A Diary of reIMAGINE 2016: Part 21 – Travel From Fargo to My Vacation

Everything on this one started well as the flight from Chicago departed approximately on time, but went horribly wrong from there.x

I got up at 0330 in order to finish getting ready and had a taxi booked for 0400 which arrived on-time. I was at the airport with plenty of time to spare, especially seeing as American Airlines didn’t open the desk until about 0500 (so much for being at the airport in plenty of time).

The plane did depart on time, but because of bad weather, the plane took a dog-leg route due south and we arrived at Chicago 25 minutes late. American Airlines had made the ridiculous decision that Fargo to Louisville via Chicago only requires a 30 minute layover.

This meant I missed the connecting flight, as we arrived at 0815 and doors to the plane closed at 0810, from Chicago to Louisville KY.

I was on standby for a 1215 flight, but told if I can’t get on this the next flight was after 1300 and is not a direct flight. So, instead of a 70 minute plane ride to Louisville KY, I would be on a 3 hour flight to Charlotte and then another 3 hour flight to Louisville, and I had the horrible suspicion that Charlotte might be another really short layover meaning potential to miss the flight.

If I did end up onl the Charlotte flight, I would arrive at Louisville airport at 2100 (or later) instead of the 1030 I should have arrived; if I made the standby then I’d be there at about 1330 instead of 1030.

Well, I did not make the 1215 flight. However, I was given tickets for a 1510 direct flight from Chicago to Louisville.

So this meant I had a four hour wait to see if I’d be on that flight and then another three hour to wait for the flight I was given a ticket for and, as it turned out, that plane has at least two empty seats.

The waiting at the airport, did mean that I had the time to write all of these blog posts.

This huge amount of waiting is what American Airlines describes as “taking great care of me” and which I describe as doing the absolute bare minimum possible.

I initially thought this would get me to Louisville K in time for my booked tour with Kentucky Peerless, but I had not factored in the fact KY is on Eastern Time and Chicago on Central Time, so I arrived at 1730, which was the time the tour was booked to start and not the 1630 I thought I was going to arrive.

So, with the huge delays, it means that the first day of my vacation was a wasted day, thanks entirely to American Airlines.

This is the last post in the series; I am counting everything after this point as being vacation and not suitable for this blog.