Is Getting There Really Half the Fun?

The adage says that “Getting there is half the fun.” It’s half of something. Read on. 

We hit the road late yesterday afternoon and arrived in Scotland early this morning. Sounds simple. Seasoned travelers know that it never is.

 

You may be as surprised as we were that Delta Air Lines does not have a direct flight from Atlanta to Edinburgh. Initially, we thought we would have to fly through one of the New York airports, not something the Lady who accompanies me on these trips is a fan of. Then we noticed that Delta offered a flight connecting through Orlando. Those of you who are geography aware will realize as I did that we were flying South only to fly back North. Not very efficient for this industrial engineer. But hey, it wasn’t New York.

 

We left Atlanta yesterday around 4:30 pm and landed in Orlando at about 6. We then taxied, and taxied and taxied some more. When we finally joined a line of seven or eight jets parked on a taxiway I suspected something was up. Indeed, it was. A very large thunderstorm had spent that afternoon lingering over the Orlando airport to the extent that almost no planes were allowed to take off. No planes taking off meant no gates available for planes landing. We spent the next hour and a half sitting on our plane, waiting for a gate to open and finally one did. Fortunately, our flight to Edinburgh was not scheduled to leave until 10:30 p.m. so we enjoyed a leisurely evening in the Sky Club.

 

Our flight to Edinburgh was a code share with Virgin Atlantic. We were in the equivalent of Delta’s Comfort + and it was very nice. I had plenty of leg room and the seats were reasonably wide and comfortable. Ever the nerd, I really enjoyed the “Tail Cam” software on my in-seat TV.  It featured cameras on the tail and belly of the aircraft. What great fun. The pilot nailed the landing, as I could plainly see.

 

We arrived on time, collected our baggage, with more waiting than we like, and were collected and driven to our hotel. Only during the drive to the hotel did we learn that the Edinburgh airport had been diverting flights all morning due to potholes on one of its runways. Emergency repairs were begun during the night while we were in the air and were completed in time for us to land.  

 

So yes, getting there is half the fun. I can forgo that next time.