Oh, no! We're at JFK!

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Well, this leg of our journey has not gone well. It is 9:45 pm and we are circling the skies above JFK. We have actually spent more time making circles in the sky than been making headway to France. I mist admit to keep my sanity I am writing this entry on my blackberry (which is not supposed to be turned on)in an email format so I can cut & paste it when we land. So, let's replay what we have been through so far. We boarded our flight to Paris from Atlanta on time. We had "weight" issues & the flight crew had to confirm our take off speed. This "weight" issue took 2 hours to resolve. Finally we got clearance to take off and yes, bad weather was setting in Atlanta. We were something like 12th for departure and somewhere around 6:00 pm we departed Atlanta. (We were scheduled to depart at 3:20pm). We take off and soon after realize that we are not gaining altitude and the map of our flight pattern on the tv screen shows us going in circles. We learn that although it is not a "safety" issue there is a light on which indicates we are still on the ground and not in the air. We continue to circle and then the pilot comes through the cabin to check the wings to see what position the flaps are in. If they are in the correct position we get the go-ahead to fly on. Eventually we get the go ahead. They put the movie Star Trek on to keep us all occupied. Once we start flying towards France the captain now announces that because of all of the time circling in Atlanta we will not have enough fuel to safely get us to Paris. He announces we will fly into JFK, switch planes and be on our way. We have 1 hour before arrival. The crew rushes to serve us dinner (it was about 7:30 pm). As we finish eating we get yet another announcement from the captain that we cannot land at JFK
because we have too much fuel! Well, this brings us to why we have been circling JFK for what feels like hours.
The poor couple in the row in front of us is on their honeymoon. Bad weather last night delayed their flight to Paris until today. Now they share the same misfortune as us and all of the other passengers on board.
To make matters worse, the captain has just informed us that JFK is now in a holding pattern for arrivals. Yes, you got that right. We now get to circle again for an unknown amount of time.
We suspect that the flight crew will also exceed their maximum hours and that we will have to get a new flight crew for our leg from JFK to CDG.
At this point we will not arrive in Paris in time to catch our first class TGV train to Bordeaux & I will be working feverishly to have our tickets & seats exchanged for a later train (although - do not know what our options will be). To placate us, we were given complimentary champagne (everyone else just got water!) Which upon the news of JFK suspending arrivals the incline caused our drinks to spill on us. I am now trying to dry us off using the air vents!
I guess this is enough drama for day one (and I hope for the rest of our trip!!)
I hope to be writing you all soon from France!

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Comments

[Lori]

oh my
Well...I guess this will make for good stories when you return. Can't wait to read what happens next.