We interrupt our regularly schedule theme to bring you a side story.
Murphy's Law in full effect on a recent flight home:
(1) Ground crew reads wrong plane diagram and seat assignments are a mess. I was upgraded to first class and then downgraded back to coach. Six of us have the whole plane to ourselves until seat assignments are corrected.
(2) All passengers get on plane and then pilots discover a "maintenance" problem.
(3) Maintenance problem fixed, thunderstorms spring up (surprise, it's a hot summer afternoon). We're held on plane and at gate for 90 minutes. My tablet is fully charged, laptop almost but smartphone is half-dead. "I'll be ok," I say to myself.
(4) We finally leave but just before we land at Washington's Dulles airport, Captain says United's WORLDWIDE computer system goes dark and there are NO flights leaving Dulles. Dulles is a large hub for United and Continental airlines. The downside of becoming the world's largest air carrier is that when your systems crash, guess how many people are screwed and in how many ways on a Friday night during the summer?
(5) We make it to the gate but then wait 20 minutes for the jet bridge attendant to be told to arrive so we can get off the plane. What? Let me explain. Computers and the people who work them assign gate crews for each and every departing and arriving flights. Every blasted one of them, all day, every day. I know this because the husband of one of my best friend's sits at one of these computers for one of the airlines at a major hub and has told me quite a few stories.
(6) At Dulles (see #4) I see piles of people are waiting for flights at each gate I pass on the way to baggage claim. Baggage claim is chaos (again, see #4) as it takes another 90 minutes for me to claim my little roller. No computers means crews have to go all 1970 and figure out how to get luggage to proper claim carousels minus technology.
Life Lesson? See the title of this post.
*Chantal de la Rionda edits this blog
