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You are here: Articles > Flight stories > Flight to L.A. #5
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Article overview The quatuor runs crazily across Cincinnati airport to catch the last flight to Montreal of the day, on a Regional Jet. Originally published in October 1998. |
 he trip is almost over. We have just landed at our final stop, Cincinnati, before arriving at our home in Montreal. But there is one "small" problem. Between the moment the flight from Salt Lake landed and the scheduled departure time of the Montreal flight, there's only 30 minutes...
 "Run, run, run!"It's 9:55pm. The crowd is large to exit the small Boeing 727 and the queue to deplane is very slow. We get quickly impatient, afraid that our worst nightmare we were going to avoid by taking this itinerary would be reality: missing the flight and having to stay at Cincinnati at our own expenses. If you have not read the previous parts, let me explain: our return flight from LAX to Cincinnati was delayed so we were booked on two other flights via Salt Lake, but it didn't give any result since we landed almost at the same time as the other plane from Los Angeles. Finally we reach the exit and we start running. Not only do we know we are very late but we also realize we're in Terminal B and that we've got to go to Terminal C for our flight... Which means we'll have to take the ground shuttle... So we run, run, run to the shuttle, hoping that we won't have to wait too long for the next one... "Faster, faster, faster!"
Finally the ground shuttle gets at the door with all the other people waiting and we get there first. We tell the driver our flight leaves in now 20 minutes (at 10:30pm). We quickly place our hand luggage in the compartments, and in less than 30 seconds, the bus gets going... My mom charges me of going first and run to check for the departure time of Comair flight OH3756, our flight, either on the screen or at the counter. Three minutes later we are at Terminal C. We leave the bus running again and I quickly notice a flight information screen. Luckily, the screen is in complex language and displays only the airport codes and fortunately I can read them. I notice "OH3756 CVG YUL 2300" and the number of the gate, which I don't remember... But at that moment I remembered the gate and yelled "Our flight leaves from gate ___". "Stop, stop, stop!"We finally arrive and it's at that moment that I tell, and we notice, that our flight is delayed. Departure is now at 11:00pm. The people are still waiting for departure. We present ourselves to the counter and everything seems normal. For the first time, we are asked to fill some small pink forms. On my form, I have to check whether I'm from the USA, from Canada or from the Bahamas (the three countries serviced by Comair) or another country. After our boarding passes are given, we take the time to sit down and relax after the intense stress. 10 minutes later, it's boarding time already. We get inside the small Canadair Regional Jet and notice it is the exact same aircraft we flew on the departure trip, and the same flight attendant, Lody. She recognizes us and my mom speaks with her for a while. Afterwards, we sit and fasten our seat belts and in less time than expected, we're on our way... to the de-icing bay! The flight attendant explains that the aircraft will proceed to the de-icing station before take-off because of the very low temperature at Cincinnati. Flight 3756 or Flight 90?
For one second, I am once again scared. I immediately think of Air Florida flight 90, the aircraft that had waited too long after de-icing to take-off and crashed on the 14th Street Bridge Bridge in Washington. But I feel reassured as the aircraft is de-iced by a small "crane" truck spraying some semi-clear liquid on the wings and engines. I also notice behind the blurry window an electronic display under what looks like the control tower. It says something like "All aircraft must proceed to de-icing prior to take-off".
A few minutes later, the lights turn off, leaving the cabin illuminated by nothing but the reading lights, and we roll. The Canadair Regional Jet lifts up under the dark sky, and we feel reassured as in less than 2 hours, we'll be in Montreal. It's 11:18pm. Vacation is overDuring the ascent, I suddenly think that the trip is over. After a very pleasant week, everything gets back to normal. I have to get back to school the next week, my sister has her exam final exam in a couple of days, my parents get back to work on Friday (both). But I take advantage of my last moments on an aircraft... for a long time. The FASTEN SEAT BELTS sign turns off and Lody announces beverage and small snack services. But this time, she serves cocktails at $4.00 or $5.00 each. "Canadian and American dollars are accepted". I ask my dad with a sense of humor if he'll take one and he tells me "Will you offer me one?". Of course, he was kidding... Lody passes with the kart and serves us little cakes and I make the not-so-smart choice of drink: 7-UP. At least it won't make me too dizzy this time. I first asked Lody if they had Dr. Pepper and she said no. Of course! This is a small flight on a small plane with very few passengers (even though it was full). So why should they have a rather "rare" brand? Near-miss?After snacking, the four of us try to catch up some sleep. Lody passes around, checking if the passengers need anything. She passes to us and tells my sister (sitting next to me) and in French: "The little brother needs anything?". And I say that everything is fine. Suddenly, I look out the window to expect nothing but total darkness but guess what? I see suddenly a bright light flying from right to left. And it's blinking. It's another aircraft passing by. Whew! It is passing really slowly. I tell my sister and she is surprised. But we get back to sleep really fast. I wake up to go to the lavatory one last time, perhaps because I had to go or simply to see for the last time what a "plane bathroom" looked and felt like. I wait until the LAVATORY OCCUPIED signal turns off. I go and get back to find my dad telling me sarcastically "You sure chose the perfect time to go to the bathroom. We're about to land"... "Bienvenue à Montréal"
I sit down and fasten my seat belt as the sign turns on. Lody announces final approach to the Montreal Dorval Airport (now known as Trudeau Airport) and soon enough the lights of the city appear. There are few lights and I suppose we are flying over some suburb town. I suddenly think: "I hope we're not waking anybody up!"... It's 12:30am. Exactly 18 minutes later, we touchdown and the aircraft stops at the terminal.
As we get out, we are almost frozen by the very strong winds and the low temperature, very striking, compared to the hot temperature of Los Angeles, or Cincinnati. We pick up our hand luggage near the wing and get inside the terminal, waiting for the immigration counter... The electronic screen says "Welcome to Canada / Bienvenue au Canada". After the usual formalities, we go to the baggage caroussel to pick up our luggage. And only three of them are functional at this time. But as we are about to get ready and watch for our suitcases, a lady was waiting for us... "Mr. Ortega? I'm from Delta Air Lines. I am sorry to announce that one of your suitcases is currently not available." ... | ||||||
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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.
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CRJ on take-off: by Sergio Ortega, captured and modified from Microsoft Flight Simulator 98. Runway at night: capture from an Aeroflot commercial from The Night of the AdEaters. © 1998-2008, airodyssey.net. All rights reserved. Disclaimer, trademarks, privacy policy. |
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