This was intended to be a bit of a preview of my second trip to New York in three weeks. I’m in the Big Apple on a study tour – essentially looking at a number of regeneration projects.

Yesterday was the first part – an introduction.

But sadly I missed the start! This was courtesy of British Airways. All seemed to go OK as we boarded the plane for a 9.55am take off slot – getting us into JFK at 12 midday.

But things quickly went wrong – a part was needed. 15 minutes was the delay. This became 45 minutes then an hour. And then two. The part hadn’t worked and the hydraulic line to the brakes was spilling its juice out. There wasn’t a bucket big enough, nor duct tape strong enough.

We were de-planed. We needed a new one which had just landed from Boston (the good news) The new departure was 2.45pm. As that time approached there was a bit of a problem. The crew were in danger of being out of hours (the bad news). A new crew was needed. And they were not actually in the airport.

Vouchers were offered – to allow croissants and coffee.

The time shifted to 5.15pm. Then 7.15. We took off at 7.55pm – 10 hours after our departure time.

I try not to make this a moaning blog – but the way in which passengers are treated by airlines is astonishing. The planning that goes into a pre-flight check is second to none (I know I still have a pilots Licence!). But the planning of passenger treatment is at the opposite end of the scale.

I do know that shouting at the ground staff doesn’t work – nor does complaining to the steward about the turbulence when we were in the air. Some things are out of their control; but some are not.