eta: sometime between pulse and connection
If you’re reading this in the afternoon on Monday May 31, I’m past the clouds, winging my way to Boston.
The flight out of Victoria was canceled.
I pre-wrote this post and scheduled it to publish while I’m en route. I knew I wouldn’t get a chance to write anything in the morning, and I’m guessing that by the time I get to my destination, I’ll be just a wee tad wrung out.
Yes, I feel wrung out, but only because my plans were overturned so abruptly.
While I’m not a morning person, the tyranny of international flight regulations mean having to be at my local airport – Victoria BC/ YYJ – at 4:30a.m., 90 minutes prior to the departure of a 6a.m. flight to Seattle, from whence I get a connecting flight to Boston.That the 6a.m. flight (there’s no 7a.m.) is the only option is bad enough; having to be there 90 minutes ahead of time is ridiculous. Yes, Seattle may be merely minutes away, but it lies across an international boundary.
Got up at 3:45a.m., taxi to airport at 4a.m., hung around until 5:45a.m. before the airline (Horizon) told us that the 6a.m. flight was canceled “due to mechanical problems” – Horizon #fail. Back in line to re-book, on the phone to reservations at the same time as standing in line – upshot? Earliest possible flight out for the two of us: TOMORROW morning, with a complicated itinerary via Chicago, that would have landed us at Logan Airport around midnight. No thanks, especially not with a return trip already planned for Saturday. We canceled everything and returned home.
I hope to return to regular programming by tomorrow (Tues.) – if you’re in Boston, @ me on Twitter and say “hi” or drop a comment here. I’d love some good conversation and maybe a chance to meet a few Berkman folks, time permitting.
Yes, I suppose a return to regular programming by tomorrow is possible. Unfortunately, it won’t happen in Boston, at least not this week. So sad. Instead of “eta” the title could read “doa”…
Pilot Patrick Smith touches on airline delays in one of the items in this column: http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2002/06/28/askthepilot1
Comment by robert randall — May 31, 2010 #
Interesting info, Rob, thanks. I have my own theory why the flight was canceled.
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See, there’s this alien zombie force that controls my movements with a locking ray gun. When they caught wind of my plans to leave the island, they zapped the plane. I expect to see them ’round the next corner any day now. (This is also known as #goingbonkers….)
😉
Comment by Yule — May 31, 2010 #
How much competition is there on that route? What a stinker – to cancel a flight without offering an acceptable option!
Comment by melanieb — June 1, 2010 #
It’s Victoria – small airport, limited number of flights. Many of the travelers on that plane were catching a connection to Las Vegas (holiday travel), but it was a real mixed bag for the rest: Detroit, Tennessee, So-Cal, …and Boston.
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One woman behind us in line, who got on the phone to reservations right away while also waiting in line with us, managed to get through to reservations by phone about 7 minutes before we did. She was the one other person we gathered was traveling to Boston as well. She managed to snag an Air Canada flight either to Vancouver or Toronto, which then allowed a connecting flight to Boston. The flight out of Victoria was boarding at that very moment, so she bolted out of the line, ran with her luggage to the check-in at the end of the terminal, ran back to the gates, and – since we didn’t see her again – presumably made it out.
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By the time we got through on the phone just minutes later, that flight was gone (and it wasn’t clear at any rate that they would have had room for two additional people), and there were no other options available. The next possible flight for two would have been the next day, with a very late arrival in Boston. What a total fuck-up. That’s what you get for living on an island, I guess.
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Add insult to injury: if you fly out of Seattle, you pay ~$450(US) for a flight to Boston. If you fly out of Victoria, your bill is $850(Cdn) – I’m including taxes. Next time I’m taking the damn Clipper to Seattle and staying overnight at the airport to catch the morning flight. We thought we were “smart” by avoiding the hotel & ferry travel costs by flying instead, but we still spent $120 in taxi costs to get to the airport and then back that same day. Island life is damn expensive. Getting too much for me.
Comment by Yule — June 1, 2010 #
[…] June started with a whimper for me – not sure about that “return to regular programming” thing, not after yesterday’s unpleasant surprise. […]
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