As a standby traveler, one already accepts that things may not turn out as planned. Yet, there are many unpredictable situations that even the paying customer cannot avoid. That could be severe weather, airline strikes, or in our case, a hydraulic failure resulting in a diversion to Phoenix. We were supposed to go to Miami.
As a pilot myself, I deeply analyzed the crew’s decision making process and would have perhaps done things differently, but I am not here to critique and grade their performance. My only note (perhaps for myself in the future) is to never make announcements that indicate an overly optimistic time frame. We were told multiple times that we were about to land in Phoenix in approximately 20 minutes. After two hours worth of “20 minutes” we finally arrived at Phoenix SkyHarbor, where we were told another plane would be available…eventually.
We split a pizza in PHX before boarding some 90 mins later. Though a flight from LAX to MIA can be done in about 4.5 hours, beginning this journey from Phoenix evidently does not shorten that time. We arrived in Miami after 1am and because the gate agents forced Nicole to gate check her bag, we didn’t arrive at a hotel until close to 2. This was not ideal.
Tomorrow we are supposed to go to Anguilla — on a flight that went from 14 seats to 1 in about 24 hours. It remains to be seen if those numbers are accurate. While today proved to be quite long, tomorrow could bring more of the same. Wish us luck.
passports & pepto bismol 