United=Untied

I remember when all of the airlines had alternate, joke names. Allegheny Airlines was Agony. TWA was Tiny Weeny Airlines, NW was North worst and so forth. United was untied and it still fits. I can’t say that the other airlines names fit or not since none of the above have survived the deregulation of the last 20+ years.

So it was not surprising to me that the Lufthansa flight direct from Houston to Frankfurt was scheduled to leave at 1605 and left promptly. Since they were also overbooked by 14 standing by wasn’t an option (I was actually going to book on this flight but wasn’t up to 90 minutes between planes just in case).

My United Flight was scheduled for a 1740 board and 1830 departure. 1745 came and went. There was never a thought of boarding at that time since the plane was over an hour late in-bound from Frankfurt. Then the cabin has to be cleaned, the new crew takes over; running their safety checks and lists. After that you can board.

Final upshot was that we were almost 120 minutes late departing. After we are on the plane the Purser apologizes to all of us over the PA system for the delay citing delayed arrival and mechanical problems. Say WHAT? No one mentioned mechanical problems but that probably explains the extra delay.

Personally, I think the problem was the heating system for the passenger compartments and it never got repaired. It has been a long time since I have been that cold on an airplane. Now I am not one of those people who travels in tank tops, shorts and flip-flops. I know better. I also know about all the insecticides that are routinely sprayed on the carpets. No way am I having my bare feet come in contact with that surface thank you very much.

Back to the temperature – I am wearing socks, shoes, long jeans, t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt,blazer and still am so cold my teeth are practically chattering. The blankets are flimsy – two don’t provide any more warmth than one, but since you can cover a greater surface area it does cut down someone on the draftiness. Before your next suggestion remember this is an overnight flight with on the only warm beverages being coffee and tea. Not a good idea if sleep was any thing to be hoped for.

Landing almost two hours late in Frankfurt we wound up over at Gate A21 which was good for the Delhi and Zurich transferring passengers but a real challenge for the rest of us since finding the baggage claim turned into a major game of hide and seek. Grateful for a ride home from George and Miriam my thoughts went back to the original idea

United=Untied=not wrapped too tightly

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One Response to United=Untied

  1. You’re making me glad I’m a homebody!

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