The airline experience has become miserable

[No Excuses]

21 hours ago, PokerPacker said:

It would be nice if the rail industry could be remotely competitive with flying.

 

It's a travesty that the US has all but given up on mass transit systems. 

 

From our subways to trains to airlines, we are completely inferior to almost every other developed nation I have visited.

 

I think if more American's traveled overseas they would see how badly we are being ripped off.

1 minute ago, zoony said:

again the market is broken. This is like a remedial case study on why libertarians are ****ing idiots.

 

This is where regulations come in and set standards for what the airline industry should be doing. Our current air transit system is a race to the bottom right now with the business models least friendly to the consumer taking precedence over safety and health.

 

Pretty much every industry in which this happens leads to some form of national tragedy.

 

[zoony]

I am sitting on a plane now. This thread is giving me comfort

[Momma There Goes That Man]

I have flown maybe 10 times in my life and I’ve never really had a bad experience except for one time coming back from Vegas a few years ago. I basically missed the cutoff by about 5 minutes because the check-in line had like 100 people in it and I had asked my Uber to stop at In-n-out on the way so I could try it. I still had about an hour to get thru to my gate but they wouldn’t let me on the flight. I got pretty nasty with the lady too. I was flying alone and was supposed to be at work the next day. I had to call in sick to get a flight at 11pm. 

 

 I didn’t feel want to Uber all the way back to the strip to wait for my later flight and then back to the airport so I ended up spending 9 hours in the Vegas airport. It was hell. Think I ate 3 California pizzas to pass the time  

Edited September 30, 2018 by Momma There Goes That Man

[zoony]

Also, let’s talk airports. 

 

There is is no hub worse than Charlotte. Endless walking, mobs of people spilling out into the thruways and most of all, no good restaurants whatsoever 

 

i think the last place in the world I would want to be in an emergency would be the Charlotte airport. What an unprepared ****hole

[Warhead36]

 

skip to 2 minutes

[purbeast]

13 minutes ago, zoony said:

Also, let’s talk airports. 

 

There is is no hub worse than Charlotte. Endless walking, mobs of people spilling out into the thruways and most of all, no good restaurants whatsoever 

 

i think the last place in the world I would want to be in an emergency would be the Charlotte airport. What an unprepared ****hole

I'm a big fan of Fort Lauderdale airport.  That's a big hub for SW when flying internationally so we've stopped there a bunch, as well as where we fly to when we go to the Keys.  They have a playground inside which is great when we're traveling with our toddler.  It's a pretty little airport too so it's easy to move all around it if need be.  I do wish they had a bit more food options but it's not that big of a deal to me really.

[TK]

22 minutes ago, zoony said:

Also, let’s talk airports. 

 

There is is no hub worse than Charlotte. Endless walking, mobs of people spilling out into the thruways and most of all, no good restaurants whatsoever 

 

i think the last place in the world I would want to be in an emergency would be the Charlotte airport. What an unprepared ****hole

First of all, the bbq place is pretty good. Secondly coming into E Gate & leaving out of any other gate is the suck. 

 

Spend the night in there in the winter trying to sleep on the chairs by the windows. You'll get driven batty listening to to doors constantly opening & closing while freezing during the winter because the window frames behind the seats are aluminum which conducts the cold right in in you. 

 

That was the first time. The second time the weather was much better & walking around outside & figured out the trick to surviving the night there. Ran into these two dudes who had taken a cab to a store & picked up a case of beer. They were sitting out on a bench drinking the night away. 

[Going Commando]

2 hours ago, No Excuses said:

It's a travesty that the US has all but given up on mass transit systems. 

 

From our subways to trains to airlines, we are completely inferior to almost every other developed nation I have visited.

 

I think if more American's traveled overseas they would see how badly we are being ripped off. 

 

Passenger transport is always going to be a much bigger challenge here than in Europe because of the realities of space and geography we deal with.  Germany has 82 million people concentrated into a mostly flat plain the size of Texas.  It has flat interconnected waterways from the Rhine to the Danube.  We've got two coastal population centers separated by 3,000 miles and a continental divide and huge transverse mountain range and no chance to connect waterways from the West coast to the Mississippi basin.  And then we have a bunch of widely dispersed cities on the great plains and the Great Basin that are isolated.  We can connect our Great Lakes and Great Plains regions and the Atlantic coast via the Mississippi basin and the Gulf.  But our only way to connect our Pacific and Atlantic coasts via water was to build a canal(s) on Central American isthmuses.  That in and of itself was a massive work.

 

Passenger air travel and much slower freight train and container ship travel are the only realistically competitive options we have for networking our population centers.  We're too big and dispersed and our geography is too rugged to make high speed rail a true and viable competitor to passenger air travel.  Our solution has been to make air travel as cheap and efficient as we possibly can and to build and maintain interstate systems to make passenger vehicle travel as viable as we can.  It's uncomfortable but it works.

[CousinsCowgirl84]

2 hours ago, No Excuses said:

This isn't a discussion about how obese or large people need to lose weight. That is not going to happen overnight.

 

100% we need to adopt the Canadian model. You either start making seats that are big enough to accommodate people comfortably or you offer larger people a second seat for free on your tiny ****ty planes.

 

or fat people could choose not to fly. Flying isn’t a right. Airlines owe you nothing,

 

2 hours ago, No Excuses said:

 

Comments like this are always 100% made by chuds who themselves could use the 9.99/mo planet fitness membership.

 

mos def. But then again, i’m not the one complaining about how my fat ass can’t fit in a 22” wide seat.

[Going Commando]

2 hours ago, zoony said:

Airlines know this. We have incentified the airlines to provide the cheapest up front price possible. What this means

 

A la carte air travel pricing leads to discomfort, but it's how you make mass air travel accessible to poorer people.  Fares have dropped pretty significantly from the 90's.  A big consequence of that is fewer open seats on flights and more crowded planes.

[TheGoodBits]

1 hour ago, zoony said:

Also, let’s talk airports. 

 

There is is no hub worse than Charlotte. Endless walking, mobs of people spilling out into the thruways and most of all, no good restaurants whatsoever 

 

i think the last place in the world I would want to be in an emergency would be the Charlotte airport. What an unprepared ****hole

 

I frequently fly through Charlotte and Atlanta. I prefer Atlanta but Charlotte isn’t bad imo. Definitely a ton of people and walking but you aren’t that far from any gate when you land (so quick turnaround connections are ok). 

 

Atlanta> Charlotte > Denver > Ohare >>>>> DFW 

[dfitzo53]

One of those times it's great to be 5'5" and average build. I'm usually reasonably comfortable on flights.

[Larry]

1 hour ago, purbeast said:

They have a playground inside which is great when we're traveling with our toddler.  

 

Move flown maybe three times in my life. But I've sworn that if I ever own an airline/airport, I'm going to put a playland near the departure gates. Tire the kids out (while the parents sit) before they get on the plane. 

[purbeast]

26 minutes ago, Larry said:

 

Move flown maybe three times in my life. But I've sworn that if I ever own an airline/airport, I'm going to put a playland near the departure gates. Tire the kids out (while the parents sit) before they get on the plane. 

The only thing that sucks is while they were working on terminal A in the airport, they had a portable bar setup over near there where you could buy drinks and go anywhere with them.  Now that A is completed, they no longer have portable bars and you can't bring drinks anywhere in the airport now.  You have to drink em at the restaruants.

[zoony]

42 minutes ago, dfitzo53 said:

One of those times it's great to be 5'5" and average build. I'm usually reasonably comfortable on flights.

 

Height is a handicap period

 

cant find shoes that fit. Can’t drive a normal car. Certainly can’t drive a sports car. Trying to find tall sizes. Can’t fit on an airplane, train, bus, etc. 

 

unless ash you are in the nba it is a curse 

[bearrock]

2 hours ago, Larry said:

 

Move flown maybe three times in my life. But I've sworn that if I ever own an airline/airport, I'm going to put a playland near the departure gates. Tire the kids out (while the parents sit) before they get on the plane. 

 

And hand out Benadryl candies in flight.

[twa]

6 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

 

 

 

 

mos def. But then again, i’m not the one complaining about how my fat ass can’t fit in a 22” wide seat.

 

my ass fits fine, the shoulders on the other hand extend out quite a ways

Planet Fitness would just swell them more 

 

 

[Elessar78]

6 hours ago, dfitzo53 said:

One of those times it's great to be 5'5" and average build. I'm usually reasonably comfortable on flights.

For as tall as the American population is purported to be, they never seem to have built many things to accomodate that. I remember all my tall friends complaining about the seats in our college auditoriums not having enough leg room. Many other examples. *shrugs

3 hours ago, bearrock said:

 

And hand out Benadryl candies in flight.

Benadryl works great for me at home. On my first transatlantic flight for work (one where I had to start working as soon as I got off the plane), I took one. No effect. Took another. Still awake. Took a third. Nothing. I dozed maybe an hour total that whole flight. Of course when we landed, fatigue and the drugs were all in my system so I could barely function that day. One of my worst days at work ever. 

 

That night in europe was no better. Jet lag kicked in. Uncomfortable POS euro-beds, barely slept. Was too scared to take more benardyl. haha. 

 

[Elessar78]

6 hours ago, Larry said:

 

Move flown maybe three times in my life. But I've sworn that if I ever own an airline/airport, I'm going to put a playland near the departure gates. Tire the kids out (while the parents sit) before they get on the plane. 

 First make them haul their own gear from the parking lot. When we get to the gate, I have several active games we play. if there's a gate that's shut down, we run around a bit or just explore. 

[SkinInsite]

I don’t get how Dulles became an international hub when the airport is a ****ing dumpster fire. 

 

I can avoid the US based carriers but US airport in general are a **** show.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Have some of your truly boycotted flying? So you pass up opportunities to take long-distance trips, attend weddings, or whatever just because the 2-3 hours to get there and return aren't fun? 

 

I guess that just surprises me...it's kind of a necessary evil at this point. It would be nice if there were alternatives or if the experience was better, but I've taken my son to Chicago, had a vacation in Disney, met friends in Florida, been to Hawaii, and gone to the BVI. I wouldn't pass up the memories of any of those (or figured out a way to do it without flying) just because traveling isn't fun. 

 

I'm impressed that people are that principled. 

[Kilmer17]

I flew back and forth from Tampa to Dulles on United this past weekend.  It was fine.  Yes the seats are small and uncomfortable.  But for under 300 bucks, I dont expect much.

[Why am I Mr. Pink?]

I just accept that flying, dealing with lines etc is the norm and part of the process. I fly roundtrip maybe once a year though so im not a frequent flyer. 

 

I do think the overhead space should be marked for the corresponding seats below. Pretty annoying that some people try to monopolize the bins.

[CrypticVillain]

 I'm the person that you don't want to sit to next to planes. And it sucks because my wife, who's also big, likes to travel.

[Spaceman Spiff]

12 minutes ago, Kilmer17 said:

I flew back and forth from Tampa to Dulles on United this past weekend.  It was fine.  Yes the seats are small and uncomfortable.  But for under 300 bucks, I dont expect much.

 

You went to Mons, didn't you.