I really do.

I have an iPad and a Nook, but flights take forever regardless.
I hate having to crawl over people to get to the bathroom, if I'm unlucky enough to not get the aisle seat.
I hate being stuck in the big tube.

I'm sick of it.

Grumblesnort.

Why haven't one of you invented the matter transmitter yet huh? What's the damn holdup?


Okay, I feel better now - carry on.

It's dangerous, in case you didn't know. During the making of the movie "The Fly," everybody liked to play with the pods, but Geena Davis loved it. She went through about 5 or 6 times every day. One day, she went through without noticing that there was an old lady asleep in there.

And...

Well...

That wasn't an old woman it was....

Beetlejuice...

Beetlejuice....

Beetlejui

There is an easy solution to this: if you say "excuse me" people usually get up and let you out of your seat to go to the bathroom. No need to crawl over people.

I do do that, seems like they mostly want to pull their legs in slightly and expect me to slide through the 2" gap they have made.

Flying is a lot more pleasant when one pays for premium class. You don't arrive any sooner than the rest of the aircraft but the flight certainly feels shorter. You're in the same metal tube as everyone else but you've got claim to a larger space within it. The food and drink may not be great (US airlines) but they're at least good enough to get the job done.

And a scuzz like Beetlejuice is much more likely to be sitting back in coach that up front in C or F.

We generally use the TARDIS when the Doc isn't using it but as we often return before we leave it gets confusing. If he's busy there's always Ryanair but in that case you tend to want to return before you start only to find there's an extra charge imposed.

I know what you mean, I felt that way after I got back from seeing my first 4D movie 20 minutes from now.

Right, jet airliners take "forever"...too bad we aren't still using sail powered boats, covered wagons, horse and foot travel, that would be so much faster - and nicer too. Sorry, no electricity back then so forget about your iPad.

Maybe try looking on the bright side of things? You can always drive, take the bus/train if you like.

Haven't you ever just needed to complain about something? That's how I felt this morning. Please try not to take me very seriously today, I'm in a strange mood.

I do not like some aspects of air travel too.

But after each trip ... I remind myself ... it was still better than the alternatives.

One reason for my flyertalk visits are to pick up a few pointers on how to make my trips more pleasant.

Very true - I have learned some good tips here.

I checked-in the other day about fifty minutes before the scheduled departure time and the agent said that they were already boarding and that I needed to make haste. It was a trek to the gate, sure, but the doors aren't closing that early. Don't rush me, particularly when I'm seated in Y...

It's almost the same issue as airports such as SIN (or it might have been KUL). FIDS might display that the flight is boarding, but really it's just that security opened up and people are being advised to wait in the holding cell.

There is an element of Stockholm syndrome when people talk about loving to fly. Truth is it's simply the fastest way to cross large distances and our lives have adjusted to that fact. We are asked to take business trips and we plan to take leisure trips that were simply unfeasible in the age before air travel became possible.

But the reality is that, of course, flying in any class is actually less comfortable in practice than even steerage on a late 19th century ocean liner (First Class on an ocean liner had more in common with life in a royal household than flying First). That's because you need to offer a lot more comfort to sell a place you'll spend a week or two in than a place most people won't ever spend over 12 hours in. And of course the economics of space are different on the ocean than in the air. But that doesn't change the unpleasantness of it all. I'll be honest even J and F aren't exactly so comfortable as to make it much of a pleasure at all, it's simply less of a nuisance.

I like plane trips nevertheless, because I really like planes from a technical standpoint, I like airlines from an operational standpoint and I like the atmosphere of airports, but I don't actually enjoy my time *on* the plane.

Do you have any status with an airline yet? Is that something that seems likely if you continue to fly at your current pace? The more you fly, the easier most airlines make it for you - from expedited check-in and screening to better seating.

The ultimate of course is International First Class on airlines like Singapore, Emirates, etc. You may find yourself wishing the flight were longer. Look up any trip reports from folks like SFO777 or Moomba for more detail. Hope you get there someday!

Happy Contrails ====================== >