Experiences with airlines - Page 2

You have the proper attitude about travel. My father, who was well traveled, taught me how to shake off the inevitable vicissitudes of the "road". I was around ten years old, traveling with my father in the Philippines, when a storm shut down the Manila airport. As nearly all around were throwing hissy-fits my father said, "come on kid, let's go find something to eat".

Spot on, Tomasso. Take it on the chin with a grin.

After reading some of these great paifuil experiences, it has come to my conclusion that humans were just not meant to travel around great distances efficiently. Utlimately we cant circumvent nature can we?

Oh, fucking American: The corridor flown by AA between Miami and Buenos Aires uses new 777’s; which would be great, but in coach under every other seat there is a big metal box that contains the computer unit that controls the multimedia display system for 2 seats. Thus, if you get the seat with the big metal box underneath it, you are literately stuck for about 9 ½ hours (not including about 1 hour worth of taxiing) bending one knee, since you can’t fit both legs underneath the seat in front of you. And take into consideration that I’m 5’-7”, just imagine a 6’+ person trying to fit in there. How crazy is this? I mean I now know which seat to book as to avoid any problems, but other people don’t and they are really uncomfortable throughout the entire flight. I see the miserable look on their faces and can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t just be better to do away with the multimedia interface and TV screens and just allow people to have proper legroom? Jon.

about 3 or 4 times a year, I will be in a position that I simply can't afford to lose a flight or be delayed - either due to a social issue or an extremly important meeting. statistically, that means maybe once every 4 or 5 years, that particularly important flight will have a problem - say 4 times in my career. in those cases, I have been able to scramble and find a solution, twice I know I was the only person on the flight to get where they were going on schedule. the other times, I just go with the flow. your father had the right attitude. if you act that way on every flight, you'll kill yourself.

Am I the only one who finds the seats in coach/economy to be too narrow because of his shoulders? My legs are short, so I seldom have a problem with leg room, but I almost always have to slump my shoulders a bit to fit in the horizontal space. I have to havec a window seat with the window "just so" to fit in without hurting my back. The only time this hasn't happened was the one time I was bumped up to first class.

Given that, and the many other travails involved with travel, I've come to the conclusion that I should do it as seldom as possible. I like the train.


bob

You are not the only one. Every time I get on a plane I pray someone small sits next to me so I won't have to roll my shoulders in for the next few hours. I am lucky enough to also have long legs as well so not only am I slumped in my seat, my knees are right in the back of the seat in front of me. I have just started traveling significantly in my new job so I figure I have to suck it up for the next 6 months until I can achieve some frequent traveler status and hopefully snag a few upgrades and exit row seating etc.

Me too. It's incredibly uncomfortable to sit next to others, particularly, men. And the isle sucks because you always get nailed with carts, etc. Accordingly, do my best to sit next to the window.

I'm a violinist so I'm always carrying a fairly expensive instrument onto a plane... I seldomly have problems, but twice I had an issue.

One of my bows has a tortoise shell frog, and it's an illegal substance since they're endangered. But since it's an antique, it's actually legal. But it can be a problem convincing some loser on a power trip of that. After that I just people it's plastic...

Another time I was on my way to New York, and the customs dude thought I was going to sell it and somehow didn't believe that I'm a violinist. So I had to play something... he believed me after about 2 seconds, and everyone in line clapping (it was actually extremely embarassing). Most of the time they just look inside and are very interested about its history and things like that...

Once I had to kind of plead with them to let me take it carry on, and they held fast that there was no room. Thankfully the captain was a music enthusiast and put it in his locker.

wow...

and I thought it was bad when the people on BA gave me shrimp in tempura batter instead of the chicken I wanted...

I have a funny experience. I was on my way to Paris and the guy to me just started sobbing uncontrolably... like big, heaving sobbing. So I start talking to him, and says he's going back to France because his big love dumped him (literally) for the pool boy. So the whole time he's drinking, and giving me some. I was getting wasted, listening to his problems and in the end he turned out to be really cool. Made the 6 something hour flight go by quick.

I was just on Northwest coming back from Philadelphia and sitting next to Philipino woman who prayed a rosary in this weird whisper while bobbing her head for the whole freaking flight! Weird.

I was in Africa a few weeks ago and fly a lot on Ethiopian Air. GORGEOUS STEWARDESSES!!!!!! Great service (business class) but the woman made the flight (they even flirt back).

As a Washingtonian, I have had many opportunities to admire the beauty of Ethiopian women - while not all models, of course, many have beautiful skin tones and fine, delicate features that remind me of the famous statue of Nefertiti...

do you walk around airports with a violin case like a badass, and pretend theres a gun inside it

that'd be pretty cool i guess

8 a.m. flight up the Karakoram, from Peshawar to Chitral, very turbluent, man sitting beside me drunk said he thought we may not make it, I didn't care because of the view in to Afghanistan.

if i might ask, tomasso, what made you go around the philippines with your father?