3 out of 4 flights delayed...

Flight 1: Freetown – Brussels. 8 hr delay. Quite the event which made for some great blogging.

Flight 2: Amsterdam – Dulles. No delay. Good flight.

Flight 3: Dulles – Los Angeles. Delay due to storm.
As we were about to take off we hear there is a big storm 100 miles to the west of us.
No flying allowed. Stranded on the runway.
10 minutes later we are told we might be re-routed but nothing official yet.
15 minutes, no news.
90 minutes later we are told we can take off and take a different route.
Off we go.
An hour into the 5 hour flight we are told we are behind schedule due to strong head wind.
We might need to make an extra landing to refuel, unless, we can get on our original route.
I'm awfully tired. Been up for almost 24 hour.
Loads of turbulence on this flight. This has really not been a good flight.
Finally we're okayed to switch routes and end up in LA a few hours later than expected.

Flight 4: Los Angeles – Denver. 330pm flight.
Everything looked good. Quick check-in. Plane at gate. Ready to board.
Then it happened.
Just before boarding we hear that there is a problem.
One of the aircraft doors had malfunctioned and needed to be fixed.
We received an update every 10 minutes.
Well, the updates were the same “it’s not fixed yet”.
Finally we hear there are some options:
-1- door fixed, take off as expected
-2- door not fixed, board plane with no one seating next to broken door
-3- door not fixed, re-book.
They stated that option 2 was not safe, so why it was even an option...???
I saw there was a flight at 5pm and got wait listed.
32 people on the wait list for 15 seats.
I watched as my name slowly moved further down the list as those with connections were prioritized.
(So that’s what my patients must feel like when we prioritize)
I didn’t get on and wandered back to my original gate.
And surprise surprise the door was fixed and we boarded at 515pm.
Fortunately the flight ended up taking 30 min less than stated, so the delay wasn’t too bad.

3 flights left in the planning. Wonder how those will go.
But for now, I’m not even going to think about those flights.
I’m going to enjoy my vacation in Denver!