CDTraveler

If someone persistently has the same sort of extreme negative experience, usually there's a reason beyond their environment or simple "wrong place, wrong time" bad luck to account for it. My parents spent a lot of time in the USSR in the '80's and 90's, and based on their comments on it, your quality of life was related to how closely you followed the rules and kept your papers in order.

No, what you "shared" was an attitude that looks a lot like resentment:

jrl767

Top 3:

PA 106, ATL-IAD, 29 Dec 72 ... exchanged Y MIA-SYR for FN/YZ MIA-ATL + F ATL-IAD for about $20 out of pocket (which was a lot for a college student, but worth it) ... first trip up front, first CV-880, first 747 ... details at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...l#post19333465 (post #11)

VS 45, LHR-JFK, 25 Jun 08 ... took the family upstairs on the 744 ... pretty much a perfect end to a 12-day trip thru the Netherlands (entire trip was BWI-EWR-BRU on CO in Y; AMS-LHR-JFK-DCA on KL/VS/DL in F) ... kudos to the CO res agent who spent the better part of two hours piecing the trip together, and getting VS to release an upgrade for me on a paid ticket even after using miles to get seats for my wife and son

transcon turboprop odyssey, Sep 08 ... I had to travel from DC to SAN for a conference, and was able to split the trip in MSP in such a way that I got entirely across the country on turboprops

DCA-MSP NW 757
MSP-ATY-PIR NW (Mesaba) Saab, overnight
PIR-DEN UA (Great Lakes) Beech 1900
DEN-BIL F9 DH4
BIL-SEA AS (Horizon) DH4
SEA-SAN AS 739

**************************
SAN-MSP NW 320
MSP-MQT NW (Mesaba) Saab
MQT-DTW NW (Mesaba) Saab
DTW-CHO NW (Mesaba) Saab


I'd actually tried a similar run the previous year (conference in SAT, vacation in SEA):

IAD-CLE CO (CommutAir) Beech 1900
CLE-DTW CO (CommutAir) Beech 1900
DTW-MQT NW (Mesaba) Saab
MQT-MSP NW (Mesaba) Saab
MSP-ATY-PIR NW (Mesaba) Saab, overnight
PIR-DEN UA (Great Lakes) Beech 1900
DEN-SAT UA CR7
SAT-DEN CO 735
DEN-SEA CO 738

**************************
SEA-BIL AS (Horizon) DH4
BIL-SHR-DEN Big Sky Beech 1900
DEN-DTW NW 320
DTW-IAD NW 319

this one got messed up in MQT due to thunderstorms; when MQT-MSP cancelled, I had to spend the night on my own dime in what used to be the K.I. Sawyer AFB VOQ; I told the NW agent that the PIR stop was now a trip in vain, so he put me on the shuttle van to GRB in the morning and routed me GRB-DTW-SAT in F (I'd actually used miles for the IAD-PIR/DEN-IAD ticket, and was quite surprised to see that I actually got credit for the reroute)




Bottom 3: (yes I suspect more than a few of you think my turboprop odyssey should be in this group)

UA, LAX-SEA, May 87, 7am flight (iirc I had used miles to upgrade); we had made arrangements to take our cat in a carrier on board with us, knew we would be charged a fee but figured that would be processed at the gate ... checked our bags curbside, then went to park the car ... security said "No, you have to have a ticket for the animal" so went back to ticket counter only to be told to go to Baggage Service ... by the time everything got sorted out we had missed the flight; UA put us on the next one (945am) but it was in the back of a DC-10 because the Lakers had booked the entire F cabin rather than taking a charter up to Seattle for a playoff game ... 6-hr dose of kitty tranquilizer started wearing off so she started getting noisy about half way thru the flight ... when we got off the plane we found our bags weren't there, and since we had a wedding to attend at 5pm we went to hit Nordstrom immediately after dropping the cat off at the in-laws ... while my wife was getting dressed, I was on the phone with UA baggage service who were being remarkably unhelpful; finally I suggested they check for the bags in YVR (which is where the original flight continued after SEA); when we got back from the wedding there was a message saying they had indeed located the bags there and would deliver them the next morning ... then it took about two months to get reimbursed for the clothes we had purchased

general absence of common courtesy ... boarding crush, personal electronics (mainly volume settings; I'm rather resigned to the fact that people are going to keep devices on regardless of FAA rules/regulations or FA announcements), storage, etc

not really a bad experience, just an annoyance ... landing on 3R at DTW and back-taxiing all the way around the south end of the McNamara Terminal to park at A72 ... last summer we were an hour late for a 1+20 connection that was leaving from A74, and missed because of this

invisible

Your parents most likely had the right skin/hair color and/or right citizenship at the same time. Have you ever heard terms 'driving while black' or 'flying while muslim' and have you ever been on receiving side of that treatment?

Let me tell you - there are plenty of places in this world where quality of your life depends not on how good your papers are, but on who is holding the gun and how much money you got to get the person who is holding the gun on your side.

Dixi.

yamaka

Best
1. 1976, four days hitchhiking around Germany with a Spanish girl a met on a train in France. She spoke no English, I spoke a very little Spanish.
2. Climbing behind waterfalls in Iceland with my daughter and wife.
3. Taking an illegal private "bus" with my grown from Chengde to Bejing, with chickens, a pig, people smoking and a Chinese sex movie playing on the video screen in the front. I travel to find out the life of the locals, this was my most real experience.

Worst
1. Getting arrested in Yugoslavia in 1976 for illegally entering the country. A very bad 30 minutes until they put us back on the train.
2. Getting shaken down by traffic cops on a highway in Austria.
3. Getting hit by a mudslide while camping on a Salmon River raft trip in a wilderness section.

BearX220

SJC has indoor sparrows... animal control officer told me the design makes it a perfect aviary.

darthbimmer

I don't know that I have the stellar highs or awful lows of other folks here, but here's what I've got:

Best:

• Upgrades to business class lie-flat seats on UA transpacific, especially on the otherwise miserable SFO/HKG route.
• Numerous stays at the JW Marriott in Shenzhen, China. I had many challenging business trips here (challenging because of my customers and the technical problems I had to solve) but this hotel served as the oasis I returned to every night. Always a calming environment with luxury accommodations, polite service, and deliciouds food.
• Pub- and club crawl in Tokyo. Fairly expensive, though.

Worst:

• Air Canada stranded me on a connection at ORD when my inbound was late. I made it to the gate 9 minutes before departure.
  "I'm sorry, sir, you've missed your flight."
  "But the aircraft is right there."
  "Sir, we close the door 10 minutes before departure."
  "The aircraft is right there, can't you open the door?"
  "No."
  "Then put me on the next flight. When is it?"
  "Sir, our next flight is tomorrow at 8am."
  "Can you put me up in a hotel overnight?"
  "Sir, if you cannot pay for your own hotel you'll have to sleep here in the airport terminal."
  
  Screw AC!
  
• Air Canada almost stranded me at YYZ on a late inbound connecting flight. I literally ran the length of the international terminal to make my connection-- this time arriving before the door was closed.
  "*BUZZ* Sir, your boarding pass is not valid."
  "That's ridiculous. What's wrong with it?"
  "*TAP TAP* We canceled it."
  "Why?"
  "We saw your inbound flight was running late and assumed you would not get here in time."
  "Well, I ran the length of the terminal to ensure I did get here in time. May I take my seat now?"
  "No, we gave it away after canceling your boarding pass."
  "Well, I still have a valid ticket and I am here in time to board. Get me on this plane."
  "Sir, the only seat we have left is a middle, 33B."
  
  Screw AC!
  
• Weather delay of 10 hours on a short DTW-ORD flight when snowstorms were hitting both airports. We boarded the plane a total of 3 times and turned around to deboard at the terminal twice. The old UA terminal at DTW was barely tolerable even at the best of times; waiting there for 11 hours with hundreds of cranky pax it was a complete sh!thole. This is not a "Screw UA" experience, though. The weather was beyond their control, and they actually got us there. An anti-UA colleague of mine booked his flight on AA.... AA canceled their flight after delaying it for several hours, leaving him to compete for scarce taxis to get to a hotel where he only got 4 hours of sleep before having to return to DTW for an early flight out.

Badenoch

Best
1) Long hauls on SAA. The delight of learning my flight from Jo-burg to Munich was a code share and not Luthansa.

2) Watching the pilot and co-pilot on my Air Austrian flight heaving bags (including mine) into the hold during an unscheduled baggage handlers walk-out in VIE.

3) Being served Ossau Iraty on an AF flight from CDG to NRT. Change my cheese preferences forever.

Worst
1) CBP (incoming and outgoing.) America's homage to the worst of the former USSR.

2) TSA. At least you sometimes get to choose whether they photo or fondle your naughty bits.

3) WHTI and every other trumped up international security initiative demanded by the USA because collectively it can't get over its own fears.

Mr. Vker

Three Best--all involve interactions with folks encountered in other countries:

1) At the reclining Buddha in Bangkok, my wife, uncle and I were enjoying our tour. I had been there before, but first for my uncle. A man that appeared local approached me and made a "picture taking" gesture next to his wife. I thought he wanted me to take a photo of his wife and him. "Sure", I said...and reached for the camera from his wife. His wife pulled the camera and backed up. He smiled and put his arm around me. (He barely was taller than my waist.) HE WANTED A PICTURE WITH ME-a giant American. I smiled..photo snapped...and we shook hands. He asked if I was American. He was Indonesian. Great experience. I regret not getting a picture myself, but my wife had the camera in another part of the temple.


2) I often travel with a nice travel chess set. In hotel lobbies or lounges around the world, I will set up my chess set and wait-having a drink or whatever. It usually won't take long until someone wants to play. Many times we won't share a word of a common language. It's a wonderful way to interact with people I otherwise would never know existed.

3) Traveling from San Jose, CR to the pacific coast. I was driving a Diesel Land Cruiser. Me, my wife, and 3 woman in their 70's. (Mother in law and 2 friends.) We needed fuel. I saw a standard sign for a gas station. Turns out the guy has 55 gallon drums in his garage. Hand pumps the fuel. When finished, he wrote in the dust on my car how much I needed to pay.

Some of these show my ignorance knowing only English. I am working on that.

I have seen some wonderful things, but I really enjoy people. One thing I have learned. Countries (Governments may hate each other), but rarely do people. I have had some great conversations with people all over this planet. Including those that are supposed to hate me!

SheBangsTheDrums

Best:

1. First time visiting Australia, saw Sydney and Melbourne. Fantastic country, amazing people.
2. Viewing the NY skyline for the first time. Jaw-dropping, lived up to all my expectations.
3. Singapore...in general. Beautiful city with polite and respectful people.

Worst:

1. Tunis, horrible city and people.
2. Moscow, see above.....but cold.
3. Looking forward to my last trip to Singapore, but being unable to see anything due to the smoke drifting over from Malaysia.

factory81

Best so far:

-Lufthansa J from DTW - FRA. I enjoyed it as my first TATL business class experience.
-Aer Lingus J from DUB-ORD. It was a pleasant flight - and they really kept the food coming. Seriously...over feeding the hell out of us.
-Tossup, AA 747 business class in/out of JAC? Or the Intercontinental Tampa upgrading us to a like...1300-1400 sq. ft suite with their rooftop pool? Holiday Inn Universal Orlando, FL upgraded us to a 3 bedroom suite.

Worst
-Overnight stay in TUL as an unexpected flight delay makes everyone miss their connections, they eventually lost my ski luggage before finding it again.
-being downgraded from a fiat 500 to a smart car in Europe
-some ...... hostels in Europe. There are great hostels - and then there are ...... hostels. Some say there is some charm to it - but no, there is not.

moondog

Best:
-living in the Tamar Suite at the HK MO circa 2001 for 6 months
-birthday op-up on NH in ~2003 (this is when they still had bars in the 747s)
-JL F on my birthday 4 years ago

Worst:
-train from Bombay to Pune after 20 hours of flying in 1998... the straw that broke the camel's back was hauling my heavy luggage out of the train station in Pune
-oversleeping on morning flight days (I've done this 3 times now; never fun, and sometimes costly)
-sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours in Shenzhen during a hot July day with no means of escape and the odors of dreadful food permeating the cabin; at the 3 hour mark, I demanded to be let off the plane, and called it a trip in vain

invisible

Are there any regulations on this matter?

moondog

I'm not really sure. But, I tend to make up my own regulations because I've been tolerating this stuff for years. Typically, at the 30 minute mark, I inform the purser that I require arrangements to be let off the plane if the delay reaches 90 minutes. If we're at a true gate, this is easy, but in the cases of remote stands, they need to arrange a car to come to the plane and retrieve me.

During the trip in question, I really did need to leave Shenzhen, so I went with 3 hours. However, I called it quits once 3 hours had passed because I would have already missed my meetings, and I needed a shower plus some decent food by that point in time. Thank goodness China's HSR network is really starting to blossom. In spite of the fact that the food on HSR trains is god awful, it really is a better way to travel... well worth an extra two hours en route for the peace of mind alone.

invisible

Understood. Seems you can do this in China, but if you try to pull something like this in States, most likely you will be taken from the airport in a car, but it will be back seat of police cruiser and there are chances that you might end up in no fly list as well...

moondog

I've walked off my share of planes in the US also. Granted I'm not so demanding when I'm over there, but no airline has the right to hold me hostage against my will.