Archived entry from our February 2007 trip
Hi, it's Ilene writing from California--
Glad I built in the one-day buffer in California. You'd think leaving CT in the morning would give me plenty of time to reach California, but I almost spent the night in Dallas.
12:15pm EST my plane leaves 30 min late from BDL.
3:35pm CST I miss my connection in DFW by 5 minutes because we take an extra 40 minutes in the air to go around strong headwinds. I ran and ran. No avail. 6 others also miss the flight. Why is it better to reroute all of us than holding the plane?
There should be a word for the feeling you get watching your connecting flight pull away from the gate while you're still on the runway in your first plane.
3:45pm CST I'm put on standby for the next flight to Orange County and assured no problem getting on the flight.
7:00pm CST the flight is actually oversold and I don't get a seat. The last flight out to Orange County has been cancelled. Would I like to fly into LAX? My bags have already gone to Orange County.
No, but it seems like a better bet than waiting until morning in DFW.
8:55pm CST The flight to LAX pulls out of the gate. Wow, the guy next to me says, I'm so glad I got on this flight because my last flight was cancelled for mechanical problems. S*&t, I think. Thanks a lot for saying that.
9:05pm CST The flight pulls back into the gate. Funny engine noise. Also, a seat is broken. 2 guys come on to fix the seat. Another checks the engine. 30 people flee the plane to catch the absolute last flight to LAX tonight. I don't have another sprint in me. It's a 50/50 crapshoot. I take my chances with Funny Engine Sound Plane.
9:55pm I win!!! Funny engine noise no problem--it's just cold. Our pilot explains he didn't know this kind of 757 engine can sound funny in the cold. Off we go again.
I should say that nothing about this story is unusual in comparison to everyone else on the flight--the details were different, but everyone had the same story to tell at that point.
11:30pm PST Thuan picks me up curbside at LAX. And surprise! He and Trieu went to Orange County and got my bags. No problem showing up and taking someone else's bags out of the airport, apparently. TSA already in bed?
12:45pm PST. (3:45 EST). Home at Trieu's. Shower. Bed. Innoculated against further bad luck, at least for the next few says, I hope. No real harm done.
Doing final packing. Heading back to LAX 8pm this evening for a 11:40pm departure. 14.5 hours to Taipei, then 4.5 hours into HCMC. Bon Voyage.
