After logging off, I was ready to board, and the gate operator announced that the Capt. is missing (probably snoozing somewhere, drunk). That was funny for about 5 secs.

After waiting for 20 mins, they called on a spare Capt. So we boarded, and while doing the pre-flight checks, the new Capt. announced that he is missing a manual which he needs. He then went on to say he can’t find it, and that he has to go back to the other side of the airport to print off a new one, if he couldn’t find one already printed. He also mentioned that it may take up to an hour to print the new manual. So this is my first time on United, and I’m already missing my direct flight from Gatwick to Charlotte.

They cleared off everyone off the CRJ-700, and back to the gate. 15 mins goes by and they called everyone back to the plane (Capt. must have found the missing manual). During this time, a few annoyed passengers (one burst into tears because she was going to miss her connection) decided it was too much to wait around for the manual to be printed, and checked in other airlines. After getting on-board, they had to go find the missing passengers. What a night this was turning out to be.

Already cramped in this tiny plane, I’m beginning to get really annoyed at how shitty the domestic side of United Airlines is. At one point, when they were deciding whether to let everyone off, or keep us on, the Capt. said to the two trolly dollies, “I don’t care what you decide, it’s up to you. I’m off to print the manual”. Being a small plane, I am sure everyone heard him.

After all that, the plane took off at about 7 pm, while the original departure was 4 pm. All this made me get to charlotte at almost 10 pm.

Let’s hope on my return flight to O’Hare next weekend, they can perform a little better.