Some Things Just Don’t Change (Except For Better Wireless Service)

December 30, 2009

in Delay/Cancellation Stories

I took my three children from Idaho to Virginia with a change of planes in New Jersey. The first leg of the trip was fine. In New Jersey, there were flight delays due to rain. There wasn’t enough room for everyone to sit down and it was very crowded. One man seemed to think it was the airline’s fault for the rain, but the weather was to have been clear. He was yelling and demanding to be flown immediately to his destination. Thankfully, my children were very well-behaved and well-mannered as well as most children I saw.

After a few hours, we were bussed to the plane. There we sat. We were extremely crowded; it was very hot and the rude man from before was on the bus with us making a scene. We were not allowed to get out of our seats. No one would tell us what was going on or how long we would be there. This was 2001 when wireless service wasn’t as good as now. After about three hours, one man was able get a signal and contacted the airline who explained it would be about 10 more minutes. It was another hour.

Not everyone was able to board and had to be bussed back to the terminal as we ended up taking a smaller plane. My kids were put in the back and they wanted me in front. I explained I had to sit near my young children and suggested maybe another passenger would trade me. The very rude attendant demanded I get in my seat or I would not be allowed on the flight. My seatbelt didn’t work but, since the flight was full, I decided not to say anything because I knew they wouldn’t let me fly and this would have created many more problems. There were no snacks given to hungry passengers since it was such a short flight. We weren’t allowed to use the bathroom until after take off. My kids managed to keep in good spirits but I was silently fuming.

Two weeks later, 9-11 happened. That put things in perspective.

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