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You are here: Articles > Flight stories > Flight to L.A. #3		Aviation articles | Movie reviews | Flight stories
Article overview On their way home from LAX, a family of 4 sees its flightpath diverted to SLC, as the LAX-CVG gets delayed, which could compromise their connection to YUL. Originally published in August 1998.	flight to l.a., part 3 by Sergio Ortega one hour of delay could mean getting home the next day fter a short yet pleasant getaway to Los Angeles, including a visit to Universal Studios Hollywood, it is time to head back home to Montreal. It's March 6, 1996. Delays, delays! Flight: Delta DAL328 Equipment: H/B752 Origin/Dest.: KLAX/KSLC It all starts by the trip from Simi Valley, where we were staying, to the Van Nuys Airport, where a ground shuttle would bring us to LAX. The shuttle arrives at LAX near 11:30am. Our first flight, Delta Air Lines flight DL1704 to Cincinnati, was scheduled to leave at 2:50pm. I look at the departures board near the Delta Air Lines numerous counters and see that DL1704 is delayed of 45 minutes. A delay that would compromise our connection at Cincinnati to Montreal. The ticket agent at Delta told us she couldn't do anything, that the delay of flight DL1704 was due to bad weather conditions, and that if we missed the connection at CVG (which was most likely to happen), we would have to stay at a hotel at our own expenses... We were worried. My mom made all the speaking while my dad couldn't understand a word, because he doesn't speak English. So, my mom asked spontaneously for a Spanish-speaking agent. ¡En espaņol, por favor! A few minutes later, a kind Latin agent, named Diana V., arrived. She explained the very same thing in Spanish again, and everybody understood... But she did more than her colleague. She made arrangements to exchange our LAX - CVG - YUL tickets to LAX - SLC - CVG - YUL... Yup, a stopover at Salt Lake City, due to bad weather, just like in Airport 1975! The only problem was that the flight would leave in less than 60 minutes! Good thing we got there early. As our baggage was quickly weighed and a quick run to the security control was made, we finally boarded flight DL328, a Boeing 757 service from Los Angeles to JFK with a stopover at Salt Lake. In less time than expected, we were on our way. I sit down in the window seat at the left, while my sister seats in the aisle. We are 4th in priority for take-off and in the meantime, I see a Northwest B747, a Reno Air MD-80 and a Cathay Pacific B747. While we taxi in position for take-off, I see the large amount of planes waiting behind us. We finally take-off smoothly, heading West and turning around, bound for Salt Lake. During the initial ascent, I remember clearly seeing a Boeing 737 a few hundred feet below us. It was most likely taking off from LAX right after us. The Grand Canyon on the Small Narrow Plane I must admit that the Boeing 757 is not my favorite aircraft. I never really liked narrow-bodies, especially the very long ones, like the 757 or the MD-80. I wished they would make it shorter, but wider! But that's not the point. We once again saw the Grand Canyon, followed by the Rocky Mountains later. During the short 90-minute flight, we saw a little bit of HBO Entertainment Programming on the tiny TV screens in the aisle, a drink was served. My sis had her Minute Maid Orange Juice again, I made the mistake of having a Dr. Pepper... and I felt dizzy again! One other meaningless detail: the audio program was very complete and diverse, but the problem is that it didn't work on the window seat. So I took it from the center seat! When I asked a Flight Attendant about it, it was during the ascent and she thought that the audio program was not on yet! Olympic Mountains We finally start our slow approach to Salt Lake City, crossing the Rocky Mountains covered with snow. The first thought that comes to my mind is that we're landing at the city that will host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Not a long time before, Quebec City was among the qualified cities. The enthusiasm in Quebec was very high, but it was a hard time recovering from the victory of Salt Lake. The descent is a true landscape tour. The mountains are magnificent. We finally touch down smoothly and taxi at what looks like an all-Delta Airport. I see nothing but Delta Air Lines planes. As we deplane the aircraft, I immediately notice at my left the gift shop with glasses bearing the logo for the 2002 Winter Games at Salt Lake. The view outside the windows of the very beautiful terminal offer again the nice mountains. Our trip is not over yet. We have to face worst. But that will be the subject for the next part of the trip!
	This is part of a series of 5 articles on a trip from Montreal to Los Angeles and back. Click on the numbers below for easy navigation.
	All 757 pics: captures from a Delta Air Lines commercial from The Night of the AdEaters. © 1998-2008, airodyssey.net. All rights reserved. Disclaimer, trademarks, privacy policy.		< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next >