I figured I’d make a quick blog entry while I wait. This is the second Friday night this month where I have to work late on Friday night, only to have to work longer because of maintenance delays.

As with the last Friday, We flew from Columbus to Orlando, and after a three hour sit at the airport, we were supposed to fly back to Columbus and be finished around 10:00 pm. Sounds easy, right?

Well, it works great when the plan runs smoothly, but when an aircraft goes down for a while with maintenance, it throws a wrench into the system. The last time this happened, we sat for three hours, and then when it was time to go and our plane arrived, the captain giving me the plane told me about a problem with the anti-ice system that would have to be fixed before we left for Columbus. It sounds crazy working on anti-icing systems in Orlando, where it is 80 degrees, but we have to remember that we are flying to Columbus where it is 25!

Tonight, we have just finished a three hour sit and now I found out that our plane isn’t due into Orlando until 9:00 pm, because it had maintenance earlier in the day, putting it behind schedule everywhere it goes. Oh well, at least I have my laptop and free wifi in the Orlando airport. So goes another Friday night for this glamorous job of being a pilot — sitting in a noisy terminal!

By the way, I do feel like airports should provide free wifi everywhere. Orlando (MCO) has it, Columbus (CMH) has it, but very few others do. Many airports provide wifi, but at a cost of up to 12 bucks a day to use, plus signing up for the service! In time, I’m sure the trend will be to provide it for free, but until then . . .

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