Have passport, will travel, but not if autopilot is fucked

Sure the excitement of getting on our way to NYC made our early wakeup to make the 6 am flight from Adelaide to Melbourne seem okay. Arriving late in Melbourne to catch our International flight to Los Angeles, while a little stressful, added to the excitement, as we ran through the airport to make our flight. Boarding our plane and hearing an announcement that the autopilot had malfunction and was being refitted and tested before takeoff, lead to mild anxiety attack from me (nervous flyer) and mild stress out from Ange (super organised girl already doubting that our 2 hr layover at LAX would allow us to make our connecting Qantas flight to NYC).

Still sitting  on the tarmac 2 hrs later we knew we were in trouble, and were serious pissed. They finally had the sense to let us off the plane, where we spent the next 3 hrs in the terminal (thankfully they gave us vouchers - spent on food, alcohol and reading material - we were following the holiday rules so it's okay to start drinking before 12).

Back on the same plane and ready for take off just after 1.30 (our original flight was 8.30 am!) I was hoping Qantas really do care about safety and have not rushed any checks.  All hope of making our connecting flight had gone.Many on board were in the same boat as us, which gave us something to talk about on the just over 13 hr flight. We became part of a rowdy gang hanging out in the galley area stretching our legs, and convincing the new flight attendant ( 2 days in the job) that serving us drinks while standing was okay (unfortunately he was eventually told this was against the rules). As I am writing this post you will realise I have made it to NYC (no autopilot malfunctions) but can safely say I will not be travelling Qantas internationally again ( Singapore A380 is so much better, putting aside the malfunction, Singapore A380 is far more comfortable and looks so much better - not old and daggy like Qantas A380s, and the staff are sooo much friendlier)

Of course there is so much more to tell of this story ( we will bore friends later), but getting through immigration and customs at LAX - approximately 3 hrs) and then arriving in NYC at 1 am instead of 5 pm, and having to catch American Airlines (a Qantas affiliate - with no food & no entertainment) for the 5 1/2 hr flight from Los Angeles to NYC - was not fun.

But holidays are FUN and full of adventure right?? - so having slept a little and just spent our first day in New York City, relaxing in our Brooklyn apartment and exploring our local borough, we are feeling slightly revitalised. I'm posting a picture of the Manhattan skyline from our apartments roof top garden  - Sorry taken from the phone so doesn't look nearly as good as real life - the view is spectacular.