View Full Version : Airline Travel is No Fun
I have just read a third incident in the last month where airline passengers claim over-reaction and discrimination. All 3 were on United Airlines; all involved women, 2 out of 3 involved children's behavior. One was a woman who stated she was kicked off the plane before it took off because her 2 year old wouldn't stop crying....airline and other passengers stated that child actually was in the aisle and wouldn't remain seated while taxiing to take-off). Another very complicated she-said/they said involved autistic teen (adult-size) whose mother told flight attendant if the teen didn't get a hot meal from first class (they were flying economy class), the girl would lose control and begin biting and scratching. The most recent is a woman who insisted on an unopened can of cola; cola in a plastic glass or can with tab open was unacceptable. A nearby passenger was rude to her because he knew she was Muslim (she wore a headscarf). Yeah, other passenger was an a**hole, but I don't think that's the airline's fault. CNN now reports that not receiving the can of soda the way she wanted it was anti-Islam discrimination. .........all of this kind of reminds me of road rage, where life gets so stressful that small incidents are blown up all out of proportion. At least 2 of these women have used social media (Facebook) to complain. They really feel they have been seriously damaged and unfairly treated. My personal take is they are expecting too much. Air travel these days sucks. You have to shuffle through TSA lines in your stocking feet, take a cramped seat in a noisy, crowded plane, put up with delays and re-routings. I don't think United is any better or worse than any other airline. I don't think a hot meal or unopened can of preferred cola is an inalienable right. My personal strategy is to carry my own snacks and bottle of water (but don't drink too much because even getting up to use the bathroom isn't fun) Usually I'm just grateful to make it to my destination within a reasonable amount of time, without crashing and burning.
These days, everyone is a special unique fragile snowflake, and every irritation in life deserves its day going viral on Facebook/Twitter.
My last flight was pretty relaxing though.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OUBzzBCsbqY/VWDlJkTfe7I/AAAAAAAAPx4/5aVlBShCpxk/s720/Awesomized.jpg
I totally agree with both of you. However, there are a few times that the airlines shoot themselves in the foot.
If I was the big time quilting blogger/teacher and big time airline traveler who had her sewing machine and laptop destroyed when they cabin checked them due to crowding and confusion in the cabin at loading (not her desire or need), I would be a big time complainer. She documented what happened on her blog with PICTURES which was seen by over 30,000 other quilters and many travelers. I would not have wanted to be in the United Chairman's seat when social media took over. United quickly replaced all the items. I learned never ever to cabin check any equipment that needed to go with me regardless of the time it took to find a spot for them.
At the end of the day, all I care about is making it up AND down safely.
These days, everyone is a special unique fragile snowflake, and every irritation in life deserves its day going viral on Facebook/Twitter.
+1
gimmethesimplelife
6-1-15, 6:29pm
These days, everyone is a special unique fragile snowflake, and every irritation in life deserves its day going viral on Facebook/Twitter.
My last flight was pretty relaxing though.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OUBzzBCsbqY/VWDlJkTfe7I/AAAAAAAAPx4/5aVlBShCpxk/s720/Awesomized.jpgI don't disagree with you to some extent, Bae.....some of what people will actually complain about never ceases to amaze me. There are times though that social media deserves to be used to get the word out - I guess it's up to the particular reader of content to determine for themselves if said content is worth reading. Like anything else, YMMV. Cool pic, btw. Rob
Cool pic, btw. Rob
Ya - my wife had some major surgery over on the mainland last week, and a nice fellow flew over in his Cessna and picked us both up when she was discharged, saved her about 18 hours of travel on one of the busiest and most impossible travel days of our tourist season. It turns out to be about a 20 minute plane ride.
The fellow and his other pilot buddies who do these Mercy Flights are heroes in my book.
No TSA checkpoint was involved, even though we went through an international airport :-)
Here's the face of someone Very Happy to not be dealing with lines and searches:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nuXVj4ViOGo/VWDlB4qD1CI/AAAAAAAAPw4/nrroL236oxA/s720/Awesomized.jpg
Z'at you? I always pictured you more ponderous, with a large beard. :)
Z'at you? I always pictured you more ponderous, with a large beard. :)
Nah, that's my dear wife :-) I'm the one you can't see providing the medical supervision, and getting a free flying lesson at the same time :-)
Nah, that's my dear wife :-) I'm the one you can't see providing the medical supervision, and getting a free flying lesson at the same time :-) Oh dear, sorry if I put my foot in it. >8) I think it was Alan once commented that he thought my legs would be longer, but no, my icon's about accurate.
Hah! :)
For the situation with the mother and the autistic girl, apparently the girl would only eat hot food. However, the mother said she had refused to eat earlier in the airport. In that case, the mother should have gotten the girl's meal to go, and simply asked for it to be heated up later, like people do with baby bottles. I'm sure the flight attendants would have helped with that. Demanding a hot meal when you're seated in coach?
The mother failed to plan properly
I also drove from Raleigh, NC to Indy today, and the rest of the way home tomorrow. I did this to avoid flying. But boy, am I beat.
flowerseverywhere
6-1-15, 9:07pm
Agree with you all.
My favorite story was a cruise ship that broke down a few years ago and it took them a while to get into port with poor electric and plumbing problems. One passenger complained they had no diapers for her baby for days. Idiot. Who travels with a baby and does not bring one and a half times the food, diapers, wipes and clothes you think you will need.
Buy your own coke before you board the plane if you want to be sure to get a whole can. If you buy it post tsa checkpoint they don"t care what you bring on. What they should do is not serve anything on shorter flights and require you to buy exactly what you want in the airport if you want something. occasionally you have a tight connection so they could offer food and drinks for sale. I see lots of business flyers buying box meals on jet blue. Not my cup of tea, but you gotta do what you gotta do on the road. Would cut down on a lot of aisle traffic.
personal responsibility.
I also drove from Raleigh, NC to Indy today, and the rest of the way home tomorrow. I did this to avoid flying. But boy, am I beat.
I usually drive to Colorado to visit my mother-in-law, instead of flying. It's a bit longer time-wise, but in so many ways much more relaxing. It's about 1500 miles, but you can make some darned-good time on the northern route. I did make a wrong turn early in the morning once near Billings, and ended up in North Dakota, but that could have happened to anyone.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blogdramedy/idiotic-travel-complaints_b_4073107.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blogdramedy/idiotic-travel-complaints_b_4073107.html
I recognized this one:
7. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."
I think that may have been my wife.
Lol. I was particularly taken with 12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blogdramedy/idiotic-travel-complaints_b_4073107.html
My favorite: 7. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax." I can just imagine how upset the husband was at this...
We fly everywhere. We are going to St. Louis next week, and maybe Chicago. We also have several more trips planned this summer. No way I would drive that far, it just takes to much time. And I love flying anyway, I generally go up at least every two weeks. Last trip was Key West, it's a hour flight compared to a 5 hour drive, we just went for the day.
You should buy yourself a plane Bae. I've thought about volunteering for the medical flights, but I'm concerned about the liabilities should something happen. I do fly friends and family though.
personal responsibility.
What's that?
I will never fly in a prop plane. My dad was the only survivor out of 10 passengers in a small commercial plane and his partner was killed in another Cessna accident. Of course, we all lived in Alaska and there are a lot of flights and use of small planes. (One bush pilot forgot to pick them up and only was reminded he had left a group on a mountain when Mom called him and asked him where her husband was.)
Funniest story was of an 80 year old who was rescued from his crashed plane. He said he "probably" would not rebuild this one. This was his third crash and he might not survive the next one. Alaskans are very hardy.
Funniest story was of an 80 year old who was rescued from his crashed plane. He said he "probably" would not rebuild this one. This was his third crash and he might not survive the next one. Alaskans are very hardy.
Unless you're a test pilot in unproven aircraft, by the third crash the error indicator tends to be fixed more on the operator than on the equipment. My dad was a USAF career pilot with over 12,000 hours (lifetime) and a stickler for safety checks. I always felt perfectly safe with him regardless of which plane we were in.
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