JFK flight delays: President and Michelle Obama's date night in NYC causes back-up on runway

June 2, 5:28 AMSeattle Travel ExaminerSue Frause

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The Washington Square Arch in Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park is just a few blocks from Bluehill. Sue Frause photo

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I assumed it was just another flight delay. My American Airlines flight from Zurich arrived at JFK early Saturday afternoon. With about a four-hour layover until my flight home to Seattle, I still had plenty of time to navigate the chaos that is JFK. Total disorganization (why does everybody shout?), especially after the smooth and seamless efficiency of the Zurich Airport. American Airlines #269 to Seattle was scheduled to depart JFK at 5:20 PM. All seemed well and dandy as I smooshed into the aisle seat next to a couple of east coasters off to Alaska on a cruise. But then came the announcement from the cockpit. We were delayed, and our flight take off number was somewhere between 20-24. Things were stacked up. The pilot said he was turning off one of the engines, and to sit back and relax. He came on again, saying the second engine was being turned off for fuel efficiency reasons. He also explained that Air Force One had landed earlier at JFK, which means that the airport was closed for security reasons. That explained the backlog of flights trying to take off.

Of course, Air Force One is the plane carrying the President of the United States. So what was Obama doing in the Big Apple? I didn't give it much thought, although one person speculated maybe he was in town to meet with his Supreme Court pick Sonia Sotomayor, who grew up in the Bronx and lives in Greenwich Village. Well, the media knew where the Obamas were headed, as reported by ABC News' Political Punch blog. It was a long-promised date night for the Obamas, which would include dinner and theater.

I was happy to read that the President booked a table at Blue Hill, a restaurant where I dined several summers ago while visiting my son. The popular resto, which opened in 2000 in a former speakeasy near Washington Square Park, has been a hit with foodies ever since. I enjoyed everything about it, from the low lighting and low number of urban hip diners (no Olsen twins here), to the simply prepared fresh, local cuisine. Our waiter was stellar. My only complaint was we couldn't get a table later in the evening; having dinner at 5:30 PM sort of felt like the senior citizens hour.

Now that the Obamas have dined at Blue Hill, good luck getting a reservation at any hour. And who cares if New York Times' restaurant critic Frank Bruni didn't like Obama's pick for date night? I'm sure First Lady Michelle was in heaven.

Our flight eventually took off and we arrived in Seattle about 30 minutes late. Not a bad price to pay for a semi-close encounter with the POTUS and his lovely wife.