Sunday, November 7, 2010

Turbulent time change?: In flight during daylight savings switch

As we flew, the flight update would give air temperature, elapsed time, altitude, and the like. At one point, surely close to the arctic circle, at 35,000 feet up it was -86 degrees Fahrenheit. The trip was a little over 8100 miles, and oddly, we went north (in a parabolic path) to allow the earth to turn us into our destination. We flew through daylight savings, I could feel the slight pull of daylight savings time when it struck at 2 a.m. (Indiana time).

Sleep was not so easy now two nights in a row, the first for anxiety and nervousness about the voyage; the second complicated by my seat-row mates and their needs to move about the cabin, the flight attendants food and beverage service and trying to sleep while sitting.

The volume of air traffic and the size of the airport caused us to taxi on the runway for about 30 minutes. A hazard to be expected in a city with 22 million people. We exited off the plane on a stairway to the tarmac. It felt like old Hollywood or classic presidential. I suppose the line for the airport exit was over 100 yards, lined with drivers holding signs that matched the two as travelers made their final connections. It was refreshing to see the sign with the State of Indiana Seal and some familiar faces gathered to head to the hotel.

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