Air Travel OT

Just got back from a 25 hour flight from Richmond Va to Atlanta Ga and then home to FL. I will never voluntarily fly again for the rest of my life! The last time I flew the plane had a ruptured fuel pump. Luckily I was sitting by the window and noticed it before we took off. I must have bad luck when it comes to flying! I will stick with Studebakers for travel.

Reply to
Michael - Roseland FL
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No one called you William Shatner? Jeff (Queue the Twilight Zone music..) Rice

"Michael - Roseland FL" wrote...

Reply to
Jeff Rice

Reply to
Malcom Gillette

Notice how the decline of the industry started right after Northwest was the first to ban smoking? Must be a fuel pump thing...

Reply to
comatus

Turning airports into flying bus stations has more to do with it than banning smoking on flights.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

I remember wearing a business suit to fly for my company. United lost the baggage.Promissed it within hours - several times over the next few days. Client was a fertilizer plant in Marsailles, IL. Got baggage just as I was about to leave for O'Hare for flight home a few days later, No very pleased. Can't recall flying (on my own cash) on United since then.

Karl

Lee Aanderud wrote:

Reply to
midlant

I flew United to/from San Francisco and they were excellent, was going to fly Qantas, but my travel agent said their service was "crap."

Reply to
John Clements

The more security we have at airports, the less likely I am to fly. Why? It takes almost two hours real time to fly almost anywhere, no matter how short. Add to that the two hours early you're supposed to show up at the airport (the last time I flew, it was a good thing I did show up two hours early, as it took an hour and a half to get my tickets and get through security) and the hour you wait for your luggage at your destination, and suddenly driving to Cleveland doesn't seem so bad after all.

And, of course, in your own car the seats are actually *wider* than your shoulders, and you get to eat, drink, smoke, fart, whatever you want to do on the way, not to mention you get to pick your traveling companion (or choose not to have one) as well.

Flying first class would be civilized if it weren't for the herding-cattle security experience, but I've only done it once, as I don't have the $$ to do it regularly.

nate

snipped-for-privacy@earthl> I remember wearing a business suit to fly for my company.

Reply to
Nate Nagel

I used to fly United a lot and always favored it, but it's been a few years. I liked their buffet setup in the DC-10s. Best airline is Singapore Air- terrific service, good food (believe it or not). Other than tight seating in coach, I even found Air France to have good service and food. Paul Johnson

Reply to
Paul Johnson

All excellent points, Nate. Flying can really suck. Especially when security issues, airline stupidity, or scummy fellow passengers make the trip miserable for you. But sometimes, for long trips &w/ limited time for travelling along with sky-high fuel prices, it is better to spend a couple of hours in the air, next to a smelly fat guy with pneumonia,n with a teen ager behind you kicking the back of your seat every time you nod off to sleeep, & a minority couple across the aisle with 2 screaming toddlers rather than 2 days driving. My recent flight to Omaha was not bad at all, even though I could not get on the 1st flight out, and had to wait in a crowded terminal for 3 hours because i was non-rev.. Part of it is being mentally prepared for all of the unnecesary BS you will be put through. Flights into demographically favorable midwestern cities are usually better than flights to or from places like LA, Atlanta, Detroit, or Newark/NYC, I have noticed. The passengers are more considerate and the terminals are much more laid back. For distances less than 500 miles, it is no wonder that more & more people will drive rather than endure the rising expense & hassle of air travel, though. My sister (who turns 50 this week)refuses to fly anymore at all.

Barry (drivin' to Omaha in Sept.)

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news1.newsguy.com...

Reply to
Barry

KLM used to be the one for me.

I used to go for the last row, too. Oft times I had the whole row to myself! I don't know whjat it's like since the mergers. For England, I suggest flying into Birmingham for those going anywhere north of the close-in northern suburbs of London up to where Manchester becomes more desirable than Birmingham. "Brum" is the centre of the motorways system and the airport is a no-hassle one for arrivals - and pretty easy for departures, too,

Karl

Paul Johns> >I flew United to/from San Francisco and they were excellent, was going to

Reply to
midlant

The study they did at Northwest showed a big drop in time smoking and a drop in lung cancer by their workers causing a drop in lost time at work...Win win for everyone...

I think they are going to next take the windows out of the planes for some reason ??

So if I fly which I like doing, I at least know the first to die in a crash will be the guy (pilot)doing the flying up front...So you know he will try harder to get you there in one piece...Somehow that makes it at least seem fair...

I have a plan for the guys that fix the planes on the ground...Have one name picked from a hat to fly on the plane they just worked on...

Lansing

Please remove the X to e-mail me...I get spam here daily

Reply to
ConcreteGuy

Fresh Data

I just drove to PA - Nashville Fri night-Sat Am and flew back this morning.

Random facts

  1. At age 49 you can still sleep in a car for 2 nights but it beats up a
49 YO a lot worse than when he was 25.

  1. It's half as cheap to fly nashville- Pittsburgh on Sunday morning if you leave at 5:30 vs 9:00 Am 7 vs 9

  2. Skinny little 3 across seating jets go really fast. 1 hour 15 minutes and we landed. WOW.

  1. Baggage calim is still a goat rope. 45 minutes waiting to collect the stuff I checked because I didnt want to discard liquids or set off alarms at the security screening.

  1. Yes you have to take off your shoes. Somebody needs to kick Richard Reid's ass every day from now until forever.

  1. The wands are REALLY sensitive. I saw a nice lady getting wanded. The wands picked up all the wire hooks in her bra and the rivets in her jeans.

  2. US Air doean't seem to be FXXXked up any worse than the other airlines.

  1. No liquids on the airplanes means you can't buy a botle of water on the airplane side of security and take it on the jet.

9 I still hate flying, but it's a hell of a lot faster than driving..........mostly.

Mark (6500 hours of flighht time USAF) Dunning

Reply to
markshere2

Agreed, Singapore is great and does fly from Adelaide, however our Government won't allow it access to the pacific route, and it's a longer trip if I went with them to the US. 7.5 hrs to Singapore then around 16 hrs to the States. Never flown Air France.

Reply to
John Clements

It would be a long story, but the jist of it is that it took my wife and I 36 hours to get from Raleigh-Durham to Little Rock, Arkansas. We were only 24 hours late! This was before the latest delays because of the recent occurance in England. Delta Airlines is absolutely terrible!!!!! Had to spend the night in Atlanta (weather delay thus we had to pay for lodging, etc.) without our luggage.

The security people in every airport were great!

Return flight on American was much better. I had not flown in over

20 years and hope I will not fly ever again. Although my wife reminds me that getting to England by car is presently not a practicle idea.

Joe (no wonder the airlines are broke) Roberts.

Reply to
itraseecab

Yes, never had a disapointing experience on Singapore Airlines. Most of their fleet is less than five years old and the service is second to none..

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

Dammit, don't ya just hate it when they are right?

Reply to
Dave's Place

You could always take a cruise ship to England... and hope you don't catch something.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

Yep, and I don't mind admitting she's is usually right. Joe Roberts

Reply to
itraseecab

OTOH, I (who frequently and intentionally gets bumped), got bumped by NWA last November in Austin where I was promptly put on the next flight on a Delta flight that just happened to be going directly to my destination that actually arrived within minutes of my original NWA schedule.

Just a couple of months ago, flew SWA (after discovering the senior discount) and got bumped in Chicago (Midway). Took eighteen hours instead of the usual four and learned the painful lesson that SWA will NEVER put you on a competitor's aircraft so you're stuck with whatever SW has available...

JT

(Peanuts... Bah!)

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

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