So, where were you off to this time? I ask from my hotel room in Bangkok. Hanoi on Saturday and head home LATE Tuesday night.
Are we having fun yet?
MADRID.
It was bound to happen but I had a flight from hell. I have never had this bad a time with my over 3,000,000 air miles.
The 4:11 UAL flight loaded up on time but it was hot inside. We soon got word that the APU would not work. The AC tried to get working but she couldn't and called the maintenance guys. Things break and I cannot sa ythat UAL breaks things at any rate higher or lower than anyone else, but I rate the ground crew response as how poor and airline can be. UAL exceeded expectations in being a very poor airline.
We were first told there would be a 5:45 decision. At 5:45 the time was revised to 6:15. At 6:15 they told us they had found the problem and were fixing it. At 7:30 they told us that they were still looking for the part and would let us know what was going on. At 8pm they said that crew had gone illegal and they were looking for a new crew. At 8:30 they said we were moving gates to a new airplane and at 8:45 they said it would take too long to print meal vouchers for people. They boarded us after 9pm and we took off at about 10:30.
We arrived in London and there was no crew to meet us at the gate to let us know what was going to happen with all the missed connections. The flight crew actually told us in the air that it was company policy to not comment on what was going to happen. That sounded like complete BS to me.
After trying to get into terminal 1 at LHR (a 2.5 hour oddesey) I finally got to a UAL ticket counter who told me that I was re booked on the 2:05 flight but he could not issue the boarding pass and I should go to the Iberia counter. Iberia told me that the flight was a code share and that I had to go to the BA counter. BA told me to got to UAL. UAL then told me that because it was a split ticket all they could do was rebook and that I had to deal with BA. UAL did go on to tell that since I am a 1k that they is why they re booked me otherwise they owed me nothing.
BA said that since I missed my earlier flight tough luck, the fare was non-refundable and I would have to buy a new ticket. So I did. BTW BA also told me no way would my luggage make it.
Once in Madrid I was told my luggage would arrive later tonight but BA/Iberia does not deliver until tomorrow. So sometime then I will get it. SIGH!
Flipping UK one carry on rules!!!
Had UAL just made their decision earlier in the day I could have made other arrangements. It is not like there are not a plethora of flights to Europe out of ORD each evening.
It was bound to happen as airlines are nothing if NOT customer friendly.
I am here, 8 hour late, dirty and smelly but in my meeting.
They do tend to sit still once you get airborne. Second hint: Don't taxi too close behind another plane. They stir up the bugs and you hit them. I had grasshopper parts tucked into every possible crevise and a whole grasshopper draped over the pitot tube when I got home 
