And it started out so well . . .

We had a morning flight from Heathrow to Houston, so we left the hotel and trundled our luggage trolley into the Queen’s Terminal (2).  There wasn’t a line to drop off our bags, and the Fast Track security line was very short.  We then had a very long walk, involving long escalators and a trek beneath a runway to get to our boarding area and the United Club.  The club was very nice, and we snagged two comfy spots out of the fray.  We had a little breakfast and I did my daily Duolingo lessons, then read. Our boarding time was 9:10, and that also went smoothly.

We were seated in the business class “pods,” so plenty of comfortable and private space for the long flight.  After settling in and accepting a glass of champagne, I immediately changed the time on my devices to CDT, hoping to mentally adjust to the new time zone.  So the times below are all CDT.

We finally left the gate at 4:40 a.m. (10:40 in the UK). Charlie took this photo of the Concorde from his window.  

Our lunch was served at 6:30 a.m.  it was served in three courses, and I enjoyed each one.  We’d both pre-ordered the filet, which was tasty enough.  

For dessert we enjoyed ice cream sundaes with our choice of toppings!

Then there was a VERY long period of zero service from the crew.  I read an entire book and most of a second before our next meal, served at 1:20 p.m. (seven hours after the last meal).  I had a beef ragu that was probably tasty when packaged many hours earlier.  The brownie was good, though, as was my adult beverage.  I had one glass of wine and one drink on the entire flight, which is unacceptable, especially in business class.  Do better, United!

And then, the real trouble began. . . .  We were due to land in Houston at 2:30 p.m., but it soon became apparent (before the cockpit announcement) that we were vectoring away from Houston.  We did some loops over Louisiana.

And, as you can see, we were diverted to Dallas, due to severe thunderstorms that shut down the ground crew at IAH. Sigh.  We landed at DFW at 3:30, and after a long time waiting for the crew to get instructions, they announced that they had “timed out,” so we’d be deplaning to go through Customs.  That was a bit of a hike, but thanks to Global Entry, that part went quickly.

We made our way to baggage claim and waited.  And waited.  They finally announced that they weren’t equipped to handle our baggage (loaded into giant bins at Heathrow) at the DFW terminal (not a United hub), so it would take a while.  Our first bag appeared at 5:52.  The other two followed, thank goodness.  By that time we figured we’d be in Dallas overnight, and Charlie had booked us a room at the airport Hyatt.  (We know DFW like the back of our hands after 20 years of flying out of Waco.)  

Then United texted, offering hotel and meal vouchers, but it was after Charlie had guaranteed our room (and also for Super 8, Motel 6, etc.).

We checked into the Hyatt shortly after 6:00 p.m. (which felt like midnight in London) to a very nice room with a wall of glass overlooking the runways.

We managed to have a drink and light supper in the hotel restaurant before collapsing into bed.  

United also rebooked us on a 10:00 a.m. flight the next morning.  I’m writing this Wednesday morning as we prepare to catch a bus to the right terminal to recheck our bags and board that plane for Houston.  Fingers crossed!