On the day of the flight, I got to the airport around 9:15pm, for my 10:30pm departure. I wasn’t checking a bag, so all I had to do was print my boarding pass from the kiosk, and then headed up to security. The Pre Check line only had a few people in front of me. The regular line, did not look that long either. There were only a few flights left, for the rest of the night. There was only my flight to JFK, and the other jetBlue flight to Boston. Delta also had one redeye to Detroit. My plane was coming from Boston. It had gotten a little bit of a late start. It took off about 40 minutes late. As I headed to my gate, I checked on the inbound flight. It was showing a 9:50pm arrival. I was hoping they would be able to turn it around quickly.
jetBlue 136
Phoenix, AZ (PHX) – New York, NY (JFK)
Airbus A320
N566JB
Seat 5A
Scheduled Departure Time – 10:30pm
Actual Departure Time- 12:12am
Scheduled Arrival Time – 6:15am
Actual Arrival Time- 7:51am
4 hours 39 minutes
N566JB at gate 26, after arriving from Boston
A few minutes after the plane got to the gate, the departure time was updated. We were now departing at 10:45pm, 15 minutes late. They also pushed our arrival time back 15 minutes. I now only had 30 minutes to make my connection. After everyone had deplaned, boarding was not starting. I started to get nervous about my connection. After a few minutes the gate agent made an announcement, saying that they were waiting for the okay from the captain to start boarding. After another 5 minutes, boarding started. Once everyone was seated, it was 10:50pm. I was thinking it would be a tight connection, but I would make it. Right after, that thought was changed. The captain made an announcement that they were working on a maintenance issue. He was anticipating it taking another ten to fifteen minutes. At this point it was not looking good at all. Eventually we pushed back, and the engines were started up. After sitting for a few minutes and not taxiing, something was up. I was listening to LiveATC on my phone. The pilots called up the ground controller. They said they were dealing with a maintenance issue, and wanted to make sure where we were sitting was an okay spot. After this the captain let us know, about the second issue. They would have to shut down the engines, and restart them. At this point I knew, there was no way I would make my connecting flight, unless somehow it was delayed. I resigned myself to a long delay once I got to New York. Since the next flight to Syracuse, was not leaving until the afternoon. About 20 minutes later, we taxied to runway 8 and took off, 1 hour and 42 minutes late.
N521JB arriving from JFK, and leaving to Boston later that night
Cleared for takeoff
We initially climbed up to 33,000ft. The flight attendants turned the lights on for the service. They came through with drinks and snacks. It was a pretty full flight, so it took them a while to get through with everyone. The lights were kept on the entire time. They weren’t turned down for almost 45 minutes, so it was hard to try to get some sleep. We climbed up to 35,000ft over Oklahoma. A little later on in the flight, it got bumpy. We deviated around some weather, and went back down to 33,000ft. The Wi-Fi was not working, so I was not able to check, if my flight was delayed by any chance. I would have to wait until after I landed. I tried to get some sleep, but I couldn’t seem to get comfortable, and I was anxious about the situation with my connecting flight. I was only able to sleep for about 30 minutes. So the flight was boring, and felt very long.
Just starting to get light out
About 30 minutes before landing, the flight attendants came through with water and orange juice
Starting the descent into JFK from the south, on the CAMRN4 arrival
Descending into an overcast NY morning
Final 31R
When we were on final, I finally had service on my phone. First thing I did was check my next flight, and it was also on its final descent into SYR. It landed in Syracuse 6 minutes, after we landed in JFK. I figured the chances of it being delayed were small, since the plane had been at JFK overnight.
Touchdown at JFK, 1 hour and 36 minutes late
After landing the flight attendant mentioned there were several people who had missed their connections, as a result of the delay. He said to go to the customer service desk, to see what our options were.
N566JB at gate 17, before its next flight down to a hopefully sunnier and warmer St Maarten
After deplaning I went straight to the desk. The next flight was not leaving until 4:45pm. That was the only other flight to Syracuse that day. There was a delta flight leaving in a few hours. They said I could not get a refund, since I had already flown one segment. The Delta flight was over $350, so I did not want to pay for that. At this point it was 8:15am. So it look like I would have over 8 hours, until my flight was leaving. I have family in NY, and thought maybe I would go into the city for a few hours. I texted some of them, and they were all either working or had plans. So I just decided to find a place to set up shop, and get comfortable. I sat for a while and watched some shows on my phone, walked around the entire terminal several times, and went outside for a little bit. By the time the early afternoon rolled around, time started to pick up. The last few hours passed quickly, and finally it was time to board.
N337JB was sitting next to us when we pulled into the gate. It was about to depart to Rochester. It then flew back down to JFK. After this it did a Raleigh turn, and then I flew it up to SYR. This was my third time flying on N337JB, and all three times on the same route from JFK – SYR.
N337JB pushing back to Rochester
And a few hours later, it was back at JFK after landing from Rochester
jetBlue 2516
New York, NY (JFK) – Syracuse, NY (SYR)
Embraer E190
N337JB
Seat 2D
Scheduled Departure Time – 4:47pm
Actual Departure Time- 5:13pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 6:09pm
Actual Arrival Time- 6:00pm
47 minutes
2D
Waiting for the door to close
Before we pushed back, the captain came out of the cockpit, and stood at the front of the cabin. He made an announcement, welcoming us aboard, and giving us the details of the flight. He was very detailed. He included all the different altitudes of the cloud layers, as well as the dewpoint. Which I am sure most passengers on the flight care about
. I actually had this same pilot, on a flight from SYR-JFK, 3 years prior. That flight was delayed almost 5 hours. There was a lot of weather and ATC delays at JFK, that night. I remember he made a lot of announcements and kept us consistently informed throughout the entire delay. He seems to like keeping the passengers very informed. Or he just likes to hear himself talk. After this the door was closed, and we quickly pushed back. Once the engines were running, we started the taxi to 31L. There were several planes ahead of us. After a 20 minute taxi, it was our turn. We taxied onto the runway and took off at 5:13pm, 9 hours and 22 minutes after I had landed. 
Taking off
Making the standard left turn, after departing 31L
It was a bumpy climb out of NY. It eventually smoothed out, once we leveled off at 20,000ft. The flight attendants quickly came through with drinks and snacks. It was a quick flight. After 12 minutes at cruise, we started our descent
Touchdown in Syracuse, 10 hours later then I had planned
N337JB, before flying right back down to JFK
This was the second time that I had flown this flight, and been delayed several hours. The other time, the flight had an issue with one of the engines, and we had to divert to Boston. After a few hours on the ground, we got a new plane and crew. Then we were able to depart to Syracuse. You can read about it viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1442891&p=22089465%23p22089465. After a few days at home, it was time to head back to Phoenix. I got to the airport around 1:00pm. I quickly printed out my boarding passes, and headed to my gate.
American Eagle “PSA” 5665
Syracuse, NY (SYR) – Washington, DC (DCA)
Bombardier CRJ-200
N230PS
Seat 12A
Scheduled Departure Time – 2:19pm
Actual Departure Time- 2:29pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 3:54pm
Actual Arrival Time- 3:34pm
1 hour 5 minutes
AA check in
N230PS at gate 10, after arriving from DCA
Boarding started around 1:50pm. This flight was about half full, so boarding went pretty quickly. We ended up sitting for about 15 minutes, before the door was closed and we pushed back.
Boarding
12A
Watching the pushback, on the airport webcam
Taxiing out, alongside an A319 to Charlotte
Once we reached the runway, we taxied onto it. We then started to taxi down the runway, but did not start to accelerate. We continued down the runway, and exited at the first taxiway. The pilots told the tower, they had a light come on and needed some time. Tower gave us instructions to taxi back down to the full length. By the time we reached the end again, the issue was resolved and we took off.
Cruising at 24,000ft
The flight passed quickly, and before long we were descending into DCA
Short final runway 1
A Trans States (that recently shut down) E145
N230PS, before its next flight down to Columbia, South Carolina
About an hour before departure, the 737 MAX pulled into the gate. Shortly before boarding an announcement was made. There was a mechanical issue with the plane, and they were determining the extent of the issue. I only had an hour layover at LAX, and I was not looking for a repeat of the first part of the trip. A few minutes later they made another announcement. They said this was a new plane, and that it had just started flying to DCA a few days prior. The maintenance personnel were not familiar with it yet, and had to read the manual about the part that needed fixing. They told anyone with a connection to come up. At this point the nonstop flight to PHX had already left. My only other option was to go through DFW. That flight was leaving in 15 minutes. After quickly getting rebooked, I had to take the shuttle over to the other side. By the time I got to the gate, I was one of the last people to board.
American 2288
Washington, DC (DCA) – Dallas/Ft Worth, TX (DFW)
Airbus A321
N139AN
Seat 16F
Scheduled Departure Time – 6:30pm
Actual Departure Time- 6:48pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 8:50pm
Actual Arrival Time- 8:32pm
2 hours 44 minutes
N139AN at gate 31. This was my first time on an AA A321 with sharklets. All the other times I had been on an A321, it was an ex US A321
16F
Cabin before departure
Since I was one of the last to board, the door was closed a few minutes after I was in my seat. We quickly pushed back, and started the taxi towards runway 1. There were several CRJ’s ahead of us in line. After 15 minutes, it was our turn. We taxied onto the runway and took off. There were still low clouds and as we were making the left turn on the departure, we went right into the clouds. We broke out of the clouds a few minutes after takeoff, on our way up to 32,000ft.
Taking off
Climbing out of DCA
Once we leveled off, the flight attendants came through with drinks and pretzels. I ended up watching a movie and the sunset, as we flew towards Dallas.
Cruising
Over Arkansas we went down to 28,000ft, and then went down to 24,000ft. About 20 minutes before landing, we started the descent into DFW. It was a cloudy and rainy night in Dallas, but the descent was smooth. After we landed there was still a plane at our gate, so we had to wait for a little bit. We finally pulled into the gate at 8:58pm, 26 minutes after we landed.
Touchdown
N139AN spent the night in Dallas, before flying to New York – LaGuardia the next morning
I had about 45 minutes to get to my next gate, before boarding started
American 1779
Dallas/Ft Worth, TX (DFW) – Phoenix, AZ (PHX)
Airbus A321
N976UY
Seat 14F
Scheduled Departure Time – 10:30pm
Actual Departure Time- 10:51pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 10:55pm
Actual Arrival Time- 10:50pm
1 hour 59 minutes
N976UY at the gate, after arriving from Orlando
14F
We pushed back from the gate 2 minutes early, then started the taxi to runway 18L. It was about a 20 minute taxi. Just like on the way in, there were clouds and rain showers on the departure. It was a smooth flight, all the way out to Phoenix.
Taking off
Climbing out of DFW
Descending into PHX
Final runway 26
We touched down at 10:50pm, and parked at gate A3 5 minutes later
N976UY departed a few hours later, for the redeye to Charlotte
I did not check a bag, so I did not have to wait for one. The last few times I had flown AA into Phoenix late at night, it was over a 45 minute wait for the bags to come out. So I was glad to be able to head right out to my car.
