I expected them to have mechanics working on the planes that had proper training for them. This is based on what I was told by the gate attendants, which I'll admit may not have been accurate.

That expectation is not levied at anyone in the local chain of command; it's directed at the decision making at he executive level that would lead to maintenance crews working on engines they weren't certified/trained on.

Part of it I will admit comes down to my frustration with watching the engine become progressively dissembled while waiting for hours and watching the clock run out on my rental, but I never blamed the people there. I've worked IT for a long time and know first hand that the people talking to you are usually just doing the best they can and often following policy that they have no flexibility in. Even local management often has their hands tied.

If I came across blaming the techs or the crew or management at the airport, which it sounds like I did at least to you, I'm sorry for that, it really wasn't ever my intention. At the point the plane needed something fixed, the situation was already way too far gone to salvage, and whether it was because it was more serious than it first appeared or there simply wasn't the right experience available, the damage was already done and nothing anyone there at that time would have salvaged it.

Waiting on the replacement plane was frustrating, but logistics are logistics and you can't summon a plane or crew from thin air, crews can only fly so long without a break safely, and keeping additional extremely expensive planes sitting around gathering dust waiting to be needed at every airport just doesn't make sense.

My expectation (which it sounds increasingly like to me was down to misunderstanding of what's involved, which you've been trying to tell me) was that airlines will have maintenance crews that know the planes they're working on. You're saying this was probably outside the scope of what's a typical maintenance crew is able to tackle in a short time, like a car mechanic checking a seemingly minor leak and ultimately finding out the engine needs to be rebuilt.

But again, never did blame anyone but upper management, who were nowhere near anyone at that airport during that, and I hope that's now clear