I've had one or two adventures similar, but thankfully solo. When I start to boil at whatever travel challenges I encounter, I try to think of my ancestors. One hardy lot, in particular, who left Ireland in the late 18th century, mother, father and nine kids. Their challenges were measured in months, not hours, and on a rickety wooden sailing ship. It makes me grateful to be born at a time when, assuming all goes well, we can be pretty much anywhere on earth in a day at a price that makes it easy to return if we like it.
How absolutely dreadful!! I can’t even imagine the misery of your return home. My worst travel experience? Flying from Miami to San Juan. Plane got hit by lightning. Loudest noise you’ve ever heard. People crying and screaming. Plane plummeted what felt like thousands of feet. I’m not Catholic but I was reciting the Hail Mary the rest of the way to Puerto Rico. The elderly woman next to me was praying her rosary fervently in Spanish the rest of the flight. When we landed people literally hit their knees and kissed the tarmac in thanks.
I’ve had many similar travel misadventures, most recently in DFW. But the craziest one was in 1987, coming home from Pakistan (I kid you not!) and having to be re-routed from Hong Kong on an entirely different airline through a different airport than my plans. My wife was to meet me in the airport on my return as she was traveling for a work trip and she would pass our car to me. Imagine her surprise when I was not on the airplane and the airline had no record of me on the manifest due to my re-route. Of course this was long before internet, in-flight phones or cell phones, so I had no way to contact her with my changes , especially due to the vastly different time zones. She dropped the car with the airline and when I finally arrived they gave me the keys and let me know where it was. Those were very different time. Some things did work better then. I was finally able to get home and let her know I was safe.
I won’t go into my story on Pakistani aircraft maintenance. 😂😲
I was in France in 1991, August, when the Berlin Wall came down. We couldn’t exchange our French currency into American currency for several days. We were able to visit some religious sites; Lourdes, the Little Flower’s Cathedral and parent’s home, The Convent that has the Preserved Body of St. Bernadette ( in Nevers, I think it was). visited Chartres Cathedral, Notre Dame Cathedral. Also a sedevacantist monastic group we read about.
We had a few hangups, but nothing as annoying as yours. It was a marvelous experience.
Flying home to Switzerland in the 90s after visiting family in the States, my 6-year old became very sick. When we reached Heathrow, we took him to the airport doctor, who insisted he check in to a hospital, so he and my wife left in an ambulance, leaving me at the airport with our 8-year old and 9-month old. No cell phones or internet in those days, but I managed to find a hotel, then find my wife & son the next day in a hospital that looked like it was decorated by the Salvation Army. We all made it back to the airport, home to Geneva, and even our luggage showed up a few days later! I think your trip sounds worse, but I'll be fine if I never take a trip down memory lane to Europe again...
Pilots "timing out" is a stupid manifestation of modern imbecilic safetyism.
You know what else is a modern phenomenon? Being able to go from continent to continent in a matter of hours. The greatest monarch in history who presided over more of the globe than any other, Victoria, she who was still in living memory of my parents, couldn't do it.
Not to, well, suck the air out of your suck, which would have had me bouncing off the cabin walls. But just sayin'.
I can assure you that pilot duty day limits are important and data-driven. Remember, it’s crucial for the crew to be sufficiently rested for the landing, taxi-in, and shut down, not merely for the takeoff and departure.
It could have been worse. Can you imagine being diverted to Kennedy. Put up in a hotel off The belt, and given a flight the next day out of LaGuardia? Great story. i am sure this will be retold in the future with slight embellishments...
A very good entertaining story. In 1976 I flew to Innsbruck Austria with my high school German and ski club…I neither spoke German or skied. It was a fantastic experience. When we began our trip home from Munich we had to land in Frankfurt. The Pan Am 747 hit the runway so hard most of the overhead luggage compartments popped open dumping cargo onto the passengers. There was a tremendous bang and much screaming and I was sure the plane was damaged. After a short time the flight took off and we landed in Boston. The landing there was thankfully nice and smooth and many of the passengers and I cheered afterwards.
I'd flown to the UK from Vegas, where my sister lived at the time. The flight out was great, extra room, smooth and uneventful. The direct flight back from London was another matter. I think a lot of passengers were on their way to party in Vegas, and when our flight was delayed several hours (i forget why) they began partying early. They were really loud & raucous on the plane and were warned several times. The final warning by the captain threatened that if they kept the flight attendant staff awake we'd have to touch down in another city and further delay our flight. Luckily this did quiet them down & we reached Las Vegas all grumpy, crowded and sleep deprived.
What an awful ordeal! But you described it with such great writing and humor plus incredible pictures! Thanks for making me laugh in the midst of grading French essays, but I am so sorry you had to go through such a horrible situation after a wonderful Paris vacation. Bravo for your excellent descriptions! Jeanne d’Arc, pray for us!
Group trip to Cabo San Lucas. My neighbor the timeshare owner had told us the wrong date so all the flights were booked for the wrong weekend. I called SW Airlines and got a great agent on the phone who encouraged me to ask for her supervisor, (wink, wink, over the phone) The supervisor was great. (was probably listening in) I got a bottle of Don Julio Tequila from my neighbor because we were able to keep is mistake (initially) from her good natured husband shaming!! :-)
I've had one or two adventures similar, but thankfully solo. When I start to boil at whatever travel challenges I encounter, I try to think of my ancestors. One hardy lot, in particular, who left Ireland in the late 18th century, mother, father and nine kids. Their challenges were measured in months, not hours, and on a rickety wooden sailing ship. It makes me grateful to be born at a time when, assuming all goes well, we can be pretty much anywhere on earth in a day at a price that makes it easy to return if we like it.
Yeah, well, even if everything doesn't go well, maybe two days. We - me more than most - are so much softer than our forebears.
To quote Kosmo Kramer, "It's a write-off!". Great piece, PK, and a fun story to boot.
How absolutely dreadful!! I can’t even imagine the misery of your return home. My worst travel experience? Flying from Miami to San Juan. Plane got hit by lightning. Loudest noise you’ve ever heard. People crying and screaming. Plane plummeted what felt like thousands of feet. I’m not Catholic but I was reciting the Hail Mary the rest of the way to Puerto Rico. The elderly woman next to me was praying her rosary fervently in Spanish the rest of the flight. When we landed people literally hit their knees and kissed the tarmac in thanks.
I’ve had many similar travel misadventures, most recently in DFW. But the craziest one was in 1987, coming home from Pakistan (I kid you not!) and having to be re-routed from Hong Kong on an entirely different airline through a different airport than my plans. My wife was to meet me in the airport on my return as she was traveling for a work trip and she would pass our car to me. Imagine her surprise when I was not on the airplane and the airline had no record of me on the manifest due to my re-route. Of course this was long before internet, in-flight phones or cell phones, so I had no way to contact her with my changes , especially due to the vastly different time zones. She dropped the car with the airline and when I finally arrived they gave me the keys and let me know where it was. Those were very different time. Some things did work better then. I was finally able to get home and let her know I was safe.
I won’t go into my story on Pakistani aircraft maintenance. 😂😲
….that was quite an ordeal for you and your wife back then. Thank you for sharing.
Please DO tell us your story on Pakistani aircraft maintenance. Would love to read it….
Wow! What a travel experience!!!
I was in France in 1991, August, when the Berlin Wall came down. We couldn’t exchange our French currency into American currency for several days. We were able to visit some religious sites; Lourdes, the Little Flower’s Cathedral and parent’s home, The Convent that has the Preserved Body of St. Bernadette ( in Nevers, I think it was). visited Chartres Cathedral, Notre Dame Cathedral. Also a sedevacantist monastic group we read about.
We had a few hangups, but nothing as annoying as yours. It was a marvelous experience.
Deo Gratius!
Flying home to Switzerland in the 90s after visiting family in the States, my 6-year old became very sick. When we reached Heathrow, we took him to the airport doctor, who insisted he check in to a hospital, so he and my wife left in an ambulance, leaving me at the airport with our 8-year old and 9-month old. No cell phones or internet in those days, but I managed to find a hotel, then find my wife & son the next day in a hospital that looked like it was decorated by the Salvation Army. We all made it back to the airport, home to Geneva, and even our luggage showed up a few days later! I think your trip sounds worse, but I'll be fine if I never take a trip down memory lane to Europe again...
Pilots "timing out" is a stupid manifestation of modern imbecilic safetyism.
You know what else is a modern phenomenon? Being able to go from continent to continent in a matter of hours. The greatest monarch in history who presided over more of the globe than any other, Victoria, she who was still in living memory of my parents, couldn't do it.
Not to, well, suck the air out of your suck, which would have had me bouncing off the cabin walls. But just sayin'.
I can assure you that pilot duty day limits are important and data-driven. Remember, it’s crucial for the crew to be sufficiently rested for the landing, taxi-in, and shut down, not merely for the takeoff and departure.
It could have been worse. Can you imagine being diverted to Kennedy. Put up in a hotel off The belt, and given a flight the next day out of LaGuardia? Great story. i am sure this will be retold in the future with slight embellishments...
Kennedy hotels are the worst.
I traveled extensively for decades and suffered many airport and airline mishaps. Nothing as bad as what you just described!
A very good entertaining story. In 1976 I flew to Innsbruck Austria with my high school German and ski club…I neither spoke German or skied. It was a fantastic experience. When we began our trip home from Munich we had to land in Frankfurt. The Pan Am 747 hit the runway so hard most of the overhead luggage compartments popped open dumping cargo onto the passengers. There was a tremendous bang and much screaming and I was sure the plane was damaged. After a short time the flight took off and we landed in Boston. The landing there was thankfully nice and smooth and many of the passengers and I cheered afterwards.
Excellent, love it! Have had similar travels, but that is truly a doozy. A badge of honour to carry with you and regale others!
I'd flown to the UK from Vegas, where my sister lived at the time. The flight out was great, extra room, smooth and uneventful. The direct flight back from London was another matter. I think a lot of passengers were on their way to party in Vegas, and when our flight was delayed several hours (i forget why) they began partying early. They were really loud & raucous on the plane and were warned several times. The final warning by the captain threatened that if they kept the flight attendant staff awake we'd have to touch down in another city and further delay our flight. Luckily this did quiet them down & we reached Las Vegas all grumpy, crowded and sleep deprived.
What an awful ordeal! But you described it with such great writing and humor plus incredible pictures! Thanks for making me laugh in the midst of grading French essays, but I am so sorry you had to go through such a horrible situation after a wonderful Paris vacation. Bravo for your excellent descriptions! Jeanne d’Arc, pray for us!
Better late than never. Been there, done that, multiple times. Great story and thanks for the beautiful pics.
Next time rent a car in Paris and drive back.....
Group trip to Cabo San Lucas. My neighbor the timeshare owner had told us the wrong date so all the flights were booked for the wrong weekend. I called SW Airlines and got a great agent on the phone who encouraged me to ask for her supervisor, (wink, wink, over the phone) The supervisor was great. (was probably listening in) I got a bottle of Don Julio Tequila from my neighbor because we were able to keep is mistake (initially) from her good natured husband shaming!! :-)