Great time in Alaska and Canada.  Now all that remains is our trip home.  Our flight was scheduled for 8:20am, so we had to be up and out early, really early.  That meant setting the alarm clock for 4:00am so that we could be taxi bound for the airport no later than 5:15am.  Although we were on our way early, we had to go through security and U.S. customs (that’s right, U.S. customs is in Vancouver).

We were headed to Phoenix for our second flight to Philadelphia and our connecting time was tight.  We had less than an hour to make our flight.  American says that 40 minutes to make a connection is okay.  A lot they know and clearly they don’t care that disembarking the plane and getting from one terminal to another just can’t be done in that small amount of time.  Especially when the door to the departing flight closes 20 minutes prior to the scheduled time for takeoff.

The cure to the connection problem; get a text message from American, after you left your hotel in a taxi bound for your 8:20 flight, that the flight has been postponed until 10:50am and, oh by the way, your connecting flight has been rebooked from a 12:15pm flight to a 3:40pm departure.  That made working our way through the airport a lot easier.

Now, we had plenty of time.  In fact if we could have booked the flights, you know, Vancouver to Phoenix to Philadelphia, we might have chosen this itinerary.  I say that because we did!  When we made our reservations we chose the 8:20 flight connecting with the 3:40.  American, without any input from us, unilaterally rerouted us.  He who has the power makes the flight plans.

Both flights were pleasant and uneventful.  Things have a way of working out.  Home at last.

Our next trip is scheduled for November when we travel with friends to Amsterdam for a river trip down the Rhine to Basel, Switzerland.  Follow my blog and hopefully I’ll have internet so that I can post as we go.  See you then!