It looked like a Cristo art installation, as we first few passengers came around the corner onto the plane: bunches of giant plastic buttercup flowers, suspended from black coils, set after set after symmetrical set all the way down both sides of the plane as far as the eye could see. It was actually rather pretty, as if the interior had been decorated for the holidays. What holiday, I couldn’t tell you.

It was a brand new plane and the pilot had hit the wrong button.

The crew herded us back out of there, their faces a combination of embarrassment and suppressed laughter. Almost too late one remembered, Don’t touch those! That makes it take a lot longer!

I don’t know how you scrounge up a spare plane in an hour, but Southwest did it. We asked the crew just before the replacement arrived, How long does it take to put all of those back?

Four hours, and then they have to recertify the plane.

Ouch… And you know that, given that that was at the start of the day, that would be a hit throughout their system or at least on the West Coast.

In other words, we took a very early–okay, not too early but we got up for very early–flight to go see the grandkids this morning. It will surprise no one that the last flight home tonight was likewise an hour late.