Day 3
4:00am. I am still at Lima airport due to air traffic controllers being on strike in Lima and a delayed Continental flight from the US. But at least they’re talking to us. They may be feeding us wrong information, but I’m grateful just to be acknowledged.
12.01pm. I arrive in Newark only 4 hours late and am greeted by the attached communiqué from Mr. Duncan Patterson, American Airlines Sales Manager in Ecuador. This is a man conspicuous by his total lack of presence during our 24 hour lock up in Ecuador (in Mr. Patterson’s airline speak, this is interpreted as “complications for the passengers”). Mr. Patterson called the “smoke in the cabin” a false alarm. How can smoke be false? And if so, why was the plane still not in service 24 hours later?
May the Bird of Paradise fly right up Mr. Patterson’s nose!!!
