sorry about that. I need to recover before NRT!