Currently I’m stuck on a plane waiting for the airline to stuff this plane to the hills. Bad weather at DFW is causing a chain reaction of flight cancellations, so the airline decided to wait for more passengers to get our 95% full flight up to 100%.
Murphy then stepped in, and broke the APU, causing another delay waiting for maintenance to check it out. The pilot tells us its not a no go item, but still has to be checked before flight.
Did I mention the weather is cold and rainy with occasional sleet? So well get to drive before we go, adding to the fun.
This is after going to the wrong terminal to start the trip, then needing th get back in the car and drive all over DFW. Amusingly, apparently there’s no way to drive straight from terminal C to D. Awesome.
More to follow
Update: the flight crew decided to give away headarts for free, then in the same announcement said “we have only a limited amount, so if you don’t need one don’t take one. Silly. I don’t need one, I have a blog.
Update2: after waiting 30 minutes for an air start vary (because the APu is dead) we started up and taxied. Out, to sit and wait for deicing, which was of course stopped for 30 minutes due to the snow falling faster than the deicing could remove it. Now deicing has resumed, but we don’t know where we are in line.
A couple of observations: every time we make any positive move ygr flight attendants tell us to shut off the electronics, which we all do, until further progress is obviously futile, then they all go back on.
Aldo, and this is going to sound petulant, but were now stick in the middle of an airport because of a decision to intentionally delay this flight to accompfate about 5 people who were bumped from other cancelled flights. A decision made with the knowledge that a snowstorm was coming. Genius.
Ill bet American is really happy with their load factor on this flight to nowhere.
Update3: we’ve been sitting here for 2 hours, and non of the planes have moved. There if a de ice station we can see, which seems to intermittently spray off one plane, which hasn’t moved in two hours.
It looks like this trip is toast, but nobody will make the decision to cancel the flight
I can hear the occasional departure, but its not coming from our line
Update4. Three planes have suddenly left th de ice stand but none are taking their places. Aldo, as there are two lines waiting its hard to tell what is next.
Update 5. A mere 4 1/2 hours after our scheduled departure time were finally being deiced. The pilot tells us we’re going directly to the runway afterward.
Having worked for the proud organization you decided to utilize for your traveling “pleasure?”; I can say without a doubt it is the worst managed hub of any major airline. When severe inclement weather hits, you would be better off taking off in an ultralight than waiting for them to get their collective brown oragnic matter together. I hope this reply finds you safe and sound at your destination given the “rednecks on ice show” you suffered in DFW.
You think that’s bad? Fly Liat. You’ll appreciate whatever two-bit US carrier you rode on.
What fun!
I live very close to the DFW airport. There is sleet and black ice a few days EVERY year, and still, they act like each time is the first time it ever happens.
Don’t they have a meteorology department? And that huge radar by the toll gates, is it there just for decoration?
Pro-active has never been part of their vocabulary.
American has got to be the worst airline in the business. If it wasn’t for the protection offered by the Wright Amendment at DFW, and the various disincentives to competing with legacy air carriers extended by the federal government, they wouldn’t exist.
Well that would suck about as much as being sick and having to sit for 6-8 hrs. in an er waiting room.
Just be grateful that you did not have a toddler with you.
My recent flight took off from OHare 2 hours later than it should have, and then we circled the damn airport at our destination for over 1/2 hour.
So you had 2 hours on my experience, but you did not have the irritated toddler :-)