In article >,
"Dimitri" > wrote:
>
> I am sure you have some stories - care to share?

That story beats anything I could come up with. I have been flying about
an average of three times a year since I was nine. On my first business
trip, I went out to Anaheim from Philadelphia for a conference. I was
thrilled because it was the first time I flew where neither me nor my
parents had to pay.

It was an AA flight the day after Thanksgiving, more years ago than I
care to think about. PHL had a small pin ball arcade by the terminal
where my flight departed from. I was early for the 12:30pm flight. It
was supposed to stop in Chicago where I planned to meet briefly with a
friend for lunch. I never got to Chicago.

I started playing pin ball and I kept winning games. I do not wear a
wrist watch, so I lost track of time. After I played several games, I
realized I might miss my flight. Yup, I had zoned out playing pin ball.
I never heard the warnings over the PA system and the jet was just
pulling away from the gate as I walked up.

The gate attendant there was very polite and helpful. I explained
exactly what happened, figuring honest was the best policy. She put me
on another flight to John Wayne Airport that left only 20 minutes after
my originally scheduled flight without any financial penality. This
time, I did not play any pin ball while I waited!

The flight I ended up on stopped in Dallas, not Chicago. I called my
friend from a pay phone to let him know I couldn't meet him in Chicago.
Of course, as luck would have it, I only had a few minutes to run across
the airport in Dallas to board the next leg of my flight. While I was
running, my boarding pass fell out of my pocket. The gate attendant at
the AA desk in Dallas gave me a lot of grief, but he allowed me to board
the flight.

As we got about 20 minutes from landing, the turbulence was terrible. I
never felt anything as rough as that turbulence before or after that
flight. I really thought I was going to die, and all because of a stupid
pin ball machine!

Well, we landed, no problem. I ended up having a great time at the
conference I attended on that trip, and I even got to do some sight
seeing, as it was my first time to California.

There was also the time when I was scheduled to board a flight in East
Lansing, Michigan to PHL via Pittsburgh when the plane (a turbo prop)
arrived with one of its engines burned out. Lightning hit it and the
engine on the starboard side caught fire. It was extinguished by the
time the plane pulled up to the gate to allow the passengers to
de-board. Those passengers sure looked nervous, and I am sure I would
have looked the same way if I was on that flight. The flight to PHL was
canceled and everyone was booked on alternate flights. I ended up
waiting several hours, but I was more then happy to wait because of the
circumstances.