After 2 False Starts, Travelers Hope 3rd Plane Gets to Hawaii

Honeymoons and long-awaited island vacations were on indefinite hold Wednesday as passengers who had boarded two Hawaii-bound flights that turned around Tuesday continued waiting to board a third more than 24 hours later.

American Airlines Flight 39, which originally departed on schedule at 9 a.m. Tuesday, turned back after about three hours because of a loss of power in one of the three engines on the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10, the airline said.

American dispatched another DC-10 from Los Angeles to take the 290 passengers to Honolulu, but that plane had mechanical problems and didn’t depart until 11:40 p.m.

About an hour into that flight, the crew noticed a loss of oil in one of the engines, turned around and landed in San Francisco at 1:53 a.m. Wednesday.

That’s how Rick and Cathy Chateauvert started their honeymoon. The San Jose couple were on both flights. After returning to San Francisco for the second time, they rebooked with American--twice.

Their 6:30 a.m flight on Wednesday was canceled. Their 9 a.m. flight was delayed indefinitely.

By 10:30 a.m., they had been trying to get to Hawaii for more than 24 hours.

Gate 67 had become their temporary home, less-than-comfortable quarters shared with other stranded travelers who read paperbacks, napped on the floor and ate sandwiches purchased with food vouchers issued by the airline.

The Chateauverts befriended a Texas couple considering jettisoning their Hawaii plans and Kevin Jacobson and Janeal Himes of suburban Seattle, who plan to get married in Honolulu Saturday.

“If they get there,” Rick Chateauvert said. “They may get married in the San Francisco airport.”

Aside from a written statement outlining the problems and apologizing to passengers, Dallas-based American Airlines offered no comment. Calls to the airline Tuesday and Wednesday were not returned.

Himes accused the airline staff of stringing people along by delaying the flight in increments so passengers dared not leave the airport.

But she did feel safe, she said. “I’m very thankful for that.”

San Francisco police were called for crowd control Tuesday night as irritated travelers waited as long as two hours to talk to a ticket agent. There were no arrests, police said.