Misadventures in Flying (Part One)

After so many trips in which my flights were on time and everything went smoothly, I guess that I was due for some airline chaos.  As I wrote the other day, I was supposed to leave Cleveland very early in the morning on Thursday, and, in spite of a long layover in Houston, I was scheduled to arrive in Mexico City in the afternoon.  I had booked my flights with frequent flier miles, and then upgraded the Cleveland - Houston flight to "Economy Plus", and the Houston - Mexico City leg to first class.  Fortunately, I had checked the United Airlines website the evening before my departure, because they had not called me nor sent me an email to inform me that my schedule had been completely changed.  My flight from Cleveland to Houston had been cancelled, and I was rescheduled on a circuitous route of three flights... Cleveland to Washington Dulles, Washington to Houston, Houston to Mexico City.  

Instead of leaving Cleveland at 6:00 A.M. I was not going to depart until almost 3:00 P.M., and I would not arrive in Mexico City until 11:00 P.M. (that would be 1:00 A.M. Cleveland time!).  I still had a first-class seat on the Houston - Mexico City leg of the trip, however on the Washington - Houston flight, the longest part of the trip, I was in ordinary economy class.  To compensate for that they gave me a first-class seat on the Cleveland - Washington flight.  

I called the taxi driver the night before to let him know of the change of plans.  He was happy that he wasn't going to have to get up in the wee hours of the morning to pick me up at 4:00 A.M.  I rescheduled for him to pick me up at 12:30 Thursday afternoon.  He arrived a bit early, and I was at Cleveland Airport with time to spare.  I checked my bag at the United desk and passed through security without too much hassle.  Since two of my three segments on my international trip were first class, I was able to go into the United Club lounge and wait in more comfortable surroundings.  They had a rather nice spread of food, and I was able to have a good lunch there before heading to my gate.

The flight to Washington left right on time.  After so many pre-dawn departures from Cleveland, it seemed strange to be leaving in the middle of the afternoon.

It was a cloudy day, but fortunately not raining.  We flew over the outskirts of Cleveland and soon were up above the clouds.

The flight to Washington is only about an hour.  I settled back and read a few pages of my book, dozed off for a few minutes, and then read a few more pages.  By that time we had already begun our descent to Washington.  Most of the clouds had broken and we were over the Virginia suburbs and the Potomac River.

We arrived at Washington Dulles Airport ahead of schedule.  The first segment of my journey had gone smoothly.

My layover at Dulles was just over two hours.  The gate for my next flight was not too far away.  By the time I got there, my next plane was already at the gate.  It had just arrived from San Francisco, and the passengers from that flight were deplaning.  The flight was scheduled to depart on schedule.  So far so good.  Perhaps, in spite of the round-about-itinerary, everything would go smoothly.

I was most concerned, however, about my flight from Houston to Mexico City.  I only had an hour layover in Houston, and, if I had to change terminals and take the train, it could be a tight connection.  Even if I made to my next flight, would my luggage?

The Washington - Houston flight was due to begin boarding in about twenty minutes, when the agent at the desk announced that the runways were being closed (I have no idea why), and that our flight would be delayed.  OH NO!

To be continued...