In what sounds like a terrible idea for a Chopped spinoff, a reporter says she’s had to subsist on a diet consisting solely of snack food after various American Airlines delays trapped her at the airport for more than 24 hours.

Diana Mastrull of The Philadelphia Inquirer arrived at the Philadelphia airport on Wednesday morning, bright and early, headed for Los Angeles.

As of Thursday afternoon, she’s still in Philly, all because of a series of problems: Her first flight had a mechanical problem, delaying the flight. Then a part was found, but there wasn’t anyone to install it — stuck again.

“More waiting,” she writes. “A lunch of soft pretzels, trail mix, licorice, and chocolate bark.”

Sure, a soft pretzel is a fine snack, but that combination of menu items is more indicative of a culinary challenge than a real meal.

While they were waiting for someone to install the part, a storm blew in, stopping all traffic in and out of the airport. And then, even after the weather cleared, there was no pilot available, prompting American to roll out carts of food including actual sandwiches.

In the meantime, the customer service line grew:

Though American told travelers that they would be getting a new aircraft to take them to California on Wednesday night, ten minutes later that flight was canceled.

Mastrull was able to work with an airline customer service rep who booked her on a Thursday morning flight to Austin, where they could get a connection to L.A. This morning, however, that flight was also canceled.

Finally, she and her family were rebooked to L.A., and are slated to take off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Whether or not that actually happens, we’ll have to stay tuned. Bring on the licorice!

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