Whittier tunnel fiasco - Fri 7/18
I will post a full trip report soon (I've been in AK for a week now on our long-planned trip), but I wanted to post this particular issue ASAP, for others who might be in the area soon, or for those locals who might know "the deal" on this:
Today during our AK trip, we took the 26 Glacier Cruise out of Whittier, and the following thing happened: The majority of passengers were boarded promptly prior to the 1PM departure time, but then we were informed that our departure would be delayed due to a technical switching glitch at the Whittier Tunnel, which was preventing 20-25 additional scheduled passengers from reaching our departure on time. Finally, 1.25 hours later, it was determined that the problem was not yet resolved at the tunnel, and our cruise finally left without them. (Most of us already on board were surprised they waited that long; after all, scheduling glitches happen, and when they do it's usually "them's the breaks", right?)
Well, while were happy to finally depart and not sad at all for those who missed the boat, payback/karma is a b*tch: The same glitch happened to us on our way out of Whittier at 7PM, and we were trapped there until 9:30PM...a long line of angry travelers, many of whom had flights to catch or other plans.
One of the workers there explained to us that what had happened earlier to the others, and to us at this time, was as follows:
Apparently the Alaska RR train "controls" the power to the tunnel at all times. Somehow when the train went through, it failed to relinquish power back to the non-RR traffic (the switching mechanisms, I guess?). So, since apparently there is only exactly one person in the entire state of Alaska capable of clearing the switch failure, we were forced to wait for that person to return to Whittier to make it happen (and apparently this was also the case earlier in the day...same dude, same issue - he wasn't nearby).
My wife and I could only surmise that perhaps this is some sort of union-labor issue...why else would the workers on hand not be allowed to allow traffic through manually, a la flagmen at a road construction site when only one lane is allowed through?
Thoughts/discussion, folks? |
What is this plane's tail number?
I've been looking at a.net but cannot find this plane's tail number. Naming convention would make it N768AS but that is a 734 Combi when this is clearly a 737 or 738. Any ideas?
[img]http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/9272/as768bu8.jpg[/img] (http://www.imagehosting.com/) |
UA vs AA Forum
The United Forum has a lot of justifiable complaints and posts about frustration over things being cut, change of policies etc. That prompted me to visit AA. They all seem content for the most part. Maybe AA is the better way to go. Not many complaints. |
Courtyard Los Angeles LAX/Century Boulevard
has anyone stayed at this property before? Any tips on room requests etc. I am MR Gold, does this property participate in 10% weekend discount and any other perks I should be looking for?
There does seem to be a club room of any sort. I read one report there is a pool but it is not mentioned on the Marriott website.
Would anyone have aknowledge if its hard to get to Venice Beach from here without my own car? Is there a bus or much in a taxi? I land from SYD at 2:00pm and fly the next morning and would love to see Venice whilst there and it will do me good to get out in some air for a few hours.
Any tips or suggestions most appreciated.
Cheers
SYD/YYZ |
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