As Rosanne Roseannadanna liked to say on the old Saturday Night Live skits, “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
The airline industry in the past six months has battled freak snowstorms. They’ve had mysterious computer issues. I seem to recall a plague of locusts in Nebraska, but I could be wrong. Anyway, now comes something else: wildfire smoke.
Hazy skies at JFK airport in New York City, June 7, 2023. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Cancellations didn’t seem too bad, but major airports in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States suffered thousands of delays on Wednesday as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south.
At one point, the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. called a temporary halt to flights landing at La Guardia airport (LGA) in New York City, as well as at Newark Liberty.
The website FlightAware reported 315 delayed incoming flights (a full 55%) at LGA for Wednesday, plus 230 delayed outgoing flights (40%). Only 18% of departing flights were delayed at John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport in New York, compared to 14% of incoming flights.
For Newark Liberty airport (EWR), it noted a 32% delay rate for departing flights, and 35% for arrivals.
FlightAware reported 194 delayed outgoing flights (32% of total departing flights) for Wednesday, June 7 at Toronto Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport. For incoming flights, it was 24% (152 flights) delayed.
For Montreal Trudeau, it reported a 26% delay rate for departing flights, and 21% for incoming.
I had a bad day at JFK on Wednesday, but it wasn’t due to smoke. My scheduled 1:30 p.m. plane to Toronto from JFK on Air Canada had computer problems and the flight was cancelled. I managed to get onto an American Airlines plane and got into Toronto a little before 10 p.m.
The Air Canada problem was no doubt tricky to solve, and nobody wants to fly on a plane with computer issues. The staff didn’t seem to know what was going on as we waited, but there’s no doubt the computer repair people were doing their best, and they probably couldn’t deliver an accurate assessment to the gate staff.
American Airlines plane at smoky JFK Airport in New York City on June 7, 2023. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Once the flight was cancelled, I found a very helpful person on the phone at the AC call centre, and they rebooked me on American.
I made it to the American counter at Terminal 8 despite confusing JFK shuttle train signage, and asked a woman for help. She walked away to deal with something else, then walked back. “I could use some help,” I said.
Her reply? “I’m off the clock.”
Wow, that’s some kind of bad service. We’re all tired from travel hassles, and flight attendants get some of the worst abuse of anyone, but that was remarkable in my book.
She started to walk away, then pointed at a line and said, “Go there.”
I got in line but quickly realized I was in the wrong place. Another worker told me to try around the corner at another American counter, which I hadn’t seen. I went there but it appeared to be a complaints lineup, not a check-in area. An AA worker said I could probably use the self check-in machine, so I took a short walk back to the original place where I ran into “Miss Manners,” and was able to use the machine. Quite simple, as it turned out.
I wanted to see where the gate was, so I went through security and took a moving sidewalk past a very loud and overly bright, flashing advertisement for a new Disney kids’ movie and took an escalator to one of the gate areas.
Abitino’s Italian Restaurant, Terminal 8, JFK Airport. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I was hungry, but none of the food options looked attractive. I spotted a sign for an Italian place called Abitino’s, but it was closed. A sign on the door said to try their outlet in the Food Court. But there was no indication where that might be. I’d only been to JFK once before, and there are eight terminals. Where would the Terminal 8 food court be?
A nice guy pointed me in the right direction, so I trudged back to the escalator and got on the moving sidewalk, where I was once again treated to deafening Disney movie music and flashing lights that burned into my frazzled brain. I finally found the food court, which appeared to have three options, one of them a Starbucks, which is not a place for dinner, or really any meal in my book. Another was Abitino’s. Was it open and welcoming me with bright lights and the smell of pizza? No, it was not. It was closed.
WTF?
I spotted a place called Mezze that didn’t look so good, but then I saw there was another Mezze next door. This one had Jerk Chicken with two sides for $16. The chicken looked good, and sizable, and there were several kinds of sauces. I chose rice and peas (classic) for one side, and was torn between sweet potatoes and pasta for the other. The guy behind the counter suggested the pasta. Bad move. Airport pasta sits for hours, methinks, and it’s almost always soggy and inedible. This was the same. But the rice and peas were fine, and I had a very meaty chicken leg and thigh with a good Jamaican Jerk Chicken rub.
Quite a good meal as it turned out, and only about $16, plus a few bucks for a bottle of water.
My flight on American was a half hour late taking off, and they didn’t have any juice or soda, just water, But they gave us a bag of pretzels and a couple cookies, so that’s okay.
Compared to some people, I probably got off easy. I heard some people saying they had flights cancelled out of JFK yesterday and were rebooked for today out of LaGuardia, a good half-hour away. I got to Pearson shortly before 10 p.m., versus 3:10 p.m. as originally scheduled. But I got to sleep in my own bed, and didn’t have to take a cab across New York City.
Today it’s hazy again in Toronto, and I keep singing the song, “Smoke From A Distant Fire,” a pop hit in 1977. At least I don’t have to fly again until June 19.
