Crazy return from Philly
Before I talk about my flight back to Chicago from the city of brotherly love, I would just like to comment that this week's Strongbad E-mail is a must-see for anyone who has ever been to Disneyland / Disneyworld and rode the Jungle Cruise.
I was scheduled to leave PHL at 7:15 on Friday night, arriving at O'Hare around 9pm local time. Working my way through the crowds in the United terminal, I discovered that my flight was canceled, but I was booked on the 6:15 flight with no trouble at all. I also noticed that the 4:00, 5:00, and 6:15 flights to O'Hare were all DELAYED. Yikes. After grabbing a $2 slice of pizza (not bad for the airport), I made my way to the gate. I sat where I could see the departure board so that I could keep tabs on the other two flights.
Seven O'Clock. My flight is still delayed. There's bad weather in O'Hare, and even after it's passed through, it will still be directly in between Philadelphia and Chicago.
Eight O'Clock. Still delayed. The other two PHL-ORD flights are also delayed.
Nine O'Clock. My flight gets canceled. I wait in line for a boarding pass on the flight originally scheduled to leave at 5:00. To my surprise, I have no trouble getting one.
Ten O'Clock. I board the 5:00 flight. We sit out on the runway for a while.
Eleven O'Clock. We finally take off. The captain mentions that we'll be flying south around the storms.
Midnight. We're somewhere in Kentucky, still quite a distance from Chicago. By 12:30, we're in a holding pattern over St. Louis.
One O'Clock. The captain mentions that we might have to land somewhere besides O'Hare because we don't have an abundance of fuel left. At one point, he says something like, "We'll see if we can make it". I envision the captain and first officer tapping on the gas gauge to determine if there's enough left in the tank. "Hey, Bill, have you ever seen the fuel read this low before?"
One Thirty. We land safely at O'Hare. Yay.
Two O'Clock. Jenelle and I meet at the American terminal and head for economy parking.
Two Thirty. We leave the airport.
Four O'Clock. We arrive safely at our condo.
So, it was quite an interesting evening / morning. I'm thankful that Jenelle and I both made it back to Chicago without having to sleep somewhere in an airport.
I was scheduled to leave PHL at 7:15 on Friday night, arriving at O'Hare around 9pm local time. Working my way through the crowds in the United terminal, I discovered that my flight was canceled, but I was booked on the 6:15 flight with no trouble at all. I also noticed that the 4:00, 5:00, and 6:15 flights to O'Hare were all DELAYED. Yikes. After grabbing a $2 slice of pizza (not bad for the airport), I made my way to the gate. I sat where I could see the departure board so that I could keep tabs on the other two flights.
Seven O'Clock. My flight is still delayed. There's bad weather in O'Hare, and even after it's passed through, it will still be directly in between Philadelphia and Chicago.
Eight O'Clock. Still delayed. The other two PHL-ORD flights are also delayed.
Nine O'Clock. My flight gets canceled. I wait in line for a boarding pass on the flight originally scheduled to leave at 5:00. To my surprise, I have no trouble getting one.
Ten O'Clock. I board the 5:00 flight. We sit out on the runway for a while.
Eleven O'Clock. We finally take off. The captain mentions that we'll be flying south around the storms.
Midnight. We're somewhere in Kentucky, still quite a distance from Chicago. By 12:30, we're in a holding pattern over St. Louis.
One O'Clock. The captain mentions that we might have to land somewhere besides O'Hare because we don't have an abundance of fuel left. At one point, he says something like, "We'll see if we can make it". I envision the captain and first officer tapping on the gas gauge to determine if there's enough left in the tank. "Hey, Bill, have you ever seen the fuel read this low before?"
One Thirty. We land safely at O'Hare. Yay.
Two O'Clock. Jenelle and I meet at the American terminal and head for economy parking.
Two Thirty. We leave the airport.
Four O'Clock. We arrive safely at our condo.
So, it was quite an interesting evening / morning. I'm thankful that Jenelle and I both made it back to Chicago without having to sleep somewhere in an airport.
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