JFK to DCA - The Long Road Home

Air and highway traffic were backed up all around NYC. A plane carrying New York Yankee pitcher Cory Liddle crashed into an upscale condo in Manhattan on the Upper East side. Not knowing whether it was an accident or a terrorist attack, North American air defense launched air patrols around major U.S. cities. Two eastern Manhattan bridges were temporarily shut down to traffic, along with a part of the Upper East Side. Many residents went home early, praying for the best, but preparing for the worst.

Further, a heavy, steady rain fell on NYC for most of the afternoon and into the evening. Those two events caused backups everywhere. Fortunately, things did not worsen.

I called American Airlines to double check whether my flight was still scheduled to depart ontime. It was, but I heard that a number of other flights had been delayed or canceled. I hopped in a cab at Times Square, dropped a co-worker off at Grand Central, and then headed for JFK. It was 9 PM and traffic was still backed up.

The cabbie was patient, and knew the streets. He got me to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I checked in, grabbed my boarding pass, cleared security quickly and headed for my gate. The terminal was surprisingly empty. I walked quite a distance before seeing signs of life.

I expected the boarding and flight to be quick and simple. Unfortunately, the earlier flight delays and cancellations were continuing to cause problems. Flights coming into JFK were delayed, which caused them to delay departure. An earlier flight to DCA was canceled, causing dozens of passengers who had been waiting for 4 hours to express their frustrations. The gate attendants were nearing the end of a very long shift, and were not in the mood to be friendly with angry passengers.

I was on the last flight out to DCA for the evening. I wasn't sure whether I'd be involuntarily bumped. But, somehow I wasn't. Boarding was delayed by an hour. And takeoff was delayed by another hour due to a backup of planes taking off. It was odd seeing a nearly empty terminal, but a runway with dozens of planes lined up for departure.

The plane ahead of us was a wide body Airbus, Virgin Atlantic. Bigger planes with stronger engines tend to create more turbulence and a bigger wake. Therefore, a longer waiting time for takeoff is required for planes that follow. We were on the ground a few more minutes waiting for takeoff, after the Virgin flight departed.

The flight back was uneventful. It was still cloudy, which was disappointing. I wanted to see the city lights as we departed NYC and headed down the East Coast. Instead, every once in a while, you would see the clouds breaking up slightly, and a beam of lights popping out. It almost looked like the cities were in the sky when that happened - quite an interesting effect.

After landing, I grabbed a cab and headed home. I got to bed at 2 AM, two hours longer than originally planned.

In hindsight, I should have taken AMTRAK back to DC. It would have taken about the same amount of time. Had I known about the delays at the airport, I would have taken AMTRAK. But that's life.

It was also the first time I have flown on American Eagle, American's regional jet carrier. I wasn't impressed. And I will try to avoid flying American Eagle, as well as other regional jets in the future. Most regional carriers don't offer the same comfort and features the big planes with the big airlines do. If I'm paying the same amount, I'd rather fly a big jet than a regional. Lessons learned on the road.

Next up on the travel schedule:

• Los Angeles
• Phoenix
• Los Angeles
• Chicago
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Toronto

My schedule has changed a bit from my original posting. But the amount of travel has not.

My next flight will be as a Premier United Airlines passenger. I look forward to the extras I'll receive!