Early, but late

I took two flights today. Both landed quite a bit earlier than scheduled. One we deplaned quite late, and the other just on time.

My first flight, to Detroit, landed 25 minutes early. As is often the case with early arrivals like this, the captain announced, "Our gate is occupied". So, we sat for 20-30 minutes waiting for our gate. After moving into the gate, the door wasn't opened as it usually is. We waited. And waited a little more. After five to ten minutes, the Captain announces that the gate agent is having trouble with the jet bridge. Five minutes later, he explains that the problem is as follows: The ground staff that marshalled the plane into the gate (you know, the guy with the red sticks) had the plane stop four feet short of where it should have parked. The reason? The snow confused him. In Aruba, this excuse would be acceptable. In Detroit, notsomuch.

55 minutes after arrival, we finally started deplaning.

My second leg was to White Plains/Westchester County. We landed 15 minutes early and were informed....you guessed it...our gate was occupied (this is an epidemic with airlines lately. I should start tracking how often it occurs.) After 10-15 minutes, we pulled into our 'gate'. Which wasn't even a gate, but rather some piece of tarmac, onto which we descended from the stairs of the plane and walked into the terminal. We waited for that.

I'm beginning to wonder about airline logistical planning.