Fear of Flight

I love travel but hate the aspect of flying. Most of my early travel for drum corps and summer camps was via a Greyhound bus. But as a young adult, I lived for that lift off and always wanted a window seat to see the fading skylines and the clouds close enough to touch.

 

As I've gotten older the charm has worn thin. Some people think of airports as a hive of activity, but I view them as a hub and a means of getting from one place to the other. Security check points, baggage claim, and terminals connected by shuttles and trams bog me down. And I tend to have lousy luck with with the airlines themselves. I argue about this often with friends of mine who work in the industry. I understand that in any business there are complications that come up - And with air travel there are a plethora of variable like weather and mechanical issues that arise. Not to mention the millions that travel through the skies on a daily basis. It is not a foolproof situation.

However - it is not chump change we are paying for said services. I am more forgiving of a shut down on the light rail where I have only invested 2$. Any flight is going to set me back at least $250. For that price, I assume to be treated with respect at least. I have spent Christmas night sleeping on a cot in an airport so that a flight crew could rest in a comfy hotel while on furlough. Luggage that is lost for 3 days. A recent "experience" on #American had us on a scavenger hunt @ O'Hare going between 5 gates and 3 terminal wings trying to track down the plane. None of us was told by a gate agent; it was cell phone technology and working as a team that got us to boarding the flight 3 hour later. And I was one of those forced "bumped" passengers on said flight - because the airline had rebooked my original itinerary from Philly to Chicago - in an ideal world I should not have even set foot in Chicago. For weight restrictions! If they can't hold enough weight for all the seats, put less of them on the plane! No apologies issued there.

Not sure what vacant customer service agent I am particularity bitching to, but all the recent viral blasts against airlines certainly struck a note with me. Let's get back to some ethical treatment and basic service for the fees we are paying for. Fly the Friendly Skies - my ASS