Dire prognostications - 3

Things got better today, eventually, but there were some more twists to come.   I slept fitfully thanks thanks to the cold.   By 0300 the room was at a temperature which meant I could undress, but then a note was shoved under the door to say that the pipes had burst and there would be no hot water.  It never rains but it freezes to adapt an old saying.  I got some sleep and then was woken up by a call from Ray to see if I could make Toronto City Airport for a 1045 flight to Moncton.  A quick check and I could, and wonder of wonders the water was back on.  I contacted reception to book a taxi and revelled in a hot shower before rapidly packing and heading down.   I then discovered that the taxi had arrived and left between my being told it was there and making it to reception.  The hotel seemed a little surprised but it was obvious they had made no effort to keep it there.  

A minor issue however, another one was ordered and it got me into Toronto in time to have breakfast in the terminal.  My first time in that airport and with Porter and I was impressed.   Good coffee and cashew nuts for free in the morning is not to be sniffed at.  Just to keep me on my toes a delay of half an hour was announced, but that is all it was and not too long later we landed at Ottawa, and I got some good photos.  Those of us going onto Moncton stayed on the plane and after it loaded we strapped in.  Then another announcement we had an issue in that there was not enough emergency oxygen and engineering had to be called.   It was the last twist however, we eventually got off and a few hours later landed at Moncton in the gathering twilight.   My bag arrived as well and I was soon in a car being driven to Halifax, a hotel and a meal.

So the saga is over.   However I learnt from it.  From the middle of Tuesday I was starting to take notes and I will write up not just what could have been done differently, but how we should apply complexity thinking to these sort of disasters.   What happened is that West Jet had a complicated-obvious approach that they continued to apply in a linear fashion even when the situation was complex verging on chaotic.   I'm going to take a few days to work on that, but expect a post over the weekend sometime.