Why Does Flying Suck so Much

Most complaints about flying come from the airport experience. There’s really no way around that part of flying for now. We fly first or business class because of the extreme discounts we receive. In some cases, we pay nothing. More room, food isn’t too awfully bad and we board and deplane quicker. We are served snacks and drinks on request, besides our meals on long flights. There us also n/c fir stowed luggage.

If you are on a flight lasting longer than two hours, I strongly suggest either doing in seat exercises by stretching your toes and legs, but if the seat belt sign is not turned on, you should get out of your seat and take a walk up and down the aisle to prevent blood clots. Drinking water will aid in preventing jet lag.

To avoid being bored, take along a set of good headphones that block out jet engine noise and watch a good movie or listen to your favorite music genre. Most airlines offer entertainment systems that are fixed on the backs of the seats in front of you. Most planes also now have Wi Fi for a fee, but don’t forget to drink water.

The lower class airlines are lower priced for a reason. They offer very little in food and entertainment, plus you will pay to stow your luggage. I have heard from passengers that flew on Allegiant and Spirit Airlines that they had to pay ridiculous prices for water. Southwest gives their passengers a cup of soda and a pack of snack crackers, but they can stow 2 bags per passenger for free. Southwest also has Wi Fi and offers free movies if you have your own device.

I think carrying an airline’s credit card also gives the owner of the card some free benefits. I have flown Southwest a few times. Their prices are very fair, but the seating is cramped. I fly United as much as possible since I still get free travel using stand-by most of the time. If the plane is not sold out, I can get a reserved seat.

United F/C—

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One of the things I dislike is the TSA screening for terrorist activity. While the peasants are waiting in long lines, to get X-rayed and take off their shoes, some get escorted directly onto planes with tons of their undisturbed luggage. I guess terrorists only fly coach.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
One of the things I dislike is the TSA screening for terrorist activity. While the peasants are waiting in long lines, to get X-rayed and take off their shoes, some get escorted directly onto planes with tons of their undisturbed luggage. I guess terrorists only fly coach.
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TSA pre, is worth the $78 and fingerprinting appointment to avoid all that. Global Entry while a lot more effort required is prob worth getting if you travel internationally.
 

Nathan said:
... cruelly austere cuisine, cramped seating and all the airport parking and security misery have destroyed all vestiges of "joy" in air travel.
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not to mention the long torturous security queues and Passport control queues.. . 3 years ago coming back from Spain we waited in a P/C queue for 2 hours.. it was horrendous. Babies and children were tired and crying..pregnant mothers were desperate for the toilet... it was madness...
 
I flew at least twice a month to all kinds of places and loved it. I did almost nothing but make the reservations. Had a chauffer pick me up, and handle my luggage. Planes were great then. He also picked me up and delivered me home. I stayed in places that were gifted for the time or a few we owned. My favorite place to fly to was Northern Clifionia and Seattle area. The last time I flew was right before 2007 and now I don't think I'd want to again.
 
Because beyond everything else members stated, at least for we earth creatures aware of gravity UP and DOWN, the reality like a misty cloud in our sub-conscious brain that is always present is that, one is never far away from...........................................SPLAT
 
American Airlines new 787 9-P.

For some reason, it doesn’t appeal to me.

What do you think, are premium accommodations worth it? 🤔

I might welcome a blacked out sleeping compartment on a long flight but this seems like more flash than substance for me.

 
During my working years I had to fly many times both domestic and international. During that 40 years I saw the degradation of the flying experience first hand. I vowed that during my retirement years I would avoid flying when at all possible. In 11 years of retirement I only had to fly once, 6 years ago, from Florida to Chicago to attend my daughter's graduation ceremony.

That was until last weekend we had to make a last minute trip from Florida to Des Moines Iowa to attend a family funeral. What a fiasco that experience was. First off, I had heard that it is possible to get a special price for a bereavement airline ticket. I tried to research this on the airline's website but I could not find any information. I was pressed for time because we had to travel in just a couple of days, so we bit the bullet and proceeded to research full fare airline tickets.

We found the only airline that had a direct flight was Allegiant. On their website I priced, I thought, what said a round trip flight. Price listed didn't look too bad so we started the booking process. We picked the departure flight, but when we were directed to pick the return flight, there was an additional charge??? It showed a round trip price on the departure page but it wasn't really the round trip price. It was the price for only the first leg.

Well we made the flight choices for both ways, price seemed high but it was a last minute booking. But wait, there is a fee of $99 if you plan to check a bag. Do you want to select seats so wife and I can sit together, another cost. Do you want seats toward the front of the plane? That was another cost. Do you want to board early, Oh, that's another fee. We opted for none of the extra charges except we had to pay $99 to check one suitcase. If you want a boarding pass printed at the airport you have to pay $5 each at the ticket counter. To save that fee we downloaded the Allegiant app on our phones so we could access the boarding pass on our phones.

We, of course, were in the last boarding group. The flight was nearly full so by the time we got to our seats there was no overhead storage. I had to put my carry-on under the seat in front of me. I am 6' 3" tall and I can tell you there was practically no place to put my feet and my knees were jammed against the seat in front of my. Thank God, the seat backs on this plane could not be laid back or I would have been in real trouble.

During the flight they came around with refreshments. You want drink? Water and soft drinks are $4, a small bag of snacks, another $4. I wonder when they will start charging for using the toilet.

I can't ever imagine going on a vacation if I had to take flights to get to the destination and return. It would ruin the entire experience. I suppose that if I was willing to fly first or business class it would be more bearable, but I can't justify the cost. If we can't drive there we just won't go.

Thankfully, the flights were on time, but it was still a miserable trip all around. I won't even get into all the problems we had with Budget Rent A Car.
 
I went to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. last week to pick up a friend coming in from Australia and needed a ride home. No one in his family was available to pick him up, so I did it.

While there, I ran into a pilot friend of mine. We got to talking and he said he was flying to Haneda Airport in Tokyo in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I asked him if he had time to get me a pass so I could go onboard and look around. He got me a pass. The plane is beautiful inside. I wouldn’t have minded flying it.

I see there is a post on the forum about the Dreamliner. It’s a great plane.


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OldOld said:
Simple solution to all the complaints: fly in business class.
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I did that once when I flew from Australia to UK - was wonderful for a long flight to be able to stretch out and sleep o n the night part

But also was MUCH more expensive than economy and not something I would pay for regular flights.

anything of 6 hours or so I can cope fine with economy. (and of course can then afford to travel more)
 
Airports are what they are. Regardless of what class you are flying, we all have to put up with the rude people, late planes and if flying in coach, lack of space. We are almost sitting on each others laps and our knees rest against the seat in front of us.

I try to fly first or business class, but some of the small planes only offer coach.
 
Okay my only position on this is a funny occurrence that happened years and years ago we're talking 1996.

Anyway so I decided to fly over to Wisconsin for a Halloween party, round trip everything was only about $198 very nice. So I don't like flying but I wanted to meet all these Nifty people I had met online. So what we're in flight I suddenly snap to hearing "Arrooo! Arroooo!"

I am kind of scared because I sounded like a alarm Bell or something. However I looked around and nobody else was freaking out. So I dug my claws out of the armrest and waited for our Landing.

Had a great weekend, found out Jeagermister was quite powerful. So I boarded the flight heading back to Oregon. Halfway through the trip I've got to hit the bathroom not really happy about that but I couldn't hold it.

So I got into the restroom took care of business and then hit the button to flush "Aroooo, Aroooo" went the toilet.....Oh hell...😆😆😆
 
hollydolly said:
not to mention the long torturous security queues and Passport control queues.. . 3 years ago coming back from Spain we waited in a P/C queue for 2 hours.. it was horrendous. Babies and children were tired and crying..pregnant mothers were desperate for the toilet... it was madness...
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Flying after 16 became so not in my Bucket List. I took my friends to airports, knew several by heart, including Ohare, il. and Pheonix, AZ.
My Friend and Brother Flew out of them to war. My life's timing with school and family kept me from joining them. I could comment about
that, but why bend ears.
 
Disgustedman said:
Okay my only position on this is a funny occurrence that happened years and years ago we're talking 1996.

Anyway so I decided to fly over to Wisconsin for a Halloween party, round trip everything was only about $198 very nice. So I don't like flying but I wanted to meet all these Nifty people I had met online. So what we're in flight I suddenly snap to hearing "Arrooo! Arroooo!"

I am kind of scared because I sounded like a alarm Bell or something. However I looked around and nobody else was freaking out. So I dug my claws out of the armrest and waited for our Landing.

Had a great weekend, found out Jeagermister was quite powerful. So I boarded the flight heading back to Oregon. Halfway through the trip I've got to hit the bathroom not really happy about that but I couldn't hold it.

So I got into the restroom took care of business and then hit the button to flush "Aroooo, Aroooo" went the toilet.....Oh hell...😆😆😆
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Where is my Red Button, push it someone!
 
January said:
I dont like flying but I do it to get from A to B.

I appreciate that flying and travel is much more affordable for most people than it used to be.

Unless it is a really long flight the tight seating doesn't bother me. 6 hours or so I cope fine.
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I'm on the same page with the above.

US cross-country flights take about 5-1/2 hours and there's a 3 hour difference between Eastern and Pacific time zones. Both are about the max my body can comfortably manage. It would take me several days and lot more $ to cross the country via auto, bus (heaven forbid) or train (nearly 10X the price if booking a sleeper car, and when traveling for 70+ hours, that would be a must for these old bones).

With numerous friends and relatives on the east coast, I bear up, deal with airports and planes, and enjoy visiting once a year, or so.

I'm unlikely to fly outside North America again unless I plan a stopover for a few days to give my body a break from the time difference and the punishment of flying. (I flew first class R/T to Europe about 10 years ago - it was grueling despite the amenities and fully reclining seats.)
 
I think flying gets a bad rap these days. Yes, we've been subject to rolling delays these days with American Airlines, but overall it isn't that bad. We just returned from a few days in Seattle and an Alaska cruise. We flew coach to/from Seattle and had no issues. It was comfortable. I load my i-Pad up with the content I want to watch prior to traveling, prop it on my tray table and the time goes by fast.

Also, neither the TSA Pre lines in Dallas nor in Seattle were bad. We were through in less than 10 minutes.
 
seadoug said:
I think flying gets a bad rap these days. Yes, we've been subject to rolling delays these days with American Airlines, but overall it isn't that bad. We just returned from a few days in Seattle and an Alaska cruise. We flew coach to/from Seattle and had no issues. It was comfortable. I load my i-Pad up with the content I want to watch prior to traveling, prop it on my tray table and the time goes by fast.

Also, neither the TSA Pre lines in Dallas nor in Seattle were bad. We were through in less than 10 minutes.
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It's not the flying as has been said already, even including our resident pilot @oldman who agreed, that it's the awful Airport experience now.. the flying is a breeze,,, the airport experience is horrible...
 

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