Text 15830, 53 rader
Skriven 2011-09-17 09:02:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: 911
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Every year I take a 9/11 trip. It has the dual purpose of getting
me out of town (generally in first class but at coach prices) and
making the decade-repeated statement that I don't think anyone pays
attention to. This year I got Lilli to meet me partway and complete
the journey together.

CO1232 BWI IAH 1119 1328 738 21C

I didn't clear the upgrade list on a Sunday, that day being a
supposedly light travel day. I had the scant consolation of being
#1 in line from the formation of the list to the boarding of
the aircraft. Checked in with the gate agent, who offered the
observation "sometimes not everybody shows up, but today they
did." I did get the exit row aisle, though, which offered all
the legroom and seat width I needed and which would have been
quite comfy indeed had not some 300-lb guy changed from the later
flight and set himself in the middle seat next to me (the last
empty on the aircraft). He was pleasant enough, anyhow.

We pushed back right on time, and about the time I would have
expected us to take off, there was the dread announcement. Any
announcement other than "flight attendants be seated for takeoff"
at this point is dread. This one started "well, folks," and you know
something had to be wrong. At least it wasn't wrong with the plane,
exactly. What had happened. The airport had closed all the runways
but one for some reason (claimed: maintenance), and the open one was
the shortest one, and we were too heavy to take off from it, so we had
to burn off half a ton of fuel, this to be accomplished by sitting
off to one side and wasting gas for an hour. Why on earth would
they not (plan A) taxi back to the gate and siphon off half a ton
of fuel, saving time and money; (plan B) taxi back to the gate and
kick off half a ton of passengers, saving time and aggravating 6
people to the gratification of 150; or (plan C) race around the
airport for 20 minutes instead of sitting in the penalty box for
three times that. Further: why the coincidence of this runway
closure happening in the 15 minutes between our pulling off the
gate and our getting in line for departure. This all leads me to
imagine that Continental's operations management is worse than
United's.

The announcement was made that, because of the inconvenience, we
were going to get free ... and my spirits and expectations leaped
... DirecTV ... and my expectations of spirits fell again. The
offerings were the usual boring weekend morning junk mixed with
a salad of 9/11 commemorations. I snoozed fitfully without the
availability of free Courvoisier, that best of sleep aids.
We took off and landed an hour late. During the flight, they
offered a cheeseburger or various other things for 8 smackers.
Surprisingly, there appeared to be some takers.

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