Longer Layover In Denver

I”m at Gate C43 at Denver International Airport. Clean, modern, large. Really large!

I’m looking out a large picture window. The mountains are off in the far distance. This airport is east of Denver. The landscape here is more Kansas than Colorado. Put a little snow on the ground and you might as well be landing on the tundra in Siberia.

Southwest has large padded chairs with power outlets in the waiting area at the edge of the jetway. That’s where I am. I’ve staked out my spot.

My long day will be longer than the original plan. Southwest has been dribbling out the delays. Forget the scheduled 5:20 PM MST departure.

Estimated Gate Departure Changed From 01/21/13 05:20 PM To 01/21/13 06:30 PM

Estimated Gate Arrival Changed From 01/21/13 10:55 PM To 01/22/13 12:45 AM

I got that as a text message before leaving John Wayne. I’ve just gotten another.

Estimated Gate Departure Changed From 01/21/13 06:30 PM To 01/21/13 07:10 PM

Estimated Gate Arrival Changed From 01/22/13 12:45 AM To 01/22/13 12:35 AM

Read carefully. It’s not as bad as it seems. We’ll be leaving 40 minutes later and arriving 10 minutes earlier. That’s a neat trick! Better routing?

I know some pilots read this. I’d appreciate any insight you can provide.

I spoke to Helaine as she was boarding her plane. We’re both going to need a few days to recharge from this ‘vacation.’ Meanwhile I expect to see her walking down through terminal to this gate any moment now.

8 thoughts on “Longer Layover In Denver”

  1. Yes, DIA is a great airport! So different from Bradley. They have the coolest tram to the main portion of the airport with little whirly-gig things that twirl on the walls of the tunnel as the tram goes by. Wish I was there – my daughter lives 30 minutes from the airport in Highlands Ranch.

  2. Geoff, I understand your pain! My family and I just flew from VA to CT on Thursday the 17th. We left VA an hour later due to a weather delay and arrived in Dulles to catch the next leg. We spent 3.5 HOURS in Dulles airport! Myself, my husband, and my 8 and 5 year old…an it was their first time flying EVER! Thankfully, they hung in there like troopers, but when we were supposed to leave by 5:10pm and didn’t leave until 8:50pm, patience was wearing VERY thin. Safe travels and I hope you get on your flight soon!

  3. Safe travels. It’s all part of the fun, right? Just don’t be like me, forget what time zone you’re in and miss the plane entirely (it happened).

  4. I worked at DIA before it was open. I was part of the team installing the ASDE radar (High resolution ground mapping radar; official name, Airport Surface Detecting Equipment, designed in the mid 80s and already obsolete!). Big white radar dome on top of the air traffic control tower. Top of the tower is 320 feet and another 14 feet for the dome. I’ve never had the chance to fly in or out of Denver after the airport opened. Denver was suppose to have a super automatic luggage delivery system that would get your bags to the arrival area before you. They never did get it working and the system was scrapped! Loved Denver for the views. Safe Travel!

Leave a Reply to Laurie Blair Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *