Blogging American Airlines: Diary of a Leg Cramp - 
by B-side
Well, the fun in New York has finally come to an end, and since I'm traveling back to Los Angeles, I figured what better time to bust out the laptop and blog the flight? Or experience, as it were. Turns out I'm only in the airport so far. I'm hoping there will be lots to discuss, but I'm fearful because I'm not on JetBlue, which means my TV options will probably be limited to some awful movie, The King of Queens, a sappy CBS Sports profile on a random football player like Martin Grammatica, and a dumb commercial for diamonds or whatever. Sigh. At least there's hope that Julie Chen might host a feature, ideally all of CBS Eye On America, but we know that probably won't happen. The good news is that since it's only October 3rd, there's a chance that the crossword puzzle in my American Airlines magazine won't already be filled in. Same goes for the Sudoku. So without further ado, I shall now endeavor to describe my flight until my laptop dies.
10:48 AM
Okay, here's what's happened so far. My flight is supposed to leave at noon, but I arrived at JFK early, and by the time I got through security, I saw that there was another flight to Los Angeles leaving an entire hour earlier. Well, this seemed like a wonderful opportunity! I decided I'd put my airport know-how to use and get on the earlier plane. With great swagger, I demanded that I be put on flight 19 (okay, I just said, "Is there room?" and the flight attendant brusquely took my boarding pass and sneered, "I'll put you on standby."). Anyway, at 10:30 AM, I was called to the desk, and huzzah! I had cleared the standby list! Even better, I had an aisle seat. What a wonderful execution of an impromptu plan! I handed my boarding pass to the lady at the gate, and just before it was scanned, it occurred to me that I might be separated from my one, sole, checked bag. Would you be able to get my bag? I asked.
No.
Just like that, all my dreams came to an end. What would be the point of taking the earlier flight if I had to hang around LAX an extra hour? Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. The decision was clear: take the original flight. But wait! The guy at the gate suddenly told me that my original flight would be delayed for an indefinite amount of time. "How long?" I asked. He said he didn't know. He merely shrugged and said, "The plane's broken." GREAT. Always love to hear that. So now here was the dilemma: take a flight that will get me in earlier and then return to LAX later tonight to retrieve my bag (major pain in the ass), or hang tough, stay with the luggage, and, you know, fly on a broken plane. My inclination was to go earlier and not, you know, risk death in a shabby plane.
But I knew there was one person who'd be able to give me good perspective on this: my brother. I called him up and explained the situation. He asked if I had anything valuable in my luggage. "Oh, just a laptop and a camcorder," I said. So in short: yes, I did have valuable items. And in case you're wondering, the laptop in my luggage is the one I had earlier this week whose monitor completely fizzled out (and of course, as soon as I spent a small fortune on a newer, glossier replacement, the old laptop suddenly whirred back to life as if to say, "Gotcha, fucker!!!!"). Anyway, my brother made a good point: you don't want a bag with valuable items lingering around the airport. Best to stay with the bag.
So here I am, on my original flight with the broken plane. What will really suck is if my flight gets cancelled altogether, I wind up on a different plane, and I have to wait for my bag at LAX after all. Of course, that's assuming that anything this guy said to me was true. When I asked another woman, she said there was no record of a delay in the computer and didn't hear of any troubles. So was the first guy trying to hustle me onto his flight? Or was the second woman trying to cover up a massive aviation problem? Needless to say, I'm quite perplexed and uneasy.
Oh, and at this point, I can't change my mind because I just saw the earlier flight back away from the gate. Hmmm... maybe if I tell them I'm Joyce and Uchenna they'll bring the plane back.
11:05 AM
By the way, I have a terrible seat for people watching. I'm literally looking at payphones. If I want to look at people, I literally have to crane my neck behind me, which is entirely too obvious.
11:22 AM
This just in! The flight is officially delayed. But only by half an hour (which means about three to four hours). Either way, it's emerging from the hangar now, which means hopefully (fingers crossed) it's not broken anymore. Tell my family I love them...
11:34 AM
I caved in. I payed $8 for internet access. This is strongly against my beliefs, but it had to be done. Another thing JetBlue has on American: free WiFi in the terminals. Seriously, American. Why do you suck so much?
11:38 AM
The flight attendant just advised us that there is a very limited amount of sandwiches for sale on the flight today. This of course begs the next dilemma: buy a sandwich now or wait until I land in LAX? Maybe I'll get some candy. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Genius!
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