"Everything will be alright in the end, if it is not alright, it is not yet the end." That is a quote I read onetime, somewhere. Well, things are not alright now. I have more problems than a math book. Maybe the upside (if the quote is right) is that it is not the end yet, a good thing to know if you are preparing to board a plane!

I am sitting, stranded, in the Los Angeles Airport . But, let me start at the beginning (as painful as that is)!

The flight from Little Rock, Arkansas, on American Airlines, was scheduled to leave at 6 A.M. This would get me to LA International by 10:15 A.M., after a transfer in Dallas. This would give me almost 6 hours in between flights. That's longer than I would like, but I can work with that. It gives me plenty of time to get through security plus some flex time in case the flight from Dallas is late getting into LA for some reason. 

I would transfer to an international flight in LA, on Singapore Airlines, and leave at 3:45 P.M.
 
Then, before the day of the flight, I got a notification from AA that the flight would leave at 9:30 A.M., not 6. That would put me in LA at 1:15 P.M. Now, I only have 2 1/2 hours to catch my international flight in LA. There was not much I could do about it at this late date and I thought 2 1/2 hours would still be plenty of transfer time.

The flight from Little Rock left on time and arrived in Dallas on time . We were seated on the flight to LA, but the plane made no effort to move.

Eventually, the pilot came on the intercom and informed us there was a "minor problem" that needed repaired before we flew. He said it would take between 10 and 20 minutes.

Sitting next to the window, I could see the plane's wing where they were working. I looked closer. They were putting DUCT TAPE on the underside of the wing! Was this the 'repair'?

I watched, maybe 10 minutes, while they put rolls of the tape on the wing. Then, once again the pilot's voice came over the intercom. "If you are able to see the wing where the work is being done" he said, "you may think they are using Duct Tape on the wing. Well, actually, they ARE using duct tape. But," he said, "it is better duct tape than you would use at home". "Now I feel better", said the rat as he was being eaten by the snake!!!!!

On the upside, though, if the duct tape comes loose while we are 35,000 feet up in the air, from my window seat, I will get an unobstructed view! What will rolls and rolls of duct tape look like coming off the wing at 500-600 miles an hour? 

Will the strips fly out behind the wing like party streamers? Will they slap around so loudly I will hear them from inside the plane? Will the silver-looking tape flap and flash in the sun like fire from a machine gun at night? 

If it does come unraveled will the wing fly off? Will the wing zip off and fly into the blue skies, disappearing with lightening speed in the distance, as I watch? Sitting here, looking out the window, with nowhere to go or anything to do, I think about it . I conclude that watching what happens to the duct tape in mid-flight might not be as entertaining as it sounds!
 
But, about 45 minutes later, the pilot was on the intercom again. "It's worse than we thought," he said. 

I knew, I just knew it! They've run out of duct tape!

"It's a fuel line leak. We will put everyone on a different plane," he continued. (I'm shocked! Duct tape wouldn't fix a fuel line)?

The next scene was like a 21st century thriller movie. As soon as the delay was announced, people quick-drew their cell phones and frantically started dialing. 

There were anxious voices all around me. I was by the window and could not get to the aisle. The other 2 people seated next to me were part of the cell-phone frenzy. 

There were loud and noisy voices, quivering voices, pleading voices, and angry voices . All talking into their cells, each telling our horrid story in their own way to someone on the other end.

Lucky me, I got to sit and listen to it all. Some people were apparently calling their pick-up contacts in LA, telling them not to come. Others seemed to be business calls, with people pleading for a delayed appointment. Others seemed to just be calling anyone they could think of, maybe just to annoy me!

I just wanted to get off the stuffy plane we had been cooped up on for nearly an hour, with no water. After the first 30 or 40 minutes (after we first boarded), the attendant had come on over the intercom and said if we needed water we could 'come to the back of the plane for a cup of ice water'!

"But," she said, "there is only room for one person in the aisle at a time. There is not room enough for two people to pass in the aisle. No panic, please!"

Nobody moved . Who wants to fight their way to the back of a plane filled with probably a couple of hundred people? Someone really should invent bottled water that the flight attendants could just bring around to us. So, yes, I just wanted to get off the plane and back into the terminal.
 
After nearly an hour sitting on the plane, we disembarked. Back into the terminal. A plane would soon come for us to re-board. Or, would it? 

No, it wouldn't! They said it would. But, it didn't. It was almost 3 hours later when they put us on a different plane. 

Once in flight, they came by, asking if we would like to purchase food or water or some other drink. The woman next to me said, "After this long delay you could at least comp us with food and something to drink." But, not even a bottle of water was offered.

Now, I am not sure I can make my connection in LA. I will barely get there before the international flight is scheduled to leave . A lot of people seem to be concerned about that very same thing, missing connections for onward flights. 

Once we were finally in the air, I mentioned it to the attendant. She looked at my ticket and said, "Well, I think if you hurry to the next terminal and don't waste any time, you will make the connection."

I was so glad she told me not to waste time once I got off the flight in LA. I was thinking of stopping along the way to play a couple of video games or reading the days newspaper in the gift shop!

The plane landed at 3:15. My connecting flight was 3:45. But, I still had to get off the plane and go to the next terminal, the International Flight Terminal, to catch it. Once again I am so thankful for the advice given me to not waste time!

I ran with my bags down the terminal corridors, passing the crowds of people walking casually along. Finally, I found the exit door on the lower floor and asked the way to the International Terminal . 

After my mad dash, I made it to the next terminal and found the check-in counter. "They just closed the doors", she said. "Can you call and have them hold the plane a few minutes?, I asked. I explained the flight delay and gave her the flight number for her to check my story. She told me it would take too long to go through security. Maybe I could get on the flight the next day she told me.

I will have to stay in LA overnight. But, there is more good news. She cannot book me on the next flight on the next day. I will have to call the online number to sort it out, since I booked the ticket online.

I am on the cell phone for almost 2 hours trying to re-book a flight for tomorrow. She asks a question and puts me on hold for 5 or so minutes after every answer I give. I think of hanging up and calling back several times, but decide that would just put me starting all over again. 

Finally, after almost two hours (my phone battery is getting weak by now, too), she says I am booked for tomorrow's flight . But, there is more good news! The next day's flight has a very very long transfer time in Singapore (almost 12 hours)!

Although I am booked for the flight tomorrow, the ticket agent in the terminal does not have the booking yet. The lady on the phone promise to try to get the information to the agent in the terminal. If I do not hear from them in 3 hours, I should call back! 

But, they have more good news for me. I will have to pay an additional $427. I argue that the fault was American Airline's for the delay, making me miss my flight. They talk in circles and I decide to deal with it later. For now, I just need to know if I will be on the flight tomorrow.

Three hours later I check with the counter. They do not have the new booking. I call back to the online number and, after a delay, they say yes, the agent should have the booking by now.

I go back to the counter . More good news! The counters are closed and everyone has left. Things are not alright, it is not the end yet!

It is now getting late. I decide to stay the night in the terminal and check on things early tomorrow morning. I walk around the terminal. There are some people laying on the floor here and there, sleeping. I chuckled to myself, they must have booked on American. But, then it wasn't so funny, realizing I would be sleeping along side them soon!

The next morning, as soon as the Singapore Airlines counter opened, I checked about my reservation. Yes, they received my new reservation.
 
I headed to a different terminal to find the American Airlines office. I stood in line and then told my story, with flight #'s and details, to the Agent. "Wait here," she said. Finally, it looks like I will get something done about the additional expenses the flight delay caused me.

But, she comes back with more good news and a sheet of paper . "We cannot do anything here. But, here is the information you need to get online and file your complaint." 

An airport is not the place to lose your cool these days, though. I will have to deal with it later. I think traveling has either made me more patient or I have just developed an attitude of resigned acceptance.

Finally, late in the day, my flight left LA. The flight on Singapore Air was very pleasant. I have found the foreign airlines, domestic or international, are a much better experience than the U.S. airlines. The foreign airlines pass out all sorts of niceties like socks to keep your feet warm in-flight, sleeping masks, toothbrushes ad paste, moisturizer and other similar things. They bring full meals and snacks and constantly make trips up and down the isles with a choice of drinks.

The long transfer time in Singapore passes and the plane next makes a stop in Tokyo. I do not need to change planes here, though . However, get this . . . when the plane lands in Tokyo, everyone has to get off with their luggage, even if you are not changing planes!

Everyone unloads, waits maybe half an hour in the waiting area, and then re-boards (going through the boarding process all over) with their luggage. We are back on the same plane, same seat numbers, same destination. What was the purpose of this exercise?

Finally, the plane sets down in one of my favorite countries, Cambodia, on September 16, just before 6 P.M. I had left Little Rock on September 13th at 8:50 A.M. The way I figure it, the flight took me 82 hours, minus 12 hours for time difference equals 70 hours travel time from Little Rock Airport to Siem Reap Airport. Normally it takes 35-36 hours. It takes another 2 1/2 hour to get my Cambodian Visa, clear customs and get to my hotel.

As soon as I recovered some from the horrendously long flight (the next day), I found the American Air website I had been given and wrote up my complaint . In a day or two they replied. "Too bad. You're screwed." is basically what they said.

I should have read the online customer reviews for AA before booking with them. They have a 2 star rating out of 5 stars. Most of the complaints are about flight delays like mine. I will give them a one star and would give them a 0 star rating if it were available.

Is an airline ticket not a contract between the passenger and airline? I paid for a ticket from Little Rock to LA, departing at 6 a.m.and arriving at 10:15 a.m. They got my money, shouldn't they be required to fulfill their part of the contract, or make reasonable compensation?

I never fly anymore unless it is unavoidable. I will travel by bus or train for 2 days before taking a plane. You have to be at the terminal 2-3 hours before the flight. Going through security can be a time-consuming nightmare. It is often an embarrassing experience and so many necessary objects you cannot take onboard, like shampoo or small scissors or knife .

But, often, flying is the only option. Maybe the distance is too great to go any other way or the place you need to go is across a body of water or large mountain rainge. 

It's good to be back in The Kingdom of Cambodia, warm sunshine, too many tuk-tuks and an abundance of exotic fruit!


****   TOTALLY EXTRANEOUS - LIGHTEN UP! ***** 
 Recently one Congressman from a Bible Belt congressional district was asked about his attitude toward whiskey.

The politician responded, "If you mean the demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, then I'm against it."

He continued, "But if you mean the elixir of Christmas cheer, the shield against winter chill, the taxable potion that puts needed funds into public coffers to comfort little crippled children, then I'm for it . 

"This is my position and I will not compromise." 
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NEXT: "NASTY BUT NICE!"