Stuck in Detroit

So much for getting to watch the Canada-Russia quarterfinal. A passenger on my flight from Tokyo took ill and forced a diversion to Winnipeg. The three hour delay caused me to miss two connecting flights. Naturally the flight I was in time for was completely full. So I get to spend an evening in the Detroit airport waiting for my late flight to Toronto. I'll see if a sports bar will show the game, but I'm not hopeful.

Update: Things worked out after all. I don't know why I thought that HockeyTown airport wouldn't have the game on. I found a bar and watched Canada hammer Russia 7-3, and chatted with several Americans sitting nearby. It was a good experience and although it took me 28 hours door-to-door, it wasn't that much of a burden. And a 4-goal first period is the best cure for jet lag I've found yet.

I also complained to Delta who answered in a timely manner and added miles to my frequent flyer account to make up for the delay. I'm more than satisfied with their response and will now forget this long day.

For completeness, I'm keeping the rest of my post (written when I was very tired but still valid) below:

I may sound callous given the circumstances but the passenger in question shouldn't have been flying in the first place. A fairly overweight gentleman, he was sweaty and nervous before we even took off, and was extremely reluctant to sit in the middle seat to which he was assigned. The flight was full though, and volunteers to give up their aisle seat were not to be found. So he took a middle seat and seemed quite normal, sleeping for most of the flight. But with two hours or so to go, he became unwell. Treatment onboard was not effective, so the flight was sent to Winnipeg, where he was treated by paramedics and removed from the plane, seemingly in reasonably good spirits.

I hope he's OK but I also hope that he doesn't get to fly again until his medical condition is cured. This was a preventable diversion in my mind (of course, I don't know all the facts, but judging from my observation). The result was thousands of dollars in expenses to Delta and inconvenience to 300 other passengers. The moral is: if you are not sure you can fly, don't risk it.

Trip Plan

I should be in Toronto tomorrow to watch the Marlies. Friday the Raptors host the Cavaliers and then Saturday it's the Rock taking on the Orlando Titans. After that, it's back to Ottawa for some more hockey. Check back regularly for posts on all the games.

Best,

Sean