Hi,

AA2474 is DFW-SMF.

It was a bit of a shamble on Friday night.

Due to leave at 7pm and get in at 8:45pm.

1. Crew was very slow to board disabled passengers (about three) who needed wheel chairs.

2. Doors locked at 7:15pm but by then thunderstorms are in.

3.. 8:15pm Thunderstorms gone.

4. 8:30pm Captain discovers right engine won't start automatically. Calls for manual restart (apparently standard procedure on SD80).

5. 9:00pm Captain is told that first officer's visual inspection missed damage on the engine due to the right engine's flap door used to do manual restart not being closed from last flight. Fortunately when trying to do restart the engineers found it.

6. 9:30pm told new planed required.

7. 9:45pm deplane

8. 10pm new plane found.

9. 10:30pm gate assigned.

10. 11pm Board

11. 11:30pm Wheels up.

12. At SMF 1am 4.5 hours late. No cabs. No Supershuttle.

13. First class catering was a shambles as well. First plane no pre-takeoff beverage on first flight and on second plane no food what-so-ever. Only told this as we boarded the 2nd plane.