SFO as you know often has a one runway operation due to the two runways being too close for safe simulataneous operation in the event of a single cloud in the sky. Despite this, they are expanding this airport spending billion$ but the anti-growth residents claw anyone's eyes out who suggests moving the runway. I have it on good authority that this would cost only about $400 million, but would involve filling in a few square hundred meters of the Bay, and that is a no-no!

I arrived at SFO for my SFO-IAD weekly run and since SF was having the most gorgeous best weather imaginable, and since *everything* had been running A-on-time all day, I thought that this would be my lucky first experience: an on time trip through SFO!

Ahh, not to be. Some bird had apparently hit the pitot and they had to change it. I wonder if they were flying without a working pitot (lets air in to measure air speed)? A supervisor came out to the plane and took pictures before they replaced it.

We boarded after a while, but the captain soon reported that "a system isn't working". Mechanics board, more delay. Finally they announce that the plane can fly safely without that system anyway and that we will depart in this equipment (Airbus 320).

The FA then tried to get the safety briefing video to work. The screens dropped down but the video wouldn't work Tries again. Same problem. Tries again. Third time's the charm.

We were only 1 hour late!

I love the fact that not all UA FA's can operate the video system. I've had to "help" in some cases, which is really bizarre... I'm beginning to think that UA doesn't train all their employees on using the video system. We all know when the system will shut down some displays during the saftey video...(during engine start), however most FA's seem suprised when it happens... (Thus the replay upon replay of the same video..)

I didn't know that about the engines starting.

This plane's APU wasn't working either, BTW.