OK...let's talk about flying on commercial airlines?

[Maddy McCall]

Do you fly often? Do you fly in coach or first class? Ever had problems either on the plane or with the airline losing your luggage? Any funny or maddening airport stories? What's your favorite place to do a layover? What was your shortest layover? Longest?

Do you not fly? Why not?

[lizziegrace]

1. Maddy!!

:hug:

Never flown anything but coach. Luggage went to Newark one time when we were going to Portland, OR. O'Hare is a nightmare as is Atlanta, IMHO.

My family is in Oregon, Oklahoma and the UK. Not flying is not an option.

:hi:

[Maddy McCall]

2. Hi, lizziegrace!

:hug:

Did you ever get your luggage back?

Coach isn't so bad, as long as you don't have a middle seat. :D

[lizziegrace]

8. We did

two days later, the airline delivered it to the house.

:)

[philosophie_en_rose]

3. I fly all of the time.

My favorite place to do a layover is Portland (free wifi) and neat shops. I fly coach, because the extra space doesn't matter to me. I have never had my luggage lost. I have had my luggage searched.

My shortest layover was less than 30 minutes. My longest was actually a few days, but that wasn't in the United States. I used the time to do extra shopping.

[ChoralScholar]

4. I used to fly a lot.

But now that I'm teaching rather than computer networking, I only fly a couple times a year - to conventions and what-not.

Never had any luggage lost - I checked in late one time, and they didn't get my luggage on, but the airport was nice enough to put it on another airline and it beat me to my destination.

I used to like to layover at IAH, ATL and ORD... Once I had a 10 hr layover in IAH because of equipment problems. They gave me a hotel voucher, so I rented a car and went to the hotel. Continued to LAX the next morning without incident.

The shortest layover I ever had was -15 minutes. As in, my connecting flight took off before I got there. They decided they had enough people and took off early. Thanks a lot American.

Although it is a hugely Republican company - I've always loved flying on Continental. They have been courteous and clean and well-run. They didn't go bare bones after 9/11 like other companies did. Even though Southwest was the only airline not in the red, Contintental was not far from being solvent, even post 9/11.

The proud bird with the golden tail:

[Haole Girl]

5. OK:

Do you fly often? Yes
Do you fly in coach or first class? Whichever I can (of course, I love first class..but, who doesn't?)
Ever had problems either on the plane or with the airline losing your luggage? Only once, in 1989, when my suitcase fell off the bus on the way to a plane!
Any funny or maddening airport stories? No (well, none I should probably share).
What's your favorite place to do a layover? Hawaii.
What was your shortest layover?15 minutes
Longest? 3 days

Do you not fly? No Why not? n/a

Disclaimer: I am an airline employee and I love flying!

[hfojvt]

6. I flew once

or three times. Only because I do not have enough time to take a boat to Deutschland. Even there I took a train from Burbach to Amsterdam rather than taking a train from Burbach to Stuttgart and then flying to Amsterdam as my ticket allowed me to.

And keeripes the turbulence we had on my very first flight, ever, across the Atlantic. It was like bam bam bam bam bam the whole way over. I watched a couple movies though - "Losing Isaiah" and "What women want" I would like to make a couple more trips, if I ever get the time again. Plus I think the exchange rate is not nearly as good now either.

And, hello Maddy :hi: Good to see you.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

7. Yes ! The first time I flew on an airplane to Germany in 2000.

It was June 2000. I was flying to Frankfurt,Germany from my hometown in North Carolina. I was going from Greensboro to Charlotte to Frankfurt Germany. Apparently the agent (who I am was never mad at) forgot to tell me that I had to get my luggage when I landed in Charlotte and check it in again before I board my international flight to Frankfurt. I am flying on the plane with no luggage - all I had was my book bag on board with me as carry on. We land in Frankfurt about 8 1/2 hours later. I am so jet lagged - I didn't know what time it was. It was " Willkommen nach Deutschland " and I had no idea what the hell that meant at the time (lol) but I went through customs showed my passport and then on to the luggage carousel. I am standing there watching the luggage go around and around - everyone finds their luggage. One thing I did learn was that I should always get some odd color luggage because everyone mostly has black and I should get something that stands out so that I know its mine. Luggage goes around and around. People claim their luggage and I stand there watching as another flight comes in. My luggage never came around. I went to find my then boyfriend who is German and we go and talk to the customer service of the airlines. I described my luggage and they told me they would do their best to find and have it delivered to me. A day later my luggage was delivered to me for free. I looked on the tag and I saw the destination that my luggage took - Greensboro to Charlotte to Paris to Hannover - I was so jealous LOL because my luggage went to Paris and had a bon voyage without me LOL - I always wanted to go to Paris. My story turned out ok but I know for some its not like that.

When I was without my luggage all I could think about was my luggage being sold to one of those stores where they sell misplaced luggage in airports. The clothes in my suitcase were the only clothes that I had. This was when I was broke.

Since that incident I am always the first person waiting to get my luggage praying that my luggage never gets missing again.

[Haole Girl]

9. If you were ticketed all on one ticket...

...your bags should have been checked all the way through to your final destination.

I wonder what happened? :shrug:

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

10. That's what I thought at the time ...

I thought that my luggage would have been transfered but nope.

[alarimer]

11. I fly about once a year

Around the holidays usually. A couple of years ago they lost my luggage. I guess it got put on another flight because I got it a few days later.

And last year it took me almost two full days to get where I was going. I could have driven faster. I got to the airport only to find out all the planes were grounded in Houston due to weather, which of course backed everything up throughout the state. Finally got to Houston about 4 pm (after having been at the airport in Corpus since 9 am). I was supposed to go to Hartford but had by this time missed the connections. So they got me to Atlanta at 1 am. My connecting flight was then supposed to leave at 8 the next morning, so I grabbed my luggage (By some miracle it had made my much-delayed flights) and found a room for the night. But there were more weather delays in Atlanta and I missed my connecting flights in Cleveland, finally arriving in Hartford and 6 pm, more than 24 hours after I was supposed to arrive. All I got was a $20 discount on a hotel room I used for 4 hours. I spent time in a 5 airports. Such fun. I hope this years is better but I am worried.

[skygazer]

12. Let's talk about it!

I love to fly. I prefer small planes but I love to fly in anything. I've never flown first class - can't afford it - so I fly coach but that's okay. I fly about 2 or 3 times a year and I have had luggage lost once or twice - it was no big deal - I filled out a lost luggage form and they got it to me within a day or two.

I have no favorite airport - I just like airports. Everyone's going somewhere. It's a very anonymous place. They're all the same but all different. I like the atmosphere. My shortest layover was when I taxiied in to O'Hare only to see my connecting flight taxiing by in the opposite direction to take off. I had to argue strenuously to get on another flight and had to fly into San Francisco instead of San Jose which completely freaked out my then boyfriend who had to pick me up. Longest I'm not sure of.

My funny airport story is about the day I was supposed to pick up my best friend at Hartford CT who was flying in from New Orleans. I was at the airport in plenty of time and waited patiently at the gate while the plane disembarked. I watched every passenger come off, then they slowed to a trickle, then the crew came off and then there I was alone and no friend in sight.

Perplexed, I went to the airline desk and inquired - they told me, oh yes, he was supposed to be on that flight.

Well, hell. I lived about 3 hours away so I didn't want to just bail so I then went to the main desk and asked someone to try to track him down. She told me he opted to take another flight. That seemed odd since he'd arranged to meet me. The woman checked the flight he'd taken - it was due to land in upstate New York within the next few hours!

So I spent several hours trying to find the number to that airport and bugging various airline employees until finally one of them called for me. As she was on hold, another employee picked up a ringing phone, listened for a moment then handed it to me, saying, "It's for you."

It was my friend, who'd been bumped off his flight, put on a flight to NY and was now waiting to get on a shuttle to the airport where I was waiting. Upshot of the deal, I spent about 8 hours in the airport but it was a bizarre and interesting adventure.

[datasuspect]

13. private charter all the way

i'm not fond of rubbing elbows with the rabble in first class on commercial flights.

[QMPMom]

14. We fly when we go visit family.

Coach because tix for 4 are too much to fly first class.

Problems: Well, there was the time that we had seats preassigned, two on one side of the aisle and 2 on the other side of the aisle. One kid with one parent. DD was about 6 and DS was about 5.

When we got to the boarding gate (for an international flight), we were told that the 4 of us would be separated.

I threw a royal fit. #1: You do not separate small children from their parents on flights. #2: DD is mentally handicapped. Who were they proposing to take care of her on the flight?

We all ended up with the seats we were originally assigned. It took speaking to the Captain, but he completely understood.

[democracyindanger]

15. I avoid flying from Thanksgiving until after New Year's.

Freakin' amateur hour. Everybody who's never flown in their life gets on planes during that period, increasing the idiot-to-non-idiot ratio.

[BarenakedLady]

16. I don't fly often

But EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME something goes wrong. Delays, missed flights, bags losts, you name it. EVERY TIME.