Flying Sucks

[avatar! | 1,810]

My last flight was actually okay, no real issues despite a short delay.

However, I keep reading horror stories like this-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/seven-hour-flight-delay-cost-1500-almost-ended-passenger-mutiny/

At about 8.30pm – nearly seven hours after we were supposed to depart – staff finally agreed to give us some food, but just as they were doing so the buses arrived to take us back to the terminal. We then waited about an hour to get through passport control – strange, since we’d not gone anywhere. Our luggage didn’t arrive until about midnight. We had no help at all from EasyJet. It was a total shambles.

Ugh! and then there is this...

A passenger with an $11,000 ticket to Europe says Air Canada 'begged' 25 people to get off the plane because it was too heavy to take off. Then they lost his bag.

https://www.businessinsider.com/air-canada-begs-25-people-deboard-airline-delays-lost-luggage-2022-7

Even a senior manager at a global travel logistics company can't escape this summer's airport chaos: The man, who's based in the Western US, told Insider his 21-hour trip to Europe last weekend was the "worst experience flying" he's ever had — complete with nearly a dozen flight delays and a lost suitcase....The passenger, who was traveling to a business conference, told Insider he has not received compensation for the flight and spent more than $4,500 on replacement items and clothes. He spoke on condition of anonymity because his employer — who purchased his ticket — does not allow its staff to talk to the media, but his identity is known to Insider, which also reviewed his travel documents. His final destination is being withheld to protect his identity.

I am honestly scared to fly these days. According to "experts" expect more expensive tickets, more delays, more lost luggage (I'm not making this up!), more unruly passengers... I used to fly ALL the time! Numerous times during the year pre-covid. Nowadays, forget it! If there is any way for more to drive, I'll do it over shitty flying. How about the rest of you? Any horror stories? Any good experiences recently?

[Gloves | 11,776]

I've never flown, and I've not really had much reason to even think about it. 

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

22 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I've never flown, and I've not really had much reason to even think about it. 

Even in a random off topic thread you come in to tell us "Never played it" 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I agree that flying sucks, but it's a means to an end for long distance travel so we do what we must.

[Gloves | 11,776]

6 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I agree that flying sucks, but it's a means to an end for long distance travel so we do what we must.

There's other options that beat dealing with the airline companies!

[Tabonga | 2,317]

 

[B.A. | 1,139]

1st class is fun! I used to travel every week for work, so I got lots of upgrades. 

I did have to spend 48 hours in an airport once before I finally got on a flight, that was misery.  

[Tabonga | 2,317]

Last time I flew it didn't end very well:

 

[Tenjikuronin | 1,720]

Flying has gone down in quality greatly since the olden days.  There used to be a time when people dressed up to fly, and the experience was glamourous.  For me personally, pre-9/11 flying used to be fun, and the service was a lot better, with greater variety of airlines.  But just like the quality of flyers has gone down (just see all the wild videos being recorded on planes), so has the quality of the experience.

[Brickman | 3,983]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

I've never flown, and I've not really had much reason to even think about it. 

You’re seriously missing a lot of the world by not traveling. The places and cultures out there are fantastic and it also helps you appreciate what you have back home.

I highly recommend traveling at least once, the memories you’ll have for the rest of your life are priceless.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

5 minutes ago, Brickman said:

The places and cultures out there are fantastic and it also helps you appreciate what you have back home.

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by Tabonga

[Gloves | 11,776]

12 minutes ago, Brickman said:

You’re seriously missing a lot of the world by not traveling. The places and cultures out there are fantastic and it also helps you appreciate what you have back home.

I highly recommend traveling at least once, the memories you’ll have for the rest of your life are priceless.

I'd love to, and can afford to etc., not much life-wise holding me back. What stops me is that I'm incredibly claustrophobic - a 15 minute car ride takes a relatively significant amount of physical and mental prep. I can only imagine the anxiety I'd feel at the prospect of hopping on a plane.

[Brickman | 3,983]

7 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I'd love to, and can afford to etc., not much life-wise holding me back. What stops me is that I'm incredibly claustrophobic - a 15 minute car ride takes a relatively significant amount of physical and mental prep. I can only imagine the anxiety I'd feel at the prospect of hopping on a plane.

Ahhh yeah that would make it difficult  sorry didn’t realise that. My mum had something similar, she went to see someone that specialises in anxiety and they helped her overcome it. Might be worth giving it a go.

[Philosoraptor | 468]

37 minutes ago, Tenjikuronin said:

Flying has gone down in quality greatly since the olden days.  There used to be a time when people dressed up to fly, and the experience was glamourous.  For me personally, pre-9/11 flying used to be fun, and the service was a lot better, with greater variety of airlines.  But just like the quality of flyers has gone down (just see all the wild videos being recorded on planes), so has the quality of the experience.

As glamorous as the olden days may have been, I'll pass on getting hotboxed in a floating metal tube for hours on end. It was fine to smoke anywhere on planes up until the late 1970s. It took until the year 2000 for the USA to fully ban all smoking on all domestic and international flights. I had enough of that growing up, thanks.

That being said, airports were certainly less of a PITA pre-9/11.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Philosoraptor

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

This is why I always ever pack an REI backpack, and nothing else.  My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I'm not gonna be the one who loses all their shit

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

2 months ago I got kicked out of the airport for calmly asking if I could speak with a supervisor and banned for 24 hours, missing my flight and forfeiting my airfare. Then I paid $1600 to fly out the following day on another airline. You'd think I had walked in with road flares strapped to my chest, but no.

[Estil | 1,264]

4 hours ago, B.A. said:

1st class is fun! I used to travel every week for work, so I got lots of upgrades. 

I did have to spend 48 hours in an airport once before I finally got on a flight, that was misery.  

Are you sure?  Sounds like you're paying at minimum twice what you would for regular coach just for a slightly wider leather seat...  

[B.A. | 1,139]

37 minutes ago, Estil said:

Are you sure?  Sounds like you're paying at minimum twice what you would for regular coach just for a slightly wider leather seat...  

Am I sure it's fun? Yes.  You get free booze, a meal that isn't bad, 1st to board the plane and exit, and it's not so much the wider seat it's the extra legroom.  Tall people aren't eating their knees and you can actually recline your seat. A bathroom you only have to share with a few other people. How much all that is worth is certainly debatable, but it definitely makes for an immensely more enjoyable experience.  

[Jfreakofkorn | 282]

As mentioned , pre 9/11 was fun and great 

But since them , its been going down hill and horrible unless you pay for the extra treatment . But that doesnt help any , imo 

Oolden days , i remember at when friend(s) n family met you at the termial . And it was like a crowd of people awaiting to see that one person that they seen in a while 

Now its like ehhhh . Like you go off the plane like stampede of buffalo . to the baggage carousel fighting over spotting your luggage then to a taxi or ubering . . . 

[Daniel_Doyce | 470]

58 minutes ago, B.A. said:

Am I sure it's fun? Yes.  You get free booze, a meal that isn't bad, 1st to board the plane and exit, and it's not so much the wider seat it's the extra legroom.  Tall people aren't eating their knees and you can actually recline your seat. A bathroom you only have to share with a few other people. How much all that is worth is certainly debatable, but it definitely makes for an immensely more enjoyable experience.  

Can confirm as someone who is tall and used to fly to Asia for work 4 times a year

[fox | 1,667]

Remember the most important thing to pack is your patience.

I’ve been flying all my life so all the little annoyances that trigger people don’t really phase me.  I know the airline song and dance well.  The airlines have been pretty good about working with me the the few times I had to change or cancel flights, even without trip insurance.

Worst thing is flights getting delayed for weather or mechanical problems.  But whatever, more time to catch up Switch/reading/sleeping.

[Tulpa | 3,492]

3 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

2 months ago I got kicked out of the airport for calmly asking if I could speak with a supervisor and banned for 24 hours, missing my flight and forfeiting my airfare. Then I paid $1600 to fly out the following day on another airline. You'd think I had walked in with road flares strapped to my chest, but no.

Yeah, because of all the safety stuff, if an airport deems you a troublemaker, they can toss you out on your ass. And there's virtually no recourse.

[spacepup | 2,404]

Flying is necessary to do the things I want to do in life.  Can it be annoying sometimes? Yes, absolutely.  Is it worth it? Yes, absolutely.  I love traveling and seeing the world too much.  

There are some things you can do to minimize problems - you can never guarantee there won't be issues, but you can do some prep to help.  For example, don't book flights with a 30-minute layover.  A slight delay and boom, you miss your connection.  Do your research about the airport and how busy it gets, to make sure you are there in time.  Pack your items such that in a worst case scenario situation where your bag is lost, you have what you need in your carry-on.  Check-in and prepare your baggage before stepping in the airport.  Make sure your bag is under the weight limit or your carry-on is the appropriate size.  Consider getting TSA pre-check to make security screening better.

I could go on and on, about a number of things you can do to at least make the experience better or minimize issues.  There is still always the chance for a problem, but you can take some steps to make it better.

As someone else said, you also just have to bring plenty of patience, and be prepared that issues happen.  If you have a gameplan beforehand, you can handle it much better than experiencing a delay and on-the-fly reacting "oh my god! what am I gonna do?!"

[fcgamer | 4,723]

17 hours ago, Brickman said:

You’re seriously missing a lot of the world by not traveling. The places and cultures out there are fantastic and it also helps you appreciate what you have back home.

I highly recommend traveling at least once, the memories you’ll have for the rest of your life are priceless.

I take this, to a point, but as someone who's lived abroad in a culture quite unlike his own for over a decade...in the end, it's all the same. Every culture has some sort of housing, some sort of bread / noodles, music, etc. There are differences, but we tend to get hung up in that, when in actuality people are more or less the same.

Though...I kid you not, a friend of my local friend, his biggest shock when visiting the States...drive through banks.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

On a different note, I don't have any sympathy towards anyone flying these days. Many countries still don't even have regular flights restored for international postal services, thanks to the stupid pandemic.

Although the pandemic is done in my book, there are plenty of people still worried about it, and with all the rules and regulations, red tape and requirements from that, honestly anyone flying at the moment is an idiot imo.