THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017
Ariel and I decided to do a five day trip to Toronto. We’ve got some friends up there, so we thought it’d be a fun visit. Unfortunately our flights were not cooperating. My flight was leaving from Newark and Ariel’s flight was leaving from LaGuardia. We were then going to meet at the airport in Toronto. Well, my flight got delayed an hour and a half which isn’t too bad. It’s a full flight, we’ve boarded the plane and ready to go. Our plane is in the taxi lane when the pilot tells us that we are in line to depart with 20 planes in front of us. Wanna know how long it takes for 20 planes to depart? About 90 minutes. That’s the same time for the duration of the flight to Toronto. It felt like we spent more time waiting on the runway than being in the air.
The important thing is I eventually made it. The situation was not ideal; nonetheless, I made it to Toronto and caught the UP Express train (while it was still running) into the city. I met up with David around 10:30pm. Ariel’s flight was even less ideal and she didn’t arrive to David’s apartment til after 3am. Did I mention we have a Niagara Falls tour booked for 8am the next morning?
I’m going to side track here. Airplanes and airports are fickle things. I’m not the first person with a “flight story” and I certainly won’t be the last. This story isn’t even the worst of them. I have heard plenty worse. But times like this makes me really think about what’s involved in running an operation like this. Lately, my experiences in delayed flights have been “awaiting aircraft.” Most likely your plane is flying in from somewhere else. If they are delayed, then you’re delayed and the flight after you is delayed. The problem is air traffic control runs a pretty tight schedule. If your flight doesn’t depart on time, it misses the departure slot. And when many planes happen to delay to the same time, you end up waiting in line behind 20 planes to take off. Then you have planes delayed because of the airport you’re going to. Newark airport has been known to delay flights, not letting planes take off from other places because too many planes are coming in at the same time. Then there’s the “weather” delay, where the flight is delayed due to weather, but it’s sunny where you’re at and your destination, so then they say it’s the weather in the area the plane is coming from. Well if that’s the logic, then you’re flight from Newark to Colorado could be affected by weather half way around the world. I understand delays are inevitable. I mean who can control the weather? But the issue is the lack of margin. The airlines and airports leave no room for margin, creating this domino effect. I’ve made 3 different trips this summer and each trip has at least one “flight story.” I understand the system is complex, but these airlines and airports need to do a better job. Unfortunately, I am at their mercy because planes are the most efficient way of travel (when they’re not delayed).
