Airport Disaster Stories

RWood · 09-15-2008, 08:29 PM

The Corrupt-a-Wish thread with all of the references to Atlanta's great airport reminded me of my experiences there. (Not that Atlanta is the only one and this thread is for all airports anywhere in the world.)

I asked once if my connection could be on the the same tier at Atlanta. The travel coordinator came back and said not only were they on the same tier but only 2 gates away. Wonderful. Plus, I got to Atlanta at 9:30 and the connection left at 10:15.

Yeah, I get in at 9:30 am and the connection leaves at 10:15 pm.

slayda · 09-15-2008, 08:40 PM

Plenty of time to get to your next flight - but that's Atlanta for you.

nekokami · 09-15-2008, 08:44 PM

Bleah.

I've spent rather a lot of time in Chicago O'Hare, myself. Between midwest thunderstorms in the summer and blizzards roaming the east coast in the winter, going between the two is prone with delays nearly any time of year. I'm supposed to be writing up some homework, so I'll save my best story for a later time.

However, I can't top the experiences of my coworkers who were stuck in the newly rebuilt Denver International Airport years ago. Blizzards made it impossible to get people in or out via ground transportation, and the planes were all grounded as well. For about 3 days, if I recall correctly. I understand a lively black market developed in disposable diapers.

JSWolf · 09-15-2008, 08:46 PM

I've never had a disaster story. My Sony's made it just fine without a scratch.

RWood · 09-15-2008, 09:13 PM

Ah Chicago, what would life have been in the 70s for me without all of those connections through O'Hare. I always seemed to connect there late in the night and sometimes the airport closed amid the storms or my connection flight just never made it in.

After a while even the collected business cards converted to a make-shift deck of cards for solitaire gets old and you start listening to the 3 am announcements, "Will Mr. Nixon, Mr. Richard Nixon, please pick up the white courtesy telephone...."

Greg Anos · 09-15-2008, 09:46 PM

Ah, O'Hare in Chicago. Last time I was there, I waited 3 hours on the tarmac during a thiunderstorm. Fun feeling the plane bounce up and down while sitting still on the ground. When the storm cleared, we were informed that it would take another 45 minutes to get the towers running again. The weather had been so bad that they had evacuated the control towers......

pshrynk · 09-16-2008, 08:52 AM

Last April when American decided to fess up to not changing the oil on any of their planes for over three years "because we sort of forgot," we got caught in the whole mess. We were flying to Chile to start a cruise, but could not get there from here. AA cancelled our flight the day before we left and re-routed us through Miami on another airline with a red-eye from MIA to Chile. Trouble was, they could only get us there at noon the latest, leaving us a TEN HOUR LAYOVER IN MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. With our luggage, since we had to get off one carrier and go to another, international carrier. Which was not open to take luggage until 8:00 PM. So we drug our luggage for a two week cruise around the airport, which does not have a decent restaurant outside security for eight hours.

There are only so many hours of watching interesting Miami people walk around before you go slowly mad.

Did I mention that my wife does not read? Or that she gets upset if I "disappear into a book?"

AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Slite · 09-16-2008, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Last April when American decided to fess up to not changing the oil on any of their planes for over three years "because we sort of forgot," we got caught in the whole mess. We were flying to Chile to start a cruise, but could not get there from here. AA cancelled our flight the day before we left and re-routed us through Miami on another airline with a red-eye from MIA to Chile. Trouble was, they could only get us there at noon the latest, leaving us a TEN HOUR LAYOVER IN MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. With our luggage, since we had to get off one carrier and go to another, international carrier. Which was not open to take luggage until 8:00 PM. So we drug our luggage for a two week cruise around the airport, which does not have a decent restaurant outside security for eight hours.

There are only so many hours of watching interesting Miami people walk around before you go slowly mad.

Did I mention that my wife does not read? Or that she gets upset if I "disappear into a book?"

AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Ahhhh, the old wifey-goes-ballistic-if-i-don't-answer-her-when-im-reading thingy. Been there, done that, and I never even got a t-shirt to show for it.

Usually when we are on hollidays, I read, and she's pissed becuase I don't answer her with more than a "Mhm" to anything she says

zelda_pinwheel · 09-16-2008, 09:38 AM

note to self : in light of impending trip over-laden with flights, transfers, different companies and more airports than i hoped to see in my lifetime, and especially since i could easily add one or two stories of my own from past experiences, it is probably best for my blood-pressure and pre-departure state of mind to avoid this thread meticulously. seriously. what am i thinking, reading this ?

Azayzel · 09-16-2008, 09:42 AM

Seems my wife isn't the only one experiencing some jacked-up issues with flying lately. Recently she was on an international flight to San Anotonio from Tokyo and then catch another flight in the early AM to Atlanta, well the flight got diverted into Oklahoma City on the pretense of weather. When they landed they were informed there were "mechanical problems" and no one could deplane since OKC is not an international terminal. So, they sat on the ground for 6 hours before taking off to DFW where they wouldn't make it in time to catch any connectors; i.e, landed around midnight. The earliest flight the next morning wouldn't get her to SAT in time to catch her flight to ATL, so we had to book for a later flight... and pay a $50 fee. Secondly, the flight couldn't be changed until 3-hours prior to the flight (meanhwile, she'd be in the air at that time and couldn't call herself, so I had to stay up do make arrangements from Tokyo)! To add insult to injury, she was booked for a night in the Hilton and when I called with plenty of time for them to fill it, they adamantly refused a refund even after I explained the flight issues.

She eventually made it to ATL, but only got about 3 hours sleep in DFW before having to go back for her flight to SAT, but didn't have any issues catching the flight from there to ATL. While American Airlines would have flown her to ATL for free (one-way), Delta informed us that they would cancel the return trip if she didn't fly on the first leg. The American Airlines people were the best help and extremely apologetic, but Delta's support sucked really bad, especially since it's farmed out to overseas. I had to dial their number direct instead of using the 800-number to get a person in the states who could understand what was going on and wasn't simply reading from a script.

Needless to say, we won't be using Delta airlines anytime in the near future; I'll be avoiding them like the plague. This sucks, because they used to be a good airline that I enjoyed flying with. Regarding Hilton, I filed a charge-back with my CC to recoup those losses and we'll be submitting that bill & the extra we had to pay to change her flight to American Airlines in hopes that they'll made things nice again.

And then... Sunday in ATL on the return trip to SAT, there were so many people in line and things were so FUBAR that she missed her flight and couldn't get booked until late last night. The travel portion of her trip has been hell, and it all seems to center on Delta (at least the way I see it, but AA originally got the call rolling).

Whew!

pshrynk · 09-16-2008, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

note to self : in light of impending trip over-laden with flights, transfers, different companies and more airports than i hoped to see in my lifetime, and especially since i could easily add one or two stories of my own from past experiences, it is probably best for my blood-pressure and pre-departure state of mind to avoid this thread meticulously. seriously. what am i thinking, reading this ?

I wonder about your masochistic tendencies at times.

$125, please, you can pay the Luddite at the entrance to the Supersecret Escape Tunnel, which Neko Chan avoids and actually denies exists, which is, in fact an exit to the Miami International Airport, where you will be forever cursed to watch strangely dressed men wrapping suitcases in plastic wrap before Homeland Security demands that they be unwrapped. The suitcases, not the strangely dress men.

Slite · 09-16-2008, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshrynk

I wonder about your masochistic tendencies at times.

$125, please, you can pay the Luddite at the entrance to the Supersecret Escape Tunnel, which Neko Chan avoids and actually denies exists, which is, in fact an exit to the Miami International Airport, where you will be forever cursed to watch strangely dressed men wrapping suitcases in plastic wrap before Homeland Security demands that they be unwrapped. The suitcases, not the strangely dress men.

Darn it... that whole thing would have made more sense if homeland security had meant the strangely dressed men instead of the suitcases. I thought I had it all figured out until that last sentence.... Oh well...

zelda_pinwheel · 09-16-2008, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshrynk

I wonder about your masochistic tendencies at times.

$125, please, you can pay the Luddite at the entrance to the Supersecret Escape Tunnel, which Neko Chan avoids and actually denies exists, which is, in fact an exit to the Miami International Airport, where you will be forever cursed to watch strangely dressed men wrapping suitcases in plastic wrap before Homeland Security demands that they be unwrapped. The suitcases, not the strangely dress men.

i think you're right. 125$ you say ? probably cheap at the price... but could i at least tell you about my mother before i head for the Supersecret Escape Tunnel ? isn't that sort of standard practice ?

pshrynk · 09-16-2008, 09:57 AM

Tell me about your mother.

$125, please, you can pay the Luddite at the entrance to the Super Secret Escape Tunnel which Neko Chan blah blah blah...

nekokami · 09-16-2008, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshrynk

....which Neko Chan avoids and actually denies exists, which is, in fact an exit to the Miami International Airport....

In which case, can you blame me for avoiding it???

09-15-2008, 08:29 PM	#1
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	Airport Disaster Stories The Corrupt-a-Wish thread with all of the references to Atlanta's great airport reminded me of my experiences there. (Not that Atlanta is the only one and this thread is for all airports anywhere in the world.) I asked once if my connection could be on the the same tier at Atlanta. The travel coordinator came back and said not only were they on the same tier but only 2 gates away. Wonderful. Plus, I got to Atlanta at 9:30 and the connection left at 10:15. Yeah, I get in at 9:30 am and the connection leaves at 10:15 pm.

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09-15-2008, 08:40 PM	#2
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	Plenty of time to get to your next flight - but that's Atlanta for you.

09-15-2008, 08:44 PM	#3
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Bleah. I've spent rather a lot of time in Chicago O'Hare, myself. Between midwest thunderstorms in the summer and blizzards roaming the east coast in the winter, going between the two is prone with delays nearly any time of year. I'm supposed to be writing up some homework, so I'll save my best story for a later time. However, I can't top the experiences of my coworkers who were stuck in the newly rebuilt Denver International Airport years ago. Blizzards made it impossible to get people in or out via ground transportation, and the planes were all grounded as well. For about 3 days, if I recall correctly. I understand a lively black market developed in disposable diapers.

09-15-2008, 08:46 PM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,037 Karma: 129333114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I've never had a disaster story. My Sony's made it just fine without a scratch.

09-15-2008, 09:13 PM	#5
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	Ah Chicago, what would life have been in the 70s for me without all of those connections through O'Hare. I always seemed to connect there late in the night and sometimes the airport closed amid the storms or my connection flight just never made it in. After a while even the collected business cards converted to a make-shift deck of cards for solitaire gets old and you start listening to the 3 am announcements, "Will Mr. Nixon, Mr. Richard Nixon, please pick up the white courtesy telephone...."

09-15-2008, 09:46 PM	#6
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,248 Karma: 35000000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	Ah, O'Hare in Chicago. Last time I was there, I waited 3 hours on the tarmac during a thiunderstorm. Fun feeling the plane bounce up and down while sitting still on the ground. When the storm cleared, we were informed that it would take another 45 minutes to get the towers running again. The weather had been so bad that they had evacuated the control towers......

09-16-2008, 08:52 AM	#7
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	Last April when American decided to fess up to not changing the oil on any of their planes for over three years "because we sort of forgot," we got caught in the whole mess. We were flying to Chile to start a cruise, but could not get there from here. AA cancelled our flight the day before we left and re-routed us through Miami on another airline with a red-eye from MIA to Chile. Trouble was, they could only get us there at noon the latest, leaving us a TEN HOUR LAYOVER IN MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. With our luggage, since we had to get off one carrier and go to another, international carrier. Which was not open to take luggage until 8:00 PM. So we drug our luggage for a two week cruise around the airport, which does not have a decent restaurant outside security for eight hours. There are only so many hours of watching interesting Miami people walk around before you go slowly mad. Did I mention that my wife does not read? Or that she gets upset if I "disappear into a book?" AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

09-16-2008, 09:38 AM	#9
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	note to self : in light of impending trip over-laden with flights, transfers, different companies and more airports than i hoped to see in my lifetime, and especially since i could easily add one or two stories of my own from past experiences, it is probably best for my blood-pressure and pre-departure state of mind to avoid this thread meticulously. seriously. what am i thinking, reading this ?

09-16-2008, 09:42 AM	#10
Azayzel Cache Ninja! Posts: 643 Karma: 1002300 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tokyo, Japan Device: PRS-500, HTC Shift, iPod Touch, iPaq 4150, TC1100, Panasonic WordsGear	Seems my wife isn't the only one experiencing some jacked-up issues with flying lately. Recently she was on an international flight to San Anotonio from Tokyo and then catch another flight in the early AM to Atlanta, well the flight got diverted into Oklahoma City on the pretense of weather. When they landed they were informed there were "mechanical problems" and no one could deplane since OKC is not an international terminal. So, they sat on the ground for 6 hours before taking off to DFW where they wouldn't make it in time to catch any connectors; i.e, landed around midnight. The earliest flight the next morning wouldn't get her to SAT in time to catch her flight to ATL, so we had to book for a later flight... and pay a $50 fee. Secondly, the flight couldn't be changed until 3-hours prior to the flight (meanhwile, she'd be in the air at that time and couldn't call herself, so I had to stay up do make arrangements from Tokyo)! To add insult to injury, she was booked for a night in the Hilton and when I called with plenty of time for them to fill it, they adamantly refused a refund even after I explained the flight issues. She eventually made it to ATL, but only got about 3 hours sleep in DFW before having to go back for her flight to SAT, but didn't have any issues catching the flight from there to ATL. While American Airlines would have flown her to ATL for free (one-way), Delta informed us that they would cancel the return trip if she didn't fly on the first leg. The American Airlines people were the best help and extremely apologetic, but Delta's support sucked really bad, especially since it's farmed out to overseas. I had to dial their number direct instead of using the 800-number to get a person in the states who could understand what was going on and wasn't simply reading from a script. Needless to say, we won't be using Delta airlines anytime in the near future; I'll be avoiding them like the plague. This sucks, because they used to be a good airline that I enjoyed flying with. Regarding Hilton, I filed a charge-back with my CC to recoup those losses and we'll be submitting that bill & the extra we had to pay to change her flight to American Airlines in hopes that they'll made things nice again. And then... Sunday in ATL on the return trip to SAT, there were so many people in line and things were so FUBAR that she missed her flight and couldn't get booked until late last night. The travel portion of her trip has been hell, and it all seems to center on Delta (at least the way I see it, but AA originally got the call rolling). Whew!

09-16-2008, 09:57 AM	#14
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	Tell me about your mother. $125, please, you can pay the Luddite at the entrance to the Super Secret Escape Tunnel which Neko Chan blah blah blah...

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