Misadventures in Flying (Part Two)

I concluded the last post with the United agent announcing that the flight from Washington to Houston was delayed because the runways had been shut down.  (I have no idea why.)  As I said, I had a fairly tight connection in Houston to catch my flight to Mexico City.  As I sat there, I was imagining that I would end up spending the night in Houston, since that 9:35 P.M. flight was probably the last one to Mexico City that evening.  However, to my great relief, about ten minutes later, the agent announced that the runways were reopened, and that our flight was back on schedule.

Boarding began shortly afterwards.  I was surprised that the plane a wide body jet... one of those that have ten seats across in the economy section and that are usually used for flights to Europe.  

I suspect that the big plane had been put into service for this domestic flight in order to handle the many passengers whose flights had been cancelled due to the weather.  My seat was towards the back of the plane (row 29).  However, because of my United credit card, I was in boarding group 2, and I was able to get my seat and find a space in the overhead bin before most of the other passengers had boarded.

Because of the size of the plane, it took quite a while for the passengers to board.  We were at least ten minutes late in pulling away from the gate.  Usually not a big deal, but given the tight connection I had in Houston, those ten minutes might be crucial.

The flight to Houston took a little over three hours.  My seat was in the middle section, but since I was on the aisle it wasn't too claustrophobic.  However, I did not like being unable to see anything out the window and have no idea where we were.

The plane arrived at the gate about fifteen minutes late.  And it took quite a while to get off the plane.  By the time I had deplaned I had about fifteen minutes before my next flight was going to begin the boarding process.  Fortunately, the flight to Mexico was leaving from the same concourse.  I was there ten minutes before boarding was to begin.

The sign said that the flight was on schedule.

Shortly after nine o'clock I was on the plane and comfortably seated in the first class section.  But there was a problem.  The pilots had not arrived!  They were coming on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, which had been delayed due to stormy weather.  

I really didn't think that it was uncomfortably hot in the cabin, but many passengers did.  The flight attendants allowed people to go out and stand along the jetway where it was a bit cooler.  Eventually they even allowed people to go out to the concourse if they wanted something to eat or drink.  ("Just be sure to have your boarding pass with you," the attendants warned.)  I, however, stayed in my seat.  During this time, more passengers boarded the plane.  Their connecting flights had arrived late, and, fortunately for them, their flight to Mexico was also delayed.

More than an hour after our scheduled departure time, our pilots finally arrived. Of course, before we could leave, they had to do the normal safety checks.  And then they announced that we would not be allowed to leave due to the heavy thunderstorms and lightning in the area.  So, we continued to wait.  It was raining heavily, and we could hear and see the crashes of thunder and flashes of lightning.  It was around 11:30, two hours after our scheduled departure time that we were allowed to leave the gate.

Even though the storm had weaken a bit, that flight was still very turbulent.  It was probably the bumpiest ride I have ever had.  Not only was the take-off from Houston rough, but over half the flight was very bumpy.  The "fasten seat belt" sign was on for most of the flight, and the pilot announced a couple of times that the flight attendants had to take their jump seats.

We finally arrived at Mexico City International Airport at 1:00 A.M., two hours later than scheduled.  1:00 A.M. is 3:00 A.M. Ohio time, so I was very, very tired.  Fortunately, at that hour there was no line for going through immigration.  I got my suitcase and passed through customs.  The customs agent simply asked if I was carrying any food and took a quick glance at a small open bag I was carrying.  I passed through the doors, and Alejandro was there waiting for me.  He had been following the course of my flights online all day.  Fortunately, since today is Good Friday, he did not have to work today, nor did he have to get up early to take his sister to work.

It was an exhausting day, but the important thing is that I arrived safely and I am now here with Alejandro and his family for a little over a month.