Clearly whoever came up with this overused phrase had a miserable sense of adventure. I suppose there are times when it does apply - paddling a dugout canoe to a hut in the Amazon comes to mind (stumbling to the next bar on a pub crawl certainly does as well). But when I think of the majority of the times that I have travelled, the "getting there" part is just a bunch of waiting, sitting, and more waiting. Of course, all bets would be off if the Brazilian in 20B had decided to move back a row...
Anyways, this rambling preamble (actually this whole blog post is rambling) was made possible by the kind folks at American Airlines. My flight path was to be as follows: SFO >> Miami >> La Paz >> Cochabamba >> Sucre. The layover in Miami was to be 90 minutes.
Despite completing an agreement in 2011 to purchase 460 new airplanes (according to the smiling picture of CEO Thomas W. Horton, page 8 on the current edition of American Way), my plane apparently didn't get the memo and was clearly constructed around the same time Kennedy was making some tough decisions about Cuba. Unsurprisingly, we incurred a 2.5 hour delay due to a faulty auto-pilot system. I am not a pilot, have never flown a plane, and am sure that a faulty auto-pilot system means there is something actually wrong with the plane, but at first glance the concept that we were unable to take off because a computer couldn't do the job of the pilot for him is ridiculous. Fortunately American Airlines truly had the safety of its passengers in mind when they delayed take-off another 30 minutes because one of the emergency exit lights would not turn on.
In such situations it is incredibly important not to take your anger and frustration out on the gate and flight attendants. There is nothing they can do to make the situation better and they certainly are not happy that a)they themselves are delayed, and b)they now have to deal with 200 people bitching at them for something they are not at fault for and have no control over. And if there was something they could do, do you really think they would be willing to help the person that just screamed at them? I understand that extensive delays can be significantly disruptive if you are operating under a limited timeframe, whether that be vacation, business, etc., but reaming the poor gate attendant isn't helping anyone. Don't let those smiling Southwest commercials fool you, at best these people get a quiet thank you from maybe 5% of departing passengers, and I just witnessed what happens when things go wrong.
At first, there was an ominous announcement that there might be a problem with the plane's auto-pilot system. 10 minutes later, the attendant cautiously stated that there was indeed a problem, and the technicians did not know how long it would take to fix. Another 20 minutes, and still no timeframe with the new caveat that it might not be fixed until tomorrow. This prompted a frantic dash to the gate attendant for flight rebookings, reminiscent of the M-A food line at the beginning of lunch. Here is where I can legitimately fault how the situation was handled: there were 2 workers, with an average rebooking time of at least 15 minutes per party. With at least 75 separate groups... you do the math. Fortunately I had a feeling that something was legitimately wrong and had lined up before the last announcement, and it still took over an hour for me to move about 20 feet.
While waiting in line I heard more tears than the last 10 minutes of the Notebook. There is something about traveling — the confinement, the boredom, the lack of control, etc. — that makes people revert to toddlers. Or maybe we just never lose the characteristic of crying when we don't get what they want.
Miami is American Airlines' hub into South America, so many of the people were in the same situation I was in: if this flight is cancelled we miss our connection and are stuck for at least a day. I was certainly not happy with the situation, but I had planned to start classes on Monday for this specific precaution and pushing my trip back a day wasn't the worst thing in the world. Most of the despair was communicated in Spanish (which I happily could understand) and I did meet a woman from Sucre who wrote down a few places for me to check out, which made up for the pack of Brazilians who were under the strong impression that lines were optional.
After finally arriving at the desk to reschedule my flight, they announced the auto-pilot was about to be fixed and we should be on our way soon. A few minutes later the auto-pilot was indeed fixed... but one of the lights on an emergency exit was not functioning. I am glad our safety is not taken lightly.
The plane was only about 3/4 full, so after noticing my compatriot was a portly Russian I snagged an aisle seat with no one in the middle. In times like these it's the little victories that count. A much bigger victory was the incredibly pleasant flight attendant who handed me a Jack and coke free of charge. The captain apologized for the delay and claimed they were doing everything they could to make up for the delay, announcing that at the current speed the flight would be about half an hour less than the forecasted flight time. This is of course complete bullshit, since if you ever compare the announced flight time to what your ticket says it is always about 30 minutes shorter — under-promise and over-deliver. But the gesture of sympathy was nevertheless appreciated.
After landing and a quick disembarkation, my fears proved to be correct and the flight to La Paz had indeed departed. The next flight to La Paz was leaving the next night, and I was directed to the rebooking desk for a new ticket. The Ritz must have been full since they handed me a voucher for the Best Western, along with $43 worth of meal money redeemable at any airport restaurant ($12 for each meal and a $7 snack). Fortunately there was a free shuttle to ferry me the 10 minutes down a street of perpetual strip malls, and Subway was open late for a 1am dinner.
I had never been to Miami and under different circumstances a one night paid stay could have been fun. But with my bag stuck in the bowels of an airplane, dressed in jeans and a Tufts XC shirt didn't exactly guarantee me a place in the VIP section nor was it conducive to wandering the beaches the next day. Instead I chose the comfort of the air conditioning in the hotel and a nearby movie theater (all to myself!), and arrived at the airport in time to watch the USA defeat Jamaica 2-0. One quick note about Miami (at least the 2 miles of strip mall that I experienced): Spanish is everywhere. For every 10 conversations that I heard 9 of them were in Spanish - same goes for billboards, food advertisements, and movie posters. It was fun to walk around and just watch and listen.
The interesting (scary?) fact is that this is the part of the trip that I was least worried about... the Sucre airport apparently closes frequently due to inclement weather, and the forecast for the weekend calls for scattered T-storms. But I'll deal with that when I get there. For now I will enjoy the free WiFi* and complimentary exit row.
*The WiFi stopped working 100 miles outside the US, so that was a great 5 minutes. We'll pretend this actually posted when I tried to post it instead of the La Paz airport.
Throughout this entire ordeal I was treated with the utmost kindness from all of the American Airlines employees. It is not their fault that I was stuck on a plane that had passed its expiration date, but the executive team that believed it had a mandate to continue to provide a shitty product for the past two decades. Thankfully airlines like JetBlue and Virgin America have forced the old guard to change (much like foreign cars and the US auto industry), and if Thomas E. Horton is to be believed American should see some improvements soon. But for the time being, if you have the option I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
One final note - this initial post will certainly be an anomaly for both length and monotonous detail... I've had substantial free time throughout this extended delay and what better way to spend it then sharing it with the world?
Anyways, this rambling preamble (actually this whole blog post is rambling) was made possible by the kind folks at American Airlines. My flight path was to be as follows: SFO >> Miami >> La Paz >> Cochabamba >> Sucre. The layover in Miami was to be 90 minutes.
Despite completing an agreement in 2011 to purchase 460 new airplanes (according to the smiling picture of CEO Thomas W. Horton, page 8 on the current edition of American Way), my plane apparently didn't get the memo and was clearly constructed around the same time Kennedy was making some tough decisions about Cuba. Unsurprisingly, we incurred a 2.5 hour delay due to a faulty auto-pilot system. I am not a pilot, have never flown a plane, and am sure that a faulty auto-pilot system means there is something actually wrong with the plane, but at first glance the concept that we were unable to take off because a computer couldn't do the job of the pilot for him is ridiculous. Fortunately American Airlines truly had the safety of its passengers in mind when they delayed take-off another 30 minutes because one of the emergency exit lights would not turn on.
In such situations it is incredibly important not to take your anger and frustration out on the gate and flight attendants. There is nothing they can do to make the situation better and they certainly are not happy that a)they themselves are delayed, and b)they now have to deal with 200 people bitching at them for something they are not at fault for and have no control over. And if there was something they could do, do you really think they would be willing to help the person that just screamed at them? I understand that extensive delays can be significantly disruptive if you are operating under a limited timeframe, whether that be vacation, business, etc., but reaming the poor gate attendant isn't helping anyone. Don't let those smiling Southwest commercials fool you, at best these people get a quiet thank you from maybe 5% of departing passengers, and I just witnessed what happens when things go wrong.
At first, there was an ominous announcement that there might be a problem with the plane's auto-pilot system. 10 minutes later, the attendant cautiously stated that there was indeed a problem, and the technicians did not know how long it would take to fix. Another 20 minutes, and still no timeframe with the new caveat that it might not be fixed until tomorrow. This prompted a frantic dash to the gate attendant for flight rebookings, reminiscent of the M-A food line at the beginning of lunch. Here is where I can legitimately fault how the situation was handled: there were 2 workers, with an average rebooking time of at least 15 minutes per party. With at least 75 separate groups... you do the math. Fortunately I had a feeling that something was legitimately wrong and had lined up before the last announcement, and it still took over an hour for me to move about 20 feet.
While waiting in line I heard more tears than the last 10 minutes of the Notebook. There is something about traveling — the confinement, the boredom, the lack of control, etc. — that makes people revert to toddlers. Or maybe we just never lose the characteristic of crying when we don't get what they want.
Miami is American Airlines' hub into South America, so many of the people were in the same situation I was in: if this flight is cancelled we miss our connection and are stuck for at least a day. I was certainly not happy with the situation, but I had planned to start classes on Monday for this specific precaution and pushing my trip back a day wasn't the worst thing in the world. Most of the despair was communicated in Spanish (which I happily could understand) and I did meet a woman from Sucre who wrote down a few places for me to check out, which made up for the pack of Brazilians who were under the strong impression that lines were optional.
After finally arriving at the desk to reschedule my flight, they announced the auto-pilot was about to be fixed and we should be on our way soon. A few minutes later the auto-pilot was indeed fixed... but one of the lights on an emergency exit was not functioning. I am glad our safety is not taken lightly.
The plane was only about 3/4 full, so after noticing my compatriot was a portly Russian I snagged an aisle seat with no one in the middle. In times like these it's the little victories that count. A much bigger victory was the incredibly pleasant flight attendant who handed me a Jack and coke free of charge. The captain apologized for the delay and claimed they were doing everything they could to make up for the delay, announcing that at the current speed the flight would be about half an hour less than the forecasted flight time. This is of course complete bullshit, since if you ever compare the announced flight time to what your ticket says it is always about 30 minutes shorter — under-promise and over-deliver. But the gesture of sympathy was nevertheless appreciated.
After landing and a quick disembarkation, my fears proved to be correct and the flight to La Paz had indeed departed. The next flight to La Paz was leaving the next night, and I was directed to the rebooking desk for a new ticket. The Ritz must have been full since they handed me a voucher for the Best Western, along with $43 worth of meal money redeemable at any airport restaurant ($12 for each meal and a $7 snack). Fortunately there was a free shuttle to ferry me the 10 minutes down a street of perpetual strip malls, and Subway was open late for a 1am dinner.
I had never been to Miami and under different circumstances a one night paid stay could have been fun. But with my bag stuck in the bowels of an airplane, dressed in jeans and a Tufts XC shirt didn't exactly guarantee me a place in the VIP section nor was it conducive to wandering the beaches the next day. Instead I chose the comfort of the air conditioning in the hotel and a nearby movie theater (all to myself!), and arrived at the airport in time to watch the USA defeat Jamaica 2-0. One quick note about Miami (at least the 2 miles of strip mall that I experienced): Spanish is everywhere. For every 10 conversations that I heard 9 of them were in Spanish - same goes for billboards, food advertisements, and movie posters. It was fun to walk around and just watch and listen.
The interesting (scary?) fact is that this is the part of the trip that I was least worried about... the Sucre airport apparently closes frequently due to inclement weather, and the forecast for the weekend calls for scattered T-storms. But I'll deal with that when I get there. For now I will enjoy the free WiFi* and complimentary exit row.
*The WiFi stopped working 100 miles outside the US, so that was a great 5 minutes. We'll pretend this actually posted when I tried to post it instead of the La Paz airport.
Throughout this entire ordeal I was treated with the utmost kindness from all of the American Airlines employees. It is not their fault that I was stuck on a plane that had passed its expiration date, but the executive team that believed it had a mandate to continue to provide a shitty product for the past two decades. Thankfully airlines like JetBlue and Virgin America have forced the old guard to change (much like foreign cars and the US auto industry), and if Thomas E. Horton is to be believed American should see some improvements soon. But for the time being, if you have the option I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
One final note - this initial post will certainly be an anomaly for both length and monotonous detail... I've had substantial free time throughout this extended delay and what better way to spend it then sharing it with the world?
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