My Rome flight

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I hate flying. I hate airports. If I am on a plane or in an airport (for any reason other than I'm simply picking someone up or dropping them off), there is a 100 percent chance that I am drunk.

In fact, I don't think I've ever been on an airplane when I wasn't chemically altered in some way.

[SmileyBouncer]

Alitalia

Pax stood up in the aisle all flight and small children ran around screaming.

This is exactly like my flight to (and from) Rome! By the time we landed it looked like there had been two frat parties on the plane. The flight attendants acted like they were totally used to it

[BusBus]

I hate flying. I hate airports. If I am on a plane or in an airport (for any reason other than I'm simply picking someone up or dropping them off), there is a 100 percent chance that I am drunk.

In fact, I don't think I've ever been on an airplane when I wasn't chemically altered in some way.

You sound exactly like my sister. She is either drunk as a skunk or has loaded up on anti-anxiety meds. Both of us hate flying (despite having done it all of our lives). I usually just take advantage of the free booze as soon as it's offered.

[Dreamstalker]

My last flight on Continental was about fifteen years ago. My mom and I were flying down to FL to see my grandfather (who, up until about 5 years before he died, always got a small efficiency apartment in Clearwater for a few weeks in February).

The plane had a few stops, including Greensboro NC. We were sitting pretty much over the wing and so had a good view of the bags being offloaded. So we're both watching the show, and mom sees our suitcase being put on a cart (ours at the time was one of those molded-plastic Samsonite monstrosities with a tie-dye elastic belt around it--pretty distinctive). So she calls a flight attendant and tells her that our luggage is being unloaded there at Greensboro but we are going to Tampa.

Flight attendant says something along the lines of "how do you know that's your bag, now shut up and sit down"

We get to Tampa, guess what? Yup, no luggage and we had to hang around for 4 hours until the next flight from Greensboro came in with it.

------------------------------------

More recently, I dropped my boarding pass/ID in the Sunport. For some reason I thought I'd dropped it at security.

Dumbass move #1 (or possibly #2, if you consider #1 as being dropping it in the first place), I exit the secure concourse area.

Luckily for me, my Sams Club ID with photo was sufficient and I somehow managed to get another boarding pass and go through the "special" security line (and here is where I found out that apparently cell phones can give false positives on those ion-detector widgets).

Even more luckily, my flight was delayed about 45 minutes.

Turned out I had dropped it in front of a concourse shop and the owner had held onto it for a good hour before deciding to turn it in at my gate...why not turn something like that in immediately (as it had the original departure time)?

A few days after landfall here in Boston, I bought a wallet that, while not having a clear window, it was easier to remove/replace my ID (I had stuck my ID in my boarding pass envelope as it was too hard to get it back into the window).

[jb17kx]

Yep, unless I had to meed a specific deadline I'd take the train. May father recently toured America on Amtrak and was generally impressed with how quick check-in and security check was, how courtious the staff were, and how comfortable the ride was. He spent some time in a sleeping cabin (and thus enjoying free plated main meals 3 times a day) with a bed, and other times in coach, where found that the seats were larger and had more leg room than some business class planes he'd been on. He also said that the actual ride had been smooth and quiet. And when atrocius time keeping (at the hands of the freight railways that own the track) stopped him from making connections, Amtrak provided free accomodation and even transport to the orginal connection.
He said that it was the best way of seeing the countryside.

Just don't rely on long-distance services if you have to be somewhere at a particular time. But for a patient traveller, it can really add to a holiday. After all, the journey should be enjoyable.

Sorry for going OT there, I just don't have any bad flight stories. I'm sure my aunt, who is a flight attendant, can provide some good ones though.

PS: My father also stated that Amtrak trips on rail controlled by Freight Company No. 1 (the one that has predominantly yellow locomotives) were delayed due to freight services more often and for longer than on trips controlled by the orange locomotive operating company. Yellow company seems to be going against a federal order from 1970 to give Amtrak priority. But how many people do you think care?

[Jack7957]

No real problems flying over the years, but one thing happened recently when coming back to the states from New Zealand. Apperently, because our flight was going to the US, you need to go through two security checkpoints. One is the standard setup, x-ray, metal detector. Then you head down to the International gates, and you have a more stringent security checkpoint, like the US, where it's laptop out of the bag, shoes off, all liquids under 3oz need to be in a 1 quart plastic bag, and hand wanding everyone. Well, there were three lines depending on which gate you were going to. This guy comes barging up between the lines, and a security person stops him. To make a long argument short, he was trying to find his wife who he said had his boarding pass, and that he had already gone through security "back there" (the 1st security checkpoint). She gets him to go to the back of the line. I find out from my parents who had been watching our flight status online, that our flight was delayed due to "a security incident at the check in counter". Makes me wonder if it was that guy.

[wj_737_700]

I hate flying. I hate airports. If I am on a plane or in an airport (for any reason other than I'm simply picking someone up or dropping them off), there is a 100 percent chance that I am drunk.

In fact, I don't think I've ever been on an airplane when I wasn't chemically altered in some way.

When I get my private pilot license i'll invite you to come take a little flight in a Cessna 150. You would be able to handle stalls, spins, and spirals right