It’s time once again to sound off on what you think about airlines and the experience of flying. A couple of just-released studies provide food for thought on the issue:
Meanwhile, the travel site Jaunted.com recently commented on the annoyances that can come with those seat-back television screens. As the site points out, those screens could mean several hours of getting poked in the back of the head by a passenger pushing the device’s buttons.
Now it’s your turn. What are your thoughts on flying these days? What airlines do you think are the best and the worst — and why? What are your least-favorite parts of air travel, and which parts do you enjoy? Share your thoughts (and your grievances) with other travelers in the comments section below.
Hi, Amy;
Wow! Those stats about people preferring the dentist to the middle seat on an airplane are prettyt funny (sorry, dentists!).
I travel a lot, especially as my husband is an airline pilot. I must say I share many of the same grievances as the people surveyed.
I'm a fairly tolerant traveler, but my top pet peeves are:
* Rude or condescending gate agents and/or flight attendants: Is it just me or are some gate agents absolutely obnoxious? Ironocally, I know they are unhappy because of job worries, etc., and what they REALLY should be doing is welcoming and helping and being thankful for their customers. I know it's not an easy job, but they ARE being paid for customer service...
* Yep, the dreaded middle seat is right up there, especially on a long flight. Because I fly standby a lot, I often have to take whatever I can get and be happy just to get on the flight (I get bumped quite a bit as well, but the flip side is I get upgraded sometimes).
* People who kick or push my seat or invade my space, or let their kids do so. This applies to someone in front who may jerk their seat back into the recline position without even looking to see if I had the tray open with a hot coffee or spillable drink on it. Seems to happen a lot.
A quick tip for travelers: bring wipes with you, and wipe down all surfaces when you get into your seat - side arm rests, tray handle and surface, etc.. The flight attendants usually have access to special wipes that are approved for the touch screen on planes that have individual movie screens. This may seem paranoid, but it's not - not only are there avian and swine flu scares these days, but common sense tells us that not everyone pays attention to hygiene - from kids to bathroom germs, we can never know what the previous occupants touched and did before we got into the seat!
Thanks as always for a great article, Amy.
Happy trails,
Shauna Arthurs
Founder, Travel-Like-A-Pro.com
I recently blogged (http://tinyurl.com/lk3e7d) about the issue of charging for the first bag that a passenger checks. This practice has lead to everyone trying to carry on their main luggage, causing the overhead bins to fill up, slowing down the loading time, causing all kinds of headaches. See my blog for details and a great cartoon!
LOL! I might as well be added to the list of people who prefer to go the dentist:) I too haaaaaaate the middle seat; that is why I try to get to the airport early so I bargain a window seat. The other petpeeve? Screaming/crying babies/unruly children. I understand the baby crying (although it's making me crazy) but kids that are older should know better.
I love the time flying saves me but I don't like turbulence and long layovers
not bad at all
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flying speeds up the boring travel time, when flying i like to sit next to the window on the plane as the view below is amazing, everything looks so much smaller and you see the world from a different view.
Meanwhile, pets are being treated awesome -
http://cli.gs/86gsXz
Did you guys hear about the new pets only airline?
I'm a frequent flyer and I can't stand being stuck in the middle seat (
loud talking people( specially speaking different language's)
Since the airlines cut many flights back, we all pay in the long run with over booked flights,very crowded flights lost baggage and some rude gate and flight attendants.
I sometimes wonder if these people complaining about children actually have any themselves? Some points and suggestions for those easily irritated on an experience that's guaranteed to test even the most patient of people:
a) If you've flown more than a few times in the past 10 years, you know that your personal space is being steadily reduced by packing more seats into the same area. Think twice about reclining your seat because you're reducing the personal space of the person behind you considerably! If it's a child, then expect your seat to be bumped when they get up to go to the bathroom! I'm 6' tall and I have to sit ramrod straight to have any distance between my knees and the seat in front of me. You lean back and you ram into me!
b) Oh, you want to get a nap on the plane and you have an aisle seat? LOL. Try taking a late-night or very early morning flight instead. You might have better luck. This isn't a library or your hotel room.
c) Taking a business trip during holiday weeks, Spring Break, or just about anytime during the summer and your destination just happens to be one of those vacation spots? Expect families with kids. Lots of them.
d) An airliner is a large bus designed to get as many people as possible to a destination and make money doing it. Actually, you'd have more space on a bus probably. Unless you're flying business or first class, you are NOT going to have a luxury flying experience. Kids cannot be put into the luggage compartment, and there is no child section to put them in. Kids are easily irritable when in a confined space and need to be kept constantly occupied. Many of the younger ones, especially babies, do not understand how to deal with changing air pressures on take off and landing. Sometimes this hurts tremendously and they don't know how to deal with it, hence the crying and screaming.
My main suggestion for anyone flying is to learn some patience. If you don't have kids, feel some compassion for those that do. Those parents' stress levels are quite a bit higher than yours already and adding your insensitivity to it won't help any. If you want to blame someone, blame the pencil pushers that decided passengers could live with about 1/10th the personal space a federal prisoner gets in his prison cell. Until someone invents a faster and cheaper way to get where we're going, instead of spending all that time getting there, we are all stuck with this situation.
I love flying. I enjoy meeting new people going to new destinations or just visiting friends and family. Looking down from high in the air gives a renewed perspective of how diverse, beautiful and fragile the earth is.
Although I do love flying there are some things that are annoying. I don’t mind middle seats as long as I am sitting between two beautifully and friendly women. It’s the people that take up two seats that annoy me, especially the ones with poor hygiene.
I applaud the flight attendants, ticket, and gate agents that can act friendly under pressure. They should get an award for handling some of the rude and stupid passengers. The agents that can’t handle this pressure should find another job.
Kids on an airplane is like putting baking soda in a Coke bottle and then trying to close it back up. I traveled with my kids since they were babies and know of the air pressure problems along with the confined space. You can't blame the kids for things they can't control. I feel for the babies that cry and the children that are fidgety but I have also experienced unruly children where parents apparently never had control. On one international flight there was a child in back of me that constantly yelled, kicked, threw items to try and knock over drinks, and even pulled my hair several time as the parents said quietly “Johnny, you shouldn’t do that”. Most kids are cute and can be quickly distracted or entertained. I blame the parents if the child is out of control.
Flying makes a long trip short and that allows me to be tolerant of some other minor annoyances such as:
• Extra charges for baggage, food, headphones etc. Soon they will charge for going to the bathroom.
• Very small space in the bathrooms
• Smoking on international flights
• The drunk that gets sick on the plan
• Poor hygiene (I had to mention that one again)
• Lack of air conditioning or heat on the tarmac or in the air.
• Waiting for weather or long lines on the runway
• Overbooking flights
• Jetlag
• Long layovers
I have also taken trains since childhood. Why can’t airplanes have seats that reverse direction like trains with a fold out table to play cards or games? I believe there are some design features that modern jets could incorporate from other transportation systems.
I consider every trip a learning experience.
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