Have you ever been stuck on a plane during flight delays?

Have you ever been on a plane when they were having delays? My last flight, from Tuscon, Arizona, to Dallas, Texas was one like this. I had boarded and was sitting in my seat when an announcement came over "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. I have stopped the boarding process because we are having some troubles with one of the systems. If you could please put down your window shade, it will keep the plane a mite cooler in case they turn off our auxiliary power, which is what is keeping us cool right now. I will let y'all know what is going on as soon as we have more information. Looks like we will delay getting into Dallas, but I am hoping that we can push once we are in the air and make our landing on time. Thanks for flying with American. We do know you have a choice, and that is why I want you to be comfortable on the trip." 

I sighed and closed the shade. No big deal, right? All that we needed to do was get some small thing fixed. 

Twenty minutes later, an new announcement came to us. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your pilot again. Mechanics are looking us over with a fine tooth comb, they want to make sure that you are safe and comfortable.  Some of you have some connections in Dallas that you are concerned about. As of right now, you will be able to make those connections, except for those who are flying to Dublin. A flight attendant will be coming to you and talking with you. Everyone else, sit back, relax, and we will get going as soon as we can."

My seat mate was a first time flyer, and she was nervous. I explained that this was safer than a car, and that loads of people flew all over the world. No big deal. She relaxed and we chatted, talking about the weather, her school plans, and her hopes to one day be a scientist working with NASA. Very nice small talk. 

The following announcement is when things got ugly for some on the plane. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen. It is your pilot again, and it looks like we are having some serious problems with the AC, but the great mechanics down below are working hard on this problem. We should be up in the air in about a half hour.  For those of you having connections, it looks like we are going to be twenty minutes late right now. I will let you know as soon as we know, and I will be allowing folks to continue boarding in about 15 minutes. Thanks for your calmness and patience, we all appreciate it."

Suddenly, a man popped out of his seat. "I need to get off this plane. I won't make my connection!" He shouted. A flight attendant came to him, looked at his ticket, said to him "This is too close. Maybe a gate agent can help you." and he was helped off the plane. Several more people got off the plane, some not even letting the flight attendant see their tickets. People began acting very agitated, saying things about the plane. It was very chaotic. I just sat there. 

Another announcement from the cockpit came. "Hello folks. Looks like some of you have decided to make connections in other ways, and I can understand that. We will be opening boarding again, and leaving as soon as we have all on board. Even though we have had some passengers leave, this is a standby flight, so we are still sold out. If your things are in a seat, please stow them at this time. Thanks for flying American, and thanks for your continuing patience."

Passengers were loaded, and we took off. In the air, we were told that we would be arriving slightly late. We did arrive late....by less than 10 minutes. The flight was smooth, the landing was smooth, and the service was fine. I thanked the crew on the way out the door, and I was glad to be in Dallas. Others were complete morons, shaking their head at the pilots as they walked out, and uttering oaths of never flying American Airlines ever again. 

I get very irritated with bad travelers. There is no reason to treat people like that. It was in no way the crews' fault that the AC was not working. It was a good thing to get it fixed. Sometimes, people need to get over themselves.