Slick 60's

the plane that was supposed to take me to Minneapolis was flagged by the crew on landing because of a trim panel inside that was coming loose. it was not a flight safety issue but there are no aircraft mechanics on duty on Sunday so they had to wait for one to show up and either repair or sign off on the issue.

many including myself had short layovers to their next flight creating a rather boisterous crowd at the gate. the no mechanic on duty got some rather unpleasant comments.

i was given a choice of hanging out another 5 hours in Des Moines or getting on the plane when it was finally cleared 45 minutes late.

i took the risk, the plane landed 20 minutes before the Alaska bound plane on the extreme other end of the large MSP terminal.

so a 50 year old guy who had much liquid and little sleep for the past 4 days then had to run with a 30 + lb pack a very long ways arriving at the gate out of breath and huffing badly just in time to board the plane. as i waited to get on i was glad some of that liquid was of the very high octane level, and may have boosted my horsepower just enough to make it in time.

i only hope the others in similar situations made their flights too. some had less time than me.

i slept most of the way on the plane from MSP to Anchorage.

I too have run across that airport and it is a long run! I think they make sure all connecting flights are sent to gates as far away as possible!

When running across airports, one used to be able to say they did their best O.J. Simson impression (think luggage commercial). Now that conjures up quite a different mental impression.