According to their song, Simon and Garfunkle were waiting in a railway station... We, instead, are sitting in an airport, awaiting the call to board...
Actually, they have called us to board, we boarded, we found our seats, a place in the overhead for our carry-on’s, and as we were starting to get settled in, they announced… the aircraft (the term they used was "this tail number") was "out of service" and we needed to de-plane... We noted that as we were boarding, a gate agent said, "we are planning to get you to your destination" not the more common "so we can get you to your destination"... We laughed at the time, but are now questioning, did he know something... People thought the announcement was a joke… Was it a joke, or was it for real… unfortunately, it was for real, and we and our fellow passengers gathered belongings, and filed off…
Jet Blue “tail number” N529JB, Old Blue Eyes has failed us...
Now, we sit, waiting for information... explaining just how
and when we might expect to continue our adventure... They have announced
that they are still looking for a new "tail number"... Our fellow
passengers are hoping for an airplane, rather than just a number... Some are on phones, trying to arrainge alternate transportation... apparently there is little available... They change the gate board to delayed to 5:45
(45 minutes late…) but their web site says 6:00... (the Ft Lauderdale Airport has
free wifi, we are looking at the Jet Blue site... we have researched the history of the tail number (delivered to Jet Blue in Aug 2001, no issues on record, It was airborne by 9:27 last night, and now, 8:00 am, Monday in route to LaGuardia)… Now the gate board says 6:00 as well.
Now, they have announced a new gate... In addition to a new gate, they have apparently found an airplane and are towing it over... It's just in from an international flight (which if we believe the people making the announcement makes this process more complicated)... It needs to be fueled, checked... And apparently lots of other things, before we get to claim its tail number... Then they will load our luggage... Or maybe they have already loaded our luggage already, but if so why are they still unloading our old plane (aka "tail number")
According to the schedule boards and Jet Blue web site, we took off 4 minutes ago... If so Tina and I and most of our fellow passengers have missed the flight... I suspect it's more likely that our flight is later than they are saying...
Boarding is called (again). We have (once again) found over head bid space for our stuff, and settled into our seats... This time the boarding is going much faster... It should, we had a dress rehearsal an hour ago... The cabin crew just while asking for us to quickly stow items and find our seats mentioned a "quick departure"... I think that train left the station a long time ago...
One of the pilots has just announced that the problem with the other plane was some peeling paint on a flap... "Just needed some paint and some speed tape?" I know “speed tape” as a variation on duct tape… Could we have been grounded for duct tape failure?
We are finally wheels up just after 7:00, a couple of hours late, an hour after the computer last said we would...
Now, they have announced a new gate... In addition to a new gate, they have apparently found an airplane and are towing it over... It's just in from an international flight (which if we believe the people making the announcement makes this process more complicated)... It needs to be fueled, checked... And apparently lots of other things, before we get to claim its tail number... Then they will load our luggage... Or maybe they have already loaded our luggage already, but if so why are they still unloading our old plane (aka "tail number")
According to the schedule boards and Jet Blue web site, we took off 4 minutes ago... If so Tina and I and most of our fellow passengers have missed the flight... I suspect it's more likely that our flight is later than they are saying...
Boarding is called (again). We have (once again) found over head bid space for our stuff, and settled into our seats... This time the boarding is going much faster... It should, we had a dress rehearsal an hour ago... The cabin crew just while asking for us to quickly stow items and find our seats mentioned a "quick departure"... I think that train left the station a long time ago...
One of the pilots has just announced that the problem with the other plane was some peeling paint on a flap... "Just needed some paint and some speed tape?" I know “speed tape” as a variation on duct tape… Could we have been grounded for duct tape failure?
We are finally wheels up just after 7:00, a couple of hours late, an hour after the computer last said we would...
Epilogue
We are home… a couple of hours late… We have our bags and such… the dog is happy
to have us home… the cats are suspicious and cautious…
The bags are empty... There are piles of laundry to be done… There is a pile of
cameras and charges and maps to put away… Work is calling.
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