The Wonders of Modern Air Travel

I don't like it when people complain about airlines. It's so easy to do. Besides, the airlines work on incredibly small (or non-existent) margins, deal with a consistently irritated clientele, and have had a near-perfect safety record (in the US) for years. That said, after having 4 flights in 10 days delayed due to mechanical difficulties, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little concerned about whether any corners are being cut.

While the story I'm about to relate deals with American, I've always felt all airlines are basically the same on these sorts of issues. All airlines occasionally lose luggage and all airlines occasionally have delays, etc. Once, I missed 1 day out of a 7 day Italian vacation due to mechanical problems on United. My recent experience, however, takes the cake.

I was flying on a 2 PM Wednesday flight from O'Hare to Los Angeles a few weeks ago. After sitting on the plane for 2.5 hours while a warning light in the cockpit was being fixed, we were told that everything was OK and we would be taking off. Once we got out to the runway, the pilot brought us back to the terminal as the problem had returned and we were switched to a new plane.

After waiting for all the bags to be moved to the 2nd plane, we took off. 20 minutes into the flight, the pilot said that a light had come on indicating that the plane was "overheating" and though the warning light had since gone off, we would be returning to O'Hare. There, we were met by the Chicago Fire Dept., lights blazing, lined up along side the runway. The plane was not allowed to return to the terminal until the Fire Dept. checked the airplane. To the pilot's credit, he told us not to worry, and that this was a routine procedure. Everyone remained calm.

It was now 7:50 PM when I got off plane #2 in Chicago and with my dinner plans in L.A. out the window, I ran to board an 8 PM flight to L.A. I arrived at around 10:30 and later learned the poor souls on my original flight did not make it there until 1:10 AM. I will say, though, that if you have nothing else to do in Santa Monica at 11:30 PM on a Wednesday night, you can go to the top-floor bar of a certain trendy hotel to guess which of your fellow patrons are members of the Russian Mob.

Within 10 days, I had two other flights delayed for 2 hours each due to mechanical problems. I know I should look at these incidents and say it is a good thing that the airlines are discovering these problems and ensuring the safety of their passengers. It would be even better, though, if they were able to accomplish that at some point prior to departure time.