Adrift in Minneapolis: Delta Fails Me Again!

Ah, the best laid plans…

As I write this I am marooned at the Minneapolis airport. Weather in Minneapolis, and around the country for that matter, is nearly perfect. As we approached Minneapolis and I saw that indeed the weather wouldn't be a factor in an on-time departure for my flight to Albuquerque, I was elated. I had trepidations about flying through this snow-bound city on my way to my sister's; however, it was by far the cheapest route Delta had to get me there for Christmas. I rolled the dice.

I was further encouraged when I got to the gate and the plane was sitting there, begging to be flown. The flight crew walked down the gateway and then promptly walked back off. Some sort of mechanical problem caused Delta to cancel the flight.

If you follow this blog with any degree of regularity, you may well be aware that this is my second experience with a canceled flight in three weeks. My enthusiasm for Delta is waning.

I immediately called the Delta number for Sky Miles members. I was told I had two choices: Flying through Salt Lake and arriving in Albuquerque at 6:30, or waiting for the next direct flight and arriving at 7 PM. Because roughly 15 members of my family were to be waiting for me at my favorite Mexican restaurant at 2:30, neither of these options was particularly appealing. Either choice was less than acceptable. My decision came down to one factor: Delta could protect my first-class upgrade on the direct flight, but not on the two legs of the earlier flight. I chose the first-class option.

So here I am kicking around the Minneapolis airport for five or six hours. Lots of shops; not much in the way of restaurants. Nothing in the way of sports bars. I want to be in Albuquerque, at Sadie's, drinking margaritas.

Not a good beginning for my holiday vacation, this event won't sour the rest of my trip. I have my $10 lunch voucher and will probably drink that. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the Steelers game on any of the TVs in the airport bars. Vikings? What the hell is a Viking?