Traveler Suffers Multitudinous Delays

August 8, 2012

in Delay/Cancellation Stories

Flying from Nashville to Columbus via ATL. Outbound flight was 1 hour delayed for mechanical reasons. Fine, still had enough buffer in my layover for my connection.

Board the plane and there was a miscommunication between the pilot and ground crew; not enough fuel was loaded (there was bad weather and needed extra in case we were diverted). Plane full of passengers waiting at gate for 45 minutes and still no fuel truck!

The pilot renegotiated diversion options with FAA and managed to make what fuel we did have work. Yay, engines start and we proceed to runway. Ready to take off the pilot comes on the PA system and announces we don’t have enough oil pressure. Equipment read 7 and we needed a minimum amount of 9 to fly. Back to gate.

Added oil and paperwork competed. Should be taking off anytime soon… but no. Ground stop in ATL. Missed connection after an additional 2 hour delay due to weather. Rebooked on last flight out (stand-by) and protected on 2 additional the next morning. Connection very tight.

Arrive in ATL where the airport was a disaster due to the ground stoppage. Running to gate (2 terminal dash) and should have missed that flight but it was delayed due to no crew. Happy about that delay.

Total flight time = 13 hours. Three mechanicals, ground stop, missing crew, 3 rebookings, and the airline would not put me up in a hotel because it was weather related delays. It became weather related because of the 3 prior mechanical issues! I departed for ATL by the time I was supposed to leave for my final destination.

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Robert August 9, 2012 at 10:53 am

Well, this qualifies as a true Flight From Hell.
I empathize with your travails; they happen; they suck.

But it does beat the whiners that bitch about somebody's perfume or the fact that their leg intruded on your space.

Wouldn't it be nice if trains were up to the standards that they should be?

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Kourtney Heintz August 14, 2012 at 7:57 pm

That sounds MISERABLE. So sorry to hear about that!

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Gregg August 17, 2012 at 8:01 pm

Not sure Kourtney which experience was worse – the one described by the writer of this story, or the one that you wrote about in your blog: Why We Need Adult Only Flights.

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James August 16, 2012 at 8:43 am

Why fly that distance, ever? According to Google Maps, Columbus GA is 6 hours 2 minutes, and Columbus Ohio is 6 hours 31 minutes.

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Anonymous August 30, 2012 at 8:27 am

Got to agree with James. In America I always drive or, if possible, take Amtrak for virtually anything that would involve about 6 hours or less of ground travel. The lesson from your story is that the American air travel system is essentially broken compared to Canada, EU, or Asia Pacific, and you should just drive to Columbus from now on.

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