By the time you read this, my daughter Katie and I will be on the road from Boston back to Western NY. Katie has a wedding to attend next week and the Altima was due for service and its yearly NY State Inspection. But Diane and I didn’t like the idea of Katie making the 8-hour drive from Boston alone. So our solution was to fly me to Boston and I’d ride shotgun for part of the trip and drive the final part. Father-daughter bonding time! I’ll be back blogging tomorrow.
TRIP UPDATE Diane dropped me off at the Buffalo Airport at 10 A.M. yesterday. I went through the TSA frisk (a former student did it!) and went to GATE 8. We boarded the JetBlue plane at 11:15 A.M. The plane taxied to take-off. Then the pilot said, “Sorry folks. We’re having trouble with Engine 2. We’ll be going back to the gate.” We sat at the gate for an hour while the mechanics attempted a “quick fix.” The pilot came on again to say, “The quick fix repair didn’t work. We need a new part from Boston. We’re going to have you deplane.” So all 60 passengers left the plane and four hours later, we were back on the plane. Our plane sat at the gate for 45 minutes (I was getting a sinking feeling). The pilot finally said, “Sorry folks, the engine problem isn’t responding to the new part. We’re going to cancel this flight.” So, it was off the plane again. After standing in line for another half hour, I neared the podium where the JetBlue “service reps” were making “adjustments.”
The lady ahead of me in line blasted the service rep: “I’ll be damned if I get on that plane for a third time!” she thundered. “I could have driven to Boston by this time!” When I finally got up to the service rep (it was 6 P.M. by this time), he told me, “All the flights to Boston are full.” “Refund my money,” I said wearily. I called Diane and told her to come and pick me up. What a waste of a day! I’ll be writing a scathing letter to JetBlue. They should have found a way to get their customers to Boston instead of wasting our time and abandoning us! They suck!
FINAL TRIP UPDATE: Katie arrived home safe and sound. By leaving Boston at 6:30 A.M. Katie made great time while the traffic was light. She ran into some rain around Rochester, but other than that her trip was uneventful. Diane and I are breathing a sigh of relief! Thanks to all of you who sympathized with our situation! You can never be too careful.
Nice.
I just hope it doesn’t turn into Plane, Trains & Automobiles 2013.
😉
Jeff, the Road Trip turned out to be worse (and sadder) than PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOTIBLES. Check out my TRIP UPDATE.
You should write up your account of this Kerouacesque journey on adding machine tape!
I would, Dan, if the journey actually took place! Check out my TRIP UPDATE.
Nice!
Patti, the “JetBlue Experience” was not so nice. Now Katie is driving the 8-hour trip from Boston to Buffalo alone.
OMG. We’ve had some experiences like that one in the past – a 9 hour delay on an American flight to San Francisco comes to mind – but JetBlue is usually better than that. What a nightmare. At least you are a patient person unlike some of the rest of us.
That’s awful.
Jeff, my biggest complaint is JetBlue failed to get me to Boston. When you pay for a ticket, the airline has a responsibility to get you to your destination. Cancelling the flight and abandoning the passengers was deplorable!
So if her car wasn’t registered in New York she could have flown home and saved you all the trouble?
Jackie said when they made you deplane you should have changed to a later flight but I’m sure they didn’t tell you how many hours you’d be stuck there.
Tell Jackie all the flights were full, Jeff. There was nowhere to put us. JetBlue should have flown in a working plane to replace the jet that needed repairs instead of just cancelling the flight and abandoning us.
As a mother of girls, although you have my sympathy for the travel snafus, my main concern is your daughter. Is she going to have to drive home by herself?
/Haven’t been on a plane since 1996 and am not sure I ever will again.
Deb, Katie just called from a service area outside of Albany, NY. She’s a third of the way home. But Diane and I are concerned about our daughter travelling alone. I was supposed to share the driving with her today. But JetBlue ruined that plan. I hate flying now and only do it reluctantly.
Lucky you, Deb. We fly way too often, what with having to visit my parents (now just my father) in dreaded Arizona five hours away. Best flight ever was business class to London. I would not mind doing that again any time.
George, I totally agree. JetBlue could have had a plane there from JFK in an hour or so.
Exactly, Jeff! JetBlue should have replaced the broken plane with a working plane and flown their passengers to Boston. JetBlue’s failure to deliver us to our destination shows how incompetent they are.
This sort of thing has happened to us and friends many times on many airlines. And they never pay a penalty for it. Just a refund doesn’t cover it.
I remember when Megan was at Oswego, driving home to Detroit for the first time. She never really drove before that year, living in NY, and we sweat bullets waiting for her to arrive. Plus she had to drive in winter and through Canada. But she made it. Now she hasn’t driven for ten years again but will have to in MS. We never stop worrying about our kids. Why didn’t I know that?
Patti, my flight to Boston was supposed to avoid the situation where Katie would be driving the 8 hours from Boston to Buffalo alone. I am so pissed at JetBlue! We worry about our kids…and they worry about their parents.
I guess I don’t get it. She has a car, she’s all grown up, she knows how to follow a map or GPS. So why all the Big Worry about her driving home? By the time I was her age, I’d driven from south of L.A. to and from Monterey and San Francisco several times, at least 8 hours each way. No big deal. Hop in the car, get on the road and go. Why all the worry? I’m sure she’ll arrive safe and sound.
As for the airline delay, that’s one of the reasons I almost refuse to fly. That frisking is another. The delays and on-and-off the planes, not to mention the cancellation, probably would have made me so mad I’d have had to clamp my jaw shut and leave.
Rick, there’s a big difference between a young guy traveling alone and a young woman traveling alone. It’s a matter of risk. I was hoping to lower the risks by driving with my daughter (there’s safety in numbers). The buddy system works. Plenty of the passengers on our doomed JetBlue flight were furious when the flight was cancelled. You would think that buying a ticket would obligate the airline to get you to your destination. But not anymore.
I agree wholeheartedly with George. A woman driving alone can be very vulnerable. Even with a reliable vehicle, flat tires and fender benders can still occur. Anyway, George please let us know that Katie makes it home safe and sound.
Btw, if she doesn’t already belong to the Auto Club, I strongly recommend gifting her with a membership. The other day, my battery died and the first thing AAA asked me was, “Are you in a safe place?”
Deb, as soon as Patrick and Katie passed their Road Test, we signed them up for AAA Road Service Plus. Diane and I have been members since the Seventies. You never know where you’re going to have a flat tire or some engine problems. Katie’s home and we’re relieved. But, I’m still pissed at JetBlue!
I agree about AAA. We’ve been members for decades too. That’s why you need a cell phone, George. You need a way to call AAA if you break down.
Diane has a cell phone, Jeff. And, I’m sure our next new vehicle will be Internet-ready so I can Skype 911 or AAA.
Okay, I get it. Times have changed, and though I don’t like the fear-filled world we must now inhabit, I understand your concerns.
Rick, Patrick is in Seattle at a Microsoft conference and we worry about him, too. We live in dangerous times.
Wait until you have a grandchild to worry about. That puts a whole new face on it.
Patti, we have no grandchildren in the immediate future. We have enough to worry about with just Patrick and Katie!