WING TIPS

It was Friday afternoon at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Air traffic was usually heavy, and we were taxiing out for our two-hour flight to Atlanta. There were thunderstorms all along the east coast, and we were hoping to get out before one came through and affected our flight. Halfway to the runway, the tower controller informed us that the airport was now closed for takeoffs because of storms on our departure route. Arrivals would continue to land because some airplanes were low on fuel. This was the beginning of one of the longest flights I ever had as a captain for Delta.

With airplanes arriving but none departing, the tight space at LaGuardia became even more crowded. Chaos dominated as landing aircraft couldn’t get to their gates, and departing aircraft were still stuck on the taxiways. We sat at the airport for three hours before finally receiving our takeoff clearance.

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Storms In the ATL

The flight down south involved dodging some storms and flying through light turbulence but was otherwise normal until we arrived over north Georgia. Because of a line of thunderstorms transiting the Atlanta area, we were given holding instructions and had to wait as the Atlanta airport was now closed to arrivals. After holding for an hour and a half, our fuel reached a critical state, and we informed the air traffic controller that we would need to divert to our alternate, Columbia, SC. He told us that Columbia could not accept any additional traffic as they had too many planes on the ground diverted because of the weather. We would need to go to Savannah, GA, and off we flew.

We landed at Savannah without incident, gassed up, and took off again, headed for Atlanta. We were happy to have a quick up and down flight to Hartsfield-Jackson airport, except today it was not. The line of thunderstorms that had closed the Atlanta airport was now headed toward us. We were vectored toward Orlando, FL, to get around the south end of the line. The new plan was to come up over Tampa and then to Atlanta from the west side. Altogether, we were now looking at another two hours of flying time added to the flight. We finally arrived at the gate in Atlanta, nine hours after leaving the gate at LaGuardia. It was the lengthiest domestic flight that I had in my entire airline career.

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The Lesson

So, what’s the point of the story? Simply this. Sometimes it takes a lot longer to get to your destination than initially planned. There may be any number of reasons for the delays. Sometimes it’s tough just to get started, like the three hours we sat on the ground at LaGuardia. You may find yourself flying along without a serious problem and then end up in a holding pattern because of circumstances beyond your control.

There may be conditions that divert you in a different direction and require additional education or expertise. And sometimes, you’ll need to come at your goal from another direction. Yet, you can eventually achieve that long-sought-after goal with a clearly defined objective and the perseverance to keep after it.

The proof is in the pudding. A close friend has run a business for thirty years and has talked about owning her building for as long as I can remember. We toasted with champaign this weekend after the bank, and the SBA approved her building loan.

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A Quote To Consider!

I was taught the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.

--Marie Curie (1867-1934), French physicist and two-time winner of the Nobel Prize

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