I had one of those China travel days yesterday. I am to be in Beijing most of this week to launch a new marketing initiative with 3 other companies, train the combined sales force, etc. All started off fine – arriving at the airport at 9AM for a 10AM flight, check in, security – no problem. We board at 9:30, doors close at 10AM and we wait…They announce weather delays in Beijing and no departure time yet. 11am turns to noon. About 12:45 “lunch” is served. 2PM nothing. During all this time, I am emailing, calling, texting my colleagues to coordinate the training that was to be at 3PM..we decide that there is enough critical mass to go ahead with it. Finally at 2:45pm we get the nod – we are going. In the air by 3PM – I figure I will be at my hotel by 6PM, so I doze off. I wake up at about 4:20PM to the announcement at we will be landing in 20 minutes…in Shanghai!

We arrive back in Shanghai to chaos. First, our plane is parked at a remote gate – and they have no busses to take us to the terminal. Another 25 minute wait. Upon arrival at the terminal, a look up at the flight board shows every flight to Beijing delayed. Lines to re-book are 100 people deep. Fortunately my assistant has already been making new flight reservations for today. I turn my boarding pass back in to cancel my flight and head home.

On the ride home, I call one of my colleagues who was on an earlier flight that was turned around as well. He re-boarded at 2:30, took off at 3:30PM and had just arrived in Beijing when I called him at 6PM. Go figure!

So after sitting in seat 34G for close to 8 hours, I am back where I started – I would have preferred to have been on some exotic beach in Bali enjoying myself after a day like that. And I could have been there in only 6 hours!