Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess. McDonald's is to me a last resort because if I am going to have a burger that's really bad for my health, I want it to taste a hell of a lot better than a Big Mac!

But in any case, it wasn't so much the fact that this guy was looking for a McDonald's. That I could deal with. It's the fact that I was trying to catch some zzzs before my next flight down to Queenstown, and this guy comes over, wakes me up, and tells me since I'm American I have to hear this. Then he goes on to say in a total redneck hillbilly voice "can you believe there ain't no **** McDonald's here."

Put that all together, and it makes a little more sense.

I cut him off, and politely told him "I'm trying to get some sleep" with the best [expletive deleted] you smile I could put together.

This "red-blooded American" can do without either the cholesterol in his blood, or the corporate exploitation on his hands.

Britney Spears, the great American cultural export.:
"I get to go to lots of overseas places, like Canada"

I had never been to a McD's overseas until I was on a trip with a coworker without much exotic eating experience -- he got seriously ill trying to eat both south american and middle-eastern fare, so he now sticks to McD's and such when on travels.

I was on another mission with an older gentleman who had traveled the world extensively, but he said after about 50 his GI tract just stopped being able to handle the variety (and sanitation), and the ubiquitosness of McDonalds and other fast food places was the only reason he could still travel, so he understands why people don't like them but he'd be stuck at home (or carrying his own food) without it.

>>> I apologize. I went to Egypt and except for one very fancy, nice meal in Cairo, boat on the Nile, etc., I just didn't care for the food there, and that is a polite understatement. We went to McD's, had a shake, and it was Heaven. I survived on the Swissair Duty Free chocolate that I had bought going in... McD's and other American fast food outlets have saved the day...

Back to the original theme of this thread...making fun of stupid people at the airport!
I flew from LGA to Ithaca a couple of years ago--US Air lets you walk to the plane, but there are usually several flights leaving at a time and it can get confusing. Still, we arrived in Ithaca and one guy on the plane stands up and asks, "You mean this isn't Vermont?" He had to fly back to NY, then wait for the next flight to Burlington.

I find that the US FA staff makes a really big effort to ask you where you're going and tell you where the plane is going as many times as is reasonable to avoid this.

The other thing they do, which is contrary to what AA does, is that they let you wait around outside while the baggage handlers are getting your carry-ons out of the plane. AA makes everyone wait until the luggage is ready, so that you can pick it up and go without hanging around on the runway for too long. That probably makes more sense from a safety standpoint.

d

You obviously have NOT travelled extensively in Asia. While it is true that most McDonalds have clean bathrooms in North American and Europe, this is NOT the case in Europe. Perhaps two of the worst restrooms I have ever used was on trips to McDonalds in Hong Kong and Kuala Lampur. No door on the stall, no paper and best of all...no toliet, just a hole in the ground!

Most of my commuter flights are one-day or overnight trips with a backpack, which I can carry on even in Saabs and RJs. Since I don't have bags to pick up, I don't like having to wait until they are all brought out.

And now back to the topic of this thread ...

ive travelled to KL, Bangkok, Koh Sumai, and Hong Kong recently --- each time, right after we landed, we looked for McD's. There is somethign to be said about reliability and consistency of food and bathrooms as well for the most part --- i would say that the worst McDs bathroom ive seen was in London near the Holborn tube station... the ones in Asia are great. Amazing that i never eat McDs back in the US but search dearly for it when im outside of my current home (Singapore, everything is clean)

New thread - "Dumb things said on Flyertalk"
Regards,
Alex

For me, McDs are a guaranteed smoke free environnmnet! When I was in Shanghai, everywhere was a smoke bomb, non-smoking sections were a joke - and after a tiring 3 day meeting a whole bunch of us could only head to McDs to unwind over iced lemon tea and sundaes...*g*

Lessee - stupid things passengers say... I dunno. I guess I have none, but I do remember some really hilarious posts to the SQ section. I mean... its a great airline and all, but some people seem to push the edge there on what SQ can do. One poster asked if F/J class tickets come with limo tranfers to the airport/hotel. Then another SQ first timer wrote eagerly asking if any FTers with inside connections could help with getting an upgrade.

Yikes.

McDonalds overseas, a smoke-free establishment? Visit McDonalds in downtown Athens, Syntagma Square -- there's no separate smoke-free zone, everybody is puffing cigarettes, the place is filled with smoke. And the bathrooms are horrible and disgusting. I once saw a 6-inch cockroach (a biggie even by Greek standards) when I went to the bathroom to wash my hands AFTER eating there - and the reaction of my organism was to immediately reverse the previous process of food intake ;(. Funny, how crappy McD's is in Athens, while Wendy's is so much better than in States...

on a flight from Wichita to Dallas, i had the misfortune of sitting next to a guy complaining about how terribly American had treated him.

turns out, he got on the plane at DFW intending to go to Wichita Falls, Texas and not Wichita, Kansas. not only did he not figure it out until after takeoff, but he spent 45 minutes in the airport wondering why his bag and nephew had not shown up!!

anyone who has been in Wichita's Mid-Continent airport can attest to the fact that like many small city airports, there is WICHITA and KANSAS plastered everywhere (whether it's civic pride or a slight inferiority complex is beside the point).

between repeatedly calling the FA "baby cakes" (perhaps suggesting his misrouting was a result of karma), he told me how he was thinking about suing the airline for pain-and-suffering for THEN not putting him on the next (mythical) Wichita to Wichita Falls plane instead of flying him back to the hub!

Did he have a boarding pass for a flight to Witchita Falls, TX or Witchita, Kansas? If he had one to Withita Fallas, TX, why didn't the machine that reads the boarding pass figure it out? Or was this prior to those being implemented.

If I am not mistaken, people from Witchita Falls, TX call it "Witchita". They drop the "Falls" for some reason.

But that is a funny story.