So you left Lisa and I sitting comfortably in United’s new Business class seats in Chicago. We thought our day wouldn’t have any more problems, little did we know!
We boarded the flight at 3.40 and were actually looking at an early departure. But time kept going by and we both finished our first movie and we still hadn’t moved. About 2 hours 30 minutes after departing we were told that we could get off the plane to stretch our legs and get some food. We definitely didn’t need to stretch our feet but some food would be nice. So we got off grabbed some food and got back on board. Just as I was sitting down to start my 2nd movie we were informed that we’d all have to get off the plane but we could leave our things on board.
So we got off the plane and stood waiting to hear what would happen. We finally boarded for the 2nd time after 4 hours, and it didn’t stop there. One of our engines needed to be manually started so they had to call a maintenance crew. Time kept going by and the captain then came on and said that there’d been a shift change and they forgot to tell the new maintenance crew! But we finally start taxing to the runway…
Just as we’re lining up for the approach the captain comes on again. It turns out the co-pilot hadn’t done his walk around the plane and they needed a maintenance crew to come out and do it.
Well this was obviously too much for one passenger because then we were told that we were going back to the gate for a ‘minor’ passenger issue. Once we got to the gate police came on and escorted two passengers off!
So we start again, but we have to refuel because we used plenty getting to the runway. Except there’s another maintenance issue and it takes at least 30 minutes for us to get going again. This time we get to the runway and take off, both Lisa and I have watched 2 and a half films! And we haven’t even started the 4 hour flight.
About an hour into the flight the Captain comes on again, UNBELIEVABLE we now have to divert to Denver because one of the fuel pumps is moving fuel between tanks uncontrollably! So the crew run around getting us ready but it’s clear that they are starting to get near the end of their maximum 14.5 hour shift!
So we land at Denver and wait 30 minutes before anyone can tell us what happens next. Do we get dumped at Denver at 2am when there’s no chance of a hotel, no restaurants open! Fortunately they were able to mitigate the problem (not fix it!) and we were off again.
Once in the air, Lisa and I stretched out in our fully flat beds and had a very deep 2 hour sleep before we finally landed in San Francisco at 4.30am!
A flight that was meant to take 4 hours took 12 hours, from the moment we first boarded the plane! An unbelievable way to spend my Birthday!
