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My biggest problem with flying is too darn many non-professional flyers!
They don't know how to pack to get through Security Check quickly, and waste everyone else's time being unprepared. For 15 years I would spend 6 months of each year flying every single day on business, often more than one flight per day.
Because the customer isn't willing to pay what it would cost to compensate for larger seats and better food. It's already available to them, and they still choose to fly coach because they want to pay as little as possible.
And the customers aren't willing to admit that they are part of the problem.
Exactly. Half these replies are not too clever, to say the least.
I searched all of five minutes and found a great "history of airfares" article, rather in depth with adjusted dollars so old people can't say "back my day First Class was $200!" Yeah, it was in 1958, which is more than the average of $1,300 today for First Class using a little y'know inflation-adjusted math?
"It's the American way to want a product approaching first-class for a price approaching zero."
Yeah, good luck with that.
Being on Delta for all but two of the 24 or so flight legs I've enjoyed since April 1 this year, I've seen quite a few interesting things.
The bang for the buck is in Comfort +, far and away.
First Class, not so much, but I enjoy it because I have others paying for it.
Cattle-class is totally unacceptable, but that's what the people want so that's what they get, chump.
I have only encountered a few obnoxious louts. And they have been in First Class. So, I just lean the other way and forget about it. Sooner or later, they fade into the sunset. The guy who reeked, I just turned the fan to high and forgot him too.
Most have been on-time or close to it.
One had significant turbulence. No one's "head hit the ceiling," that's probably 1 in 5,000 chance along with other BS stories about circling airports for hours. Yes, it happens, and makes national news it's so rare. The odds are very slim, though.
"Low cost airlines," phhhfft. Miracle those planes don't crash ten times per day and I won't get on one (including Southwest) unless I really have to or it's a super short flight.
I just bought a one-way ticket SAN to SEA for $183, including taxes and fees. That is 2018 dollars. Incredibly cheap. Presumably R/T would have been about $400. See previous. That's two months ahead of time, and flying on a Wednesday, which is probably a bargain day and in the off season (end of August), but still...deals are out there.
I only fly first-class. If I can't afford first class, I don't go.
I refuse to fly coach. I can work myself into a panic attack just thinking about it.
First class doesn't solve everything but having a bit more SPACE makes everything better. And the food and service is better and the bathroom isn't as crowded.
(to be fair, I only fly for vacations so I don't have to fly for family or work)
I did have my first abort and go round experience earlier this year- high winds going into Salt Lake City, and the pilot caught a gust on approach when weather reports indicated things had calmed down enough for safe landing. And have to say that both cockpit and cabin crew showed the utmost professionalism throughout and were very good about status updates once we were back in the air and in a holding pattern so the pilot in charge and airline operations could come to a decision about waiting for calmer skies and landing in Salt Lake City or diverting to Las Vegas. Second landing attempt was uneventful in all the right ways.
Airline travel in North America and the EU is impressively safe these days compared to the Golden Age when we hadn't throughly debugged the process and design flaws like the DC-10's cargo door issues killed a bunch of people.
I’ve taken 2 trips this past year on 2 different airlines. The first one was from Las Vegas to New York on Delta, the 2nd on Southwest from Las Vegas to Orlando 6 months later.
When I book flights I try to get the best possible price with flights that won’t be landing at my destination at 5am. I also try to book non stop flights whenever possible. If that’s not possible then at least I want the stopover to be on the way to my destination, and not 100s of miles out of the way. I also avoid Frontier and Spirit at ALL costs. If it means I pay another $100-$200 for my ticket so be it
In the fall of last year I found a non stop flight from Las Vegas to JFK on Delta for $265 round trip. I wasn’t charged to check my bag (I thought I could carry it on but the flight attendant said it was too big but that they’d waive the fee. Cool by me. The service in flight was great as well especially since I paid for a basic economy ticket. Alcohol prices were reasonable as was the in flight entertainment.
2 months ago I flew from Las Vegas to my hometown of Orlando on Southwest with a stop in San Antonio. I booked Southwest this time around because they had a better price than Delta. Also no checked bag fees was nice. I also didn’t mind paying $14 for 2 vodka sodas. Especially since most bars in Vegas charge more for just one. In flight service was good, they didn’t have TVs in the seats the way Delta does, so the inflight entertainment killed my iPhones battery (will be investing in a tablet for my next SW flight.)
I’ve had several other plane trips over the years but those 2 are my most recent. Point is my experience flying has always been enjoyable.
So what gives, why do some people HATE air travel so much?
Let me guess; you are not 6' 6" and 275 lbs with shoulders that are 3' wide? Air travel is either excruciatingly uncomfortable or excruciatingly expensive, take your pick.
taking shoes off at security and unpacking your laptop
This is the stuff I don't get. Taking off shoes and dealing with laptop takes what 30 seconds on either side of the security checkpoint? This is one of the things that has made the flying experience unimaginably horrible experience... needing to spend an extra minute of your day at the security line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell
Let me guess; you are not 6' 6" and 275 lbs with shoulders that are 3' wide? Air travel is either excruciatingly uncomfortable or excruciatingly expensive, take your pick.
I'm 6'2" with broad shoulders. 30" seat pitch and 17" seat width is pretty much impossible. If I don't get an aisle seat where I can dangle out into the aisle, I won't get on the plane. I've run into that with brand new equipment like the United 737-900. I have status with United so I'm usually in Economy Plus but sometimes I have a flight problem where I'm rerouted and I'm back with the unwashed masses.
It's a race to the bottom. This is new equipment and to jam in extra rows, they both lowered the seat pitch to 30" and used an ultra-thin seat with almost no padding. It's kind of hard to believe that a CRJ is more spacious than this particular 737 configuration. I try to fly on the A320 whenever possible when it's a narrow body since the plane is wider.
This is the stuff I don't get. Taking off shoes and dealing with laptop takes what 30 seconds on either side of the security checkpoint? This is one of the things that has made the flying experience unimaginably horrible experience... needing to spend an extra minute of your day at the security line.
I'll take ridiculous outliers for 800 Alex.
What part don't you understand? I said plain as day I'd much rather drive it in my comfortable car as long as it takes a day or less. And yes, it is annoying to take all of your stuff and put it in bins; half the time I'm wondering if my Rolex and expensive wallet will get stolen.
In what way does you being 6'2 relfect on whether a post about 6'6 275 with 36" shoulders an outlier? Average shoulder width is 17-18", anyone talking about how uncomfortable things are with a 36" shoulder width is being ridiculous and citing irrational outlier examples. What is this the Somoan forum?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AJT123
What part don't you understand? I said plain as day I'd much rather drive it in my comfortable car as long as it takes a day or less. And yes, it is annoying to take all of your stuff and put it in bins; half the time I'm wondering if my Rolex and expensive wallet will get stolen.
Flying sucks. Every part about it.
I'll explain again.
I don't understand how anyone could site something that takes 30 seconds (like taking off shoes) as a factor that makes flying so horrible. I didn't comment on whether you'd rather drive or how expensive your Rolex is, I specifically referenced the very short time it takes to deal with shoes and a laptop. I don't understand, it seems ridiculous to me that your threshold for aggravation is so low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AJT123
Flying sucks. Every part about it.
I hear you man, gotta take your shoes off and all. It's like 10th level of hell doing something that we do every morning anyway, and ruins the entire day.
But those days aren't likely aren't going to return. So perhaps it's time to, in the words of Elsa, "Let it go".
LOL I'm not holding onto anything...just the memories.
Plus great food and service is still available, you just have to pay for it.
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