I don't know how anyone can stand commercial flights

[AndyLate]

I really got tired of flying when I had to travel for work and will normally drive. This year I had no choice. Two trips - two headaches.

My Mom was hospitalized in January and my wife and I flew up. Return flight - bad weather, flight delayed overnight. Not the airline's fault, out of pocket for a hotel. Delayed at first of two connections, airline had to hold plane, luckily a bunch of us would have missed it and they would have lost money flying a nearly empty aircraft. Total PITA and massive stress.

Mom passed away last Saturday and I had to fly up for the funeral. Return flight - no pilot available so flight was delayed and no connecting flight available to my hometown until the next day. Had them change to a different city 83 miles away and my wife picked me up. They agent assured me that my bag would go to my hometown as it was originally checked to go.

Guess who gets to drive 166 miles to get his bag today? By the way, don't think its possible to talk to a person at American Airlines.

I'm done. I will fly for work if I cannot avoid it, or overseas. Otherwise, I will drive 2000 miles before my ass sits in another airplane seat.

Just ranting. It beats glaring at my dog...

Andy

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Traveling is getting worse and worse. Definitely, the customer service is going down and they are trying for shooting use more automated stuff and their app I travel a fair amount, and I never, ever, check a bag unless I’m carrying a firearm. I can do three weeks with legit, legal carry-on. Obviously doing some laundry along the way. I fly enough that when things go sideways, United takes pretty good care of me. I also stopped trying to understand it, and getting mad at it, about 10 years ago. Once you realize nothing makes sense and that space and time and distance are all Variable, when it comes to airline travel, then it becomes less painful. that and knowing when to buck the system, and when just to ride along. Zig and zag at the wrong times in their systems and it can screw you over. A broken hazard light on a return business trip the day before a family vacation almost totally screwed it up. I literally went through plans A through D, which was buying another ticket on Southwest. That was back in the middle of Covid before I had my status back with United. It worked out, but that was a stressful evening. and once I had to do my own version of planes, trains and automobiles across Germany.

[StainlessSteelRat]

Yes, flying is a PITA, especially if you're old enough to remember walking right onto a plane without feeling like you're getting booked into jail. As FMCDH said, the single best thing I did was to stop checking a bag unless absolutely necessary. I have a roller with wide handle and a 511 shoulder bag that slides right on it through a web strap, super easy to use. I can easily carry a week plus of stuff w/o having to do laundry. After United lost my bags 3 trips in a row some years ago, I said no more of this garbage. These days I don't have to fly much, thank God.

[ViniVidivici]

Yeah I remember flying regularly with a pocket knife, and NOT standing in lines for hours.

Forget flying in clown world. It's a joke.

[Sidneyious]

I really got tired of flying when I had to travel for work and will normally drive. This year I had no choice. Two trips - two headaches.

My Mom was hospitalized in January and my wife and I flew up. Return flight - bad weather, flight delayed overnight. Not the airline's fault, out of pocket for a hotel. Delayed at first of two connections, airline had to hold plane, luckily a bunch of us would have missed it and they would have lost money flying a nearly empty aircraft. Total PITA and massive stress.

Mom passed away last Saturday and I had to fly up for the funeral. Return flight - no pilot available so flight was delayed and no connecting flight available to my hometown until the next day. Had them change to a different city 83 miles away and my wife picked me up. They agent assured me that my bag would go to my hometown as it was originally checked to go.

Guess who gets to drive 166 miles to get his bag today? By the way, don't think its possible to talk to a person at American Airlines.

I'm done. I will fly for work if I cannot avoid it, or overseas. Otherwise, I will drive 2000 miles before my ass sits in another airplane seat.

Just ranting. It beats glaring at my dog...

Andy

sucks to hear
--
I dont know, something happened in 2019 and I cant put my finger on it.

[Averageman]

Yeah I remember flying regularly with a pocket knife, and NOT standing in lines for hours.

Forget flying in clown world. It's a joke.

And I remember smoking on flights

[kerplode]

Yeah, agreed...Every aspect of it is terrible. From the busted-down garbage heaps that count as "airports" these days, to the shitty airlines and their shitty employees, and especially the overly entitled sociopathic narcist hot-garbage-waste-of-oxygen average other travelers and their free-range shit children. I hate it. All of it. If I never have to get inside another commercial airliner it'll be too soon.

[AKjeff]

One of the best parts of retiring was I don't have to fly anymore.
It was bad enough after 9/11, Covid just made it downright stupid.

There are parts of Europe I'd like to see but not enough to get on a plane.

I have enough frequent flyer miles for a few free tickets but it's not worth it.

[utahjeepr]

One of the best parts of retiring was I don't have to fly anymore.
It was bad enough after 9/11, Covid just made it downright stupid.

There are parts of Europe I'd like to see but not enough to get on a plane.

I have enough frequent flyer miles for a few free tickets but it's not worth it.

Flying DURING covid was great. No lines, planes were freaking empty. It was like flying private charter only with really shitty service. I got a pic of security at DEN from back then. Just 6-7 TSA folks waiting for anyone to show up. I can't believe the airlines didn't just close up shop, but it worked for me. I was flying every week at the time.

But overall, it's become Air Greyhound these days. It's kind of a shitshow. I drive for biz more than I fly these days if it's possible. Put 100k on the company truck in the past year.

[titsonritz]

I won't do it. **** those cunts, they have lost my business forever. Not to mention it will only by a matter of time before their current woke equity hiring practices will have planes falling out of the sky.