share your flight delay stories here...

[Red in Chicago]

earlier this week, jet blue had several instances where passengers sat on the tarmac for more than 6 hours due to inclement weather. there were lots of stories about crying babies and overflowing toilets. i can't imagine being stuck on the tarmac for over 6 hours and not being given the opportunity to deplane. there is talk of a passenger's bill of rights, but who knows if this will ever pass. i understand that the weather conditions were bad, but being stuck on a plane for so long in this day and age, makes no sense whatsoever. the company has offered free round trip tickets to anywhere they fly, but i don't think that would ever make me want to fly them again, if it had happened to me. jet blue only recently came to chicago, but stories like this certainly discourage me from wanting to use them.

so what's the longest you've ever sat on the tarmac and what did the crew do to make it as pleasant as possible? for me, luckily, it's only been about 45 minutes, but i was ready to lose my mind the entire time. one thing i've learned from that, is to never store anything under the seat in front of me. the extra leg room in situations like that are key.

[vaticanplum]

9 hours. Prior to an 8-hour flight.

I don't even know if I have the energy to tell the story. I've considered writing a book about it, it was that bad. And this is just one of many airline horror stories to my name. I can't claim many superlatives, but I do think I may have the worst air travel luck of anyone who's ever lived.

[redsmetz]

1977 - 10 to 12 hour delay in the Frankfurt Germany airport. I left Germany a few days after a major blackout in NYC and since our plane was a charter flight, all of their flights were still working to get back on time. We were given some food vouchers and we hung out in the airport all day.

We had gotten up in Heidelberg about 6:00 to take the train to Frankfurt. By the time we arrived in Chicago, it was midnight central time and we'd been up 24 hours. We had made reservations at a hotel in Chicago since we'd gotten in too late for the flight back to Cincy and when we got there they didn't have anything on it. Everyone at the hotel had come in from somewhere which had been delayed and when we started grumbling about it, other folks behind us started grumbling because they'd all be up a long time too. They gave my buddy and me a suite for the night. That was sweet!

Funny thing at the airport, I order coffee with cream using the German word for cream. In Germany they always say "mit Milch" instead of "mit Zahne" (cream) and they brought me a cup of coffee with whipped cream in it. Little did I know I was twenty years ahead of Starbucks! Instead of going with the invention, I said, "nein, nein, mit Milch". Missed my chance.

[pedro]

I spent 17 hours in Stapleton airport once.

[westofyou]

5 hours stuck in CVG in the AA Terminal, followed by 8 in ORD.... all because of one American Eagle canceled flight.

[vaticanplum]

I spent 17 hours in Stapleton airport once.

Where the heck is Stapleton?

I want to point out that the nine hours I mentioned before was ON THE RUNWAY. (though they did let us off the plane two different times) I've spent longer in airports themselves, including in a snowstorm over Christmas in Detroit, the world's most godforsaken airport...but never 17 hours, to be honest. That's unbelievable.

[westofyou]

Where the heck is Stapleton?

Denver's original mess.

[RedFanAlways1966]

One time I had a flight from Boston to Philly to Dayton. When I got to Philly I was told that all flights to Dayton were cancelled due to bad weather. They were courteous and told me that they would pay for my hotel. Only one problem for this dumb diabetic... I had put my syringes and insulin in my luggage. Somehow my luggage was put on a different flight and I was told not to worry... they'd have my luggage waiting for me in Dayton when I got there at 11:00 am the next morning.

So much for that daily ritual of taking an 8:00 am injection of insulin (gulp!). On the bright side high sugar levels can be tolerated to a certain level. I was able to cope despite feeling yucky and having serious dry-mouth. I dosed up in the Dayton airport bathroom the minute I got my luggage. I also learned to always carry my goods in my carry-on luggage. Live (thank goodness) and learn!

[pedro]

Where the heck is Stapleton?

I want to point out that the nine hours I mentioned before was ON THE RUNWAY. (though they did let us off the plane two different times) I've spent longer in airports themselves, including in a snowstorm over Christmas in Detroit, the world's most godforsaken airport...but never 17 hours, to be honest. That's unbelievable.

that would suck.

I got delayed in a big snowstorm at newark 2 years ago about 2 in the afternoon. realized I was going to have to spend the night there about 10 pm. called my dad who found me a hotel (which turned out to be pretty scary, think i'll stay at the airport next time) so I was at hotel from midnight to 5 am, then back at at airport. i charmed my way onto a flight on another airline (it always pays to be nice to the agents at the counter as they have way more discretionary power in the these situations then you may know) and got on a flight about 9 am which routed through minneapolis and got me home to portland about 8 pm. that was a crappy day too.

[Chip R]

About 9 years ago we were coming back to Iowa from a ski trip in Jackson Hole. There was a problem with the plane after we were on the tarmac. They wouldn't let us off the plane for a couple of hours. Finally we got off and the Jackson Hole airport is not a good place to be if your flight is delayed. Luckily they sold books in their coffee shop and I bought a biography of Robert E. Lee to read for the rest of the time we were there - which was pretty much the rest of the day. Finally we got out of there and had to wait at O'Hare for our plane back to Des Moines. I don't know what happened but our flight was cancelled and they put us up for the night in a hotel. First thing in the morning we flew to Des Moines and I got to work late. That afternoon I had to go back to the airport because I was flying to Cincinnati for my first Opening Day on Tuesday. Then I flew back to Des Moines after the game.

[RFS62]

8 hours on the tarmac in Honolulu. They had already pushed back from the gate, then stopped and worked on the compass and finally replaced it.

Everyone there was ready to kill.

[marcshoe]

Fortunately, I hadn't reached the tarmac, but my longest flight delay was a PHX-ORD flight on September 11, 2001.....

I ended up driving.

My longest on the tarmac was also in Honolulu, fwiw. Not all that long, though. 3 hours, maybe.

[Yachtzee]

Kansas City to Chicago. 1 hr flight took 8 hrs. We actually borded on time and flew all the way to Chicago as scheduled. Unfortunately, after circling for 45 minutes due to severe weather, the pilot decided fly back to Kansas City. Imagine being so close to your destination, only to go all the way back. When we landed in Kansas City, they let us off to go to the bathroom and get something to eat. They also hooked up some of our passengers who were missing their flight in Chicago an alternate flight to Providence, RI. When the weather broke in Chicago, they told us all to reboard, but we had to do it quickly because severe weather was now heading toward KC. Unfortunately most people were still going to the bathroom or getting food, outside security checkpoint at the gate. When we finally got on the plane, we could see the weather heading our way. The flight at the gate next to us, also going to Chicago but scheduled to depart 2 hrs after us, was able to get off. Unfortunately, this being Southwest, they had to fill the seats of those Providence passengers, so the flight attendants start counting empty seats. Meanwhile we can see the line of thunderstorms on the horizon. People are yelling at the flight attendants to forget about the empty seats, close the door and get going. Very tense situation. By the time they filled the seats, the thunderstorms caught us. We sat for what seemed like 2 hours waiting for them to pass. Nobody dared get off the plane, even though we were still at the gate. When we finally got to Chicago, there was none of the usual clapping or jovial banter from the flight attendants that one typically sees on a Southwest flight. It was quite possibly the closest I've seen a plane full of people come to mutiny.

Not quite as long or uncomfortable as many have experiences, but the fact that we were so close, yet so far multiple times really pushed people to the edge.

[letsgojunior]

Almost 12 hours in Orlando, FL. Originally scheduled to take off at 3 PM, took off at 3 AM. The rumor floating around was that they had to fly in a major part for our plane from Texas. It was highly comforting knowing that.

[Johnny Footstool]

Kansas City to Chicago. 1 hr flight took 8 hrs. We actually borded on time and flew all the way to Chicago as scheduled. Unfortunately, after circling for 45 minutes due to severe weather, the pilot decided fly back to Kansas City. Imagine being so close to your destination, only to go all the way back. When we landed in Kansas City, they let us off to go to the bathroom and get something to eat. They also hooked up some of our passengers who were missing their flight in Chicago an alternate flight to Providence, RI. When the weather broke in Chicago, they told us all to reboard, but we had to do it quickly because severe weather was now heading toward KC. Unfortunately most people were still going to the bathroom or getting food, outside security checkpoint at the gate. When we finally got on the plane, we could see the weather heading our way. The flight at the gate next to us, also going to Chicago but scheduled to depart 2 hrs after us, was able to get off. Unfortunately, this being Southwest, they had to fill the seats of those Providence passengers, so the flight attendants start counting empty seats. Meanwhile we can see the line of thunderstorms on the horizon. People are yelling at the flight attendants to forget about the empty seats, close the door and get going. Very tense situation. By the time they filled the seats, the thunderstorms caught us. We sat for what seemed like 2 hours waiting for them to pass. Nobody dared get off the plane, even though we were still at the gate. When we finally got to Chicago, there was none of the usual clapping or jovial banter from the flight attendants that one typically sees on a Southwest flight. It was quite possibly the closest I've seen a plane full of people come to mutiny.

Not quite as long or uncomfortable as many have experiences, but the fact that we were so close, yet so far multiple times really pushed people to the edge.

That seems like complete insanity.