How do People Tolerate Flying?

[brett]

I get tired of hearing the complaints. People expect a business class seat, a gourmet meal for the price of a budget seat. Commercial air consumers have shown time and time again that they value price above all else.

The choice is very straightforward. Pay more and fly in business class or pay less and accept the compromise. You get what you pay for. Exactly the same when you are shopping for any consumer item. The difference is that airfares are typically less expensive than they were years ago.

 

[Breedlove]

Kind of funny and something to think about . Every Sunday a group of us get together in Conroe Texas and just eat a nd laugh . One of the couples he was a career pilot for Continental and United ( EX Airforce ) ) . He flew 737s domestically , I asked him if he ever got really scared when he was a pilot . He said about every six months something would happen and he would have to resort to the best training he had . He said any pilot who says this is not true is full of .
We talked about the cold war and something I didn't know was as he was flying for the U S Airforce into West Berlin the East Berlin side would jam the radios and try to sucker them into the East Berlin . He had special training for this . He said later commercial pilots had a real problem with this . I appreciate those guys in the cockpit.

 

[TromboneAl]

Be careful of side effects. Remember "The Fly".

Or this:

 

[NoMoreJob]

I'll avoid flying however and whenever possible. I enjoy driving so fortunately have the time and flexibility to do that. Took a 3-week 5500 mile driving trip to the Midwest in July to visit family, friends, go to baseball games, see sites, etc. Our longest trip was 14,000+ miles and 27 states in 2+ months.

Not only is flying uncomfortable and no fun at all but it's also a health risk. I very seldom get sick...unless I fly.

 

[Scott_Howard]

I completely agree. Unless I’m forced to fly by my job, I’ll fly first class. And even if I fly for work, I’ll upgrade my ticket if I can.

 

[Koolau]

I hate the flying experience. The lines. The TSA. The crowding. The noise. The uncomfortable seats. The inconsiderate passengers (and crew). I could go on for another 10 minutes. If I can drive, I'll avoid flying. Unfortunately, getting to Hawaii is difficult without flying.

Now here's something that helped me a bit with my aversion to air travel: Mark Twain loved the Islands. IIRC he was only able to get there one time (and that was on assignment so not first class travel.) Had he decided to travel back to Hawaii in his later life, here is what he would have had to do (keep in mind SC was a "rich" man by this time so he would have traveled "first class"):

1. Take the train from Hartford or NYC to SF. Wild guess a week or more.
2. Take a steamer to the Islands. Wild guess more than a week.

Now, it's possible that SC enjoyed the first class experience, but I would NOT enjoy spending that kind of time getting someplace - even if in luxury.

Now, I just figure I'm going to spend one day of my life in some level of misery to travel the 5000 miles required to get back to my adopted home in Paradise.

Full disclosure, I'm sure we could afford to fly FC or Bus, but when the time comes to get tickets, we just can't pull the trigger and spend 2 or 3 times as much for the convenience. After all, it's still a miserable experience - just less so when you fly FC. YMMV

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I'll avoid flying however and whenever possible. I enjoy driving so fortunately have the time and flexibility to do that. Took a 3-week 5500 mile driving trip to the Midwest in July to visit family, friends, go to baseball games, see sites, etc. Our longest trip was 14,000+ miles and 27 states in 2+ months.

Not only is flying uncomfortable and no fun at all but it's also a health risk. I very seldom get sick...unless I fly.

A visiting house guest once had a blood clot from a long plane flight. I had always read about that as a possibility with plane travel but it seems more real after taking someone to the ER. I had play tickets this week and then canceled when I saw the play was 4 hours long with a five minute intermission. That just didn't seem healthy to sit that long. At least on a plane you can get up and walk around but not during a play.