Sorry that I did not respond sooner, but the required stuff to do after 8 weeks away did not include this.

We boarded AA 2478 on Friday with a scheduled departure of 2:57 and we were right on schedule. The plane was parked on the tarmac all the way toward Driftwood so we had to be bused there. Just after the last 2 people boarded, an agent came on and told them they had to leave due to a weight balance problem. So they reluctantly left and we closed up and got all the way to the end of the runway ready for take off but instead of accelerating, we go down the runway and turn left and right back to where we started.

They then open the cabin doors and we sat there. The captain says there is a problem and we were too heavy to take off due to somehow there being too much fuel on the plane. He says someone was crunching numbers and it might take a half hour. Then eventually he says we are going to go to Miami, clear customs, get back on the same plane and go to Charlotte. Even though it would be later than planned, it worked for me but unfortunately, not for everyone. Some were adamant that they would not go to Miami and wanted off, even though the captain said that would add to the time before departure.

Bottom line, at some point the captain announces that the crew was now out of time and we were all going to spend the night and try again at 10:00. I honestly never did hear the details of what the original issue was but there were confusing messages being sent by both the captain and the stewardesses.

Some people opted not to return on that flight the next day but we showed up about 7:30, went through the process again and finally took off about 11:00.

The only good thing was that going through customs and immigration in Charlotte at 2:00 PM is very easy, even on a Saturday.