How do People Tolerate Flying?

I don't love flying but I don't find it intolerable, and I want to go places that I wouldn't be able get to otherwise. It's a voluntary activity and I really have to laugh at the level of torture some people here see it as. Don't do things that you hate that much.

I remind myself that it's only X number of hours out of my life, I wear compression socks, and I take a couple of good books. If there's an upgrade offered that will add less than the cost of the original coach ticket I've already paid for, I'm in. If not, I try to keep the unpleasantness in perspective.
 
marko said:
Depends on when and where you're planning to fly from. $8K for BC to Paris is steep. We generally pay about $3500 each RT from Boston to Paris/Europe but you do have to be careful about what days you fly. Being RE'd implies some flexibility with dates. Last week I saw a FC flight from Boston to Barcelona for $17K!

Buying way ahead of time works; mid-week flights are sometimes cheaper; combining an economy ticket with miles works too.
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A trick my Dad and I stumbled into: We were flying Seattle<>Dubai on Emirates, and he wanted to upgrade to BC from coach. So we called, and it was way too expensive ($7K per seat one way IIRC), said no thanks and hung up. Repeated the call a week later, same deal.

Lo and behold, about a week before the flight we get a "special offer" to upgrade to BC for $1K per seat one way. Yes, please!

Did a similar thing on the return trip.

They probably don't want a BC seat to be empty on a flight, so my theory is that if there's an empty one, they'll offer to sell upgrades to coach flyers. I'm guessing that by calling and inquiring, it may get you on the list to receive the offer.
 
braumeister said:
Nah, too plebeian.

Transporter beams are my favorite way to travel.
View attachment 29392
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Be careful of side effects. Remember "The Fly".

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mpeirce said:
Once was on a plane flying from one African country to another and they sprayed the interior of the plane with pesticide while we were all in our seats.

Apparently flights to Hawaii occasionally do this (or used to). So there you go...
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MRG said:
Time I came back from South Africa we were all disinfected with some spray.
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braumeister said:
Spraying the interior of the aircraft with bug spray before letting the passengers off was always routine for military flights landing in a different country from where they originated. One of our many benefits. :facepalm:
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It is really difficult to please people. You give them a free delousing, and they complain.
 
NW-Bound said:
It is really difficult to please people. You give them a free delousing, and they complain.
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LOL!

I've experienced this on flights between London and India. I hate it- who knows what's in that crap they spray, what its effects are on humans, and how effective it really is? Does it get any critters hidden in the folds of your clothing, or in your checked bags? And it makes no sense to me that we get sprayed on arrival in India- seems more like retribution. What cooties might haven landed on us in London in the middle of winter that are dangerous to the crops in India?
 
That would give me a asthma attack. How awful!
 
audreyh1 said:
They already charge extra for the seats up at the front of the economy cabin - those are the economy plus seats.
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I flew to Paris a few weeks ago, on Air France (a Delta code share flight) on one of these extra charge seats in the economy cabin, row 29. As I proferred my ticket confirmation prior to boarding, without batting an eye, the agent tore it and handed me a new seat assignment....in the absolute last row, 59! I said something to her about having paid 'something' for my original seat. She just ignored me and motioned me to move onto the jetway.
This action further deepened my displeasure with the new scheme of things wrt flying

omni
 
Omni, I would have asked for a supervisor. The last time I did that at the airport I got what I wanted because she just wanted me to go away quietly.
 
omni550 said:
without batting an eye, the agent tore it and handed me a new seat assignment....in the absolute last row, 59! I said something to her about having paid 'something' for my original seat. She just ignored me and motioned me to move onto the jetway.
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I can't even imagine putting up with treatment like that. I would have stood my ground and held up the boarding process.

Another thought: Much of the time I use the boarding pass on my phone instead of one on paper. Much harder to tear up.
 
So... some other stories from the distant pass.

One day round trip to Oakland from Chicago to deliver a presentation to a group of about 150 and come back the same day. Briefcase, but no luggage... Sitting next to a lady with a small baby... just before we landed, she held the baby on her shoulder (shoulder next to me) to "burp" him. Yes you guessed it... a half gallon of vomit down the side of my suit, into the handkerchief pocket, and on my tie and shirt.

Funny... that was nearly 30 years ago, and I can't remember how I got out of that one. :blush:
 
athena53 said:
... And it makes no sense to me that we get sprayed on arrival in India- seems more like retribution. What cooties might haven landed on us in London in the middle of winter that are dangerous to the crops in India?
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Do airplanes arriving from India to other countries get sprayed? If so, it may be a retribution.

I remember a few years ago there was a spat between the US and India about something. My aunt was going on a world cruise with a stop in India. Her visa was held up, and she thought it was related to that spat.

When the date of departure approached, she had to fly to the consulate in SF to inquire about it personally, and to get it moved along.
 
NW-Bound said:
Do airplanes arriving from India to other countries get sprayed? If so, it may be a retribution.
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Got sprayed, out and back, at Dakar, Senegal....didn't ask why.
 
We wintered six years in AZ, three in an RV and three renting a house. Nearest airport was about 175 miles away, it was a three day driving trip each year just to get there. We bought a house last winter, even changing our location so we could be near an airport. The cheapest we could drive was $500 each way. We now can both fly round trip for $500 and be there in 2.5 hours. Yes, it's a budget airline with direct flights. Yes, we're packed in like sardines, but it beats the three day drive hands down. We can book a larger airplane that would have more room, but not a direct flight, double the cost and multiple flights making the trip much longer than 2.5 hours.
 
omni550 said:
I flew to Paris a few weeks ago, on Air France (a Delta code share flight) on one of these extra charge seats in the economy cabin, row 29. As I proferred my ticket confirmation prior to boarding, without batting an eye, the agent tore it and handed me a new seat assignment....in the absolute last row, 59! I said something to her about having paid 'something' for my original seat. She just ignored me and motioned me to move onto the jetway.
This action further deepened my displeasure with the new scheme of things wrt flying

omni
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On a delta flight to Buffalo they tore up my ticket but gave me an upgrade .
 
I flew for years for work and now I can't stand to fly. The only relief is that I have accumulated about 800,000 miles and 1 million Amex points that I have been saving for retirement. I am going first class to Rome in the late fall and then cruising back from Rome for 14 days. I would rather cruise there than fly. Thinking about a cruise from Los Angeles to Bora Bora and back. No air flight!
 
SecondCor521 said:
A trick my Dad and I stumbled into: We were flying Seattle<>Dubai on Emirates, and he wanted to upgrade to BC from coach. So we called, and it was way too expensive ($7K per seat one way IIRC), said no thanks and hung up. Repeated the call a week later, same deal.

Lo and behold, about a week before the flight we get a "special offer" to upgrade to BC for $1K per seat one way. Yes, please!

Did a similar thing on the return trip.

They probably don't want a BC seat to be empty on a flight, so my theory is that if there's an empty one, they'll offer to sell upgrades to coach flyers. I'm guessing that by calling and inquiring, it may get you on the list to receive the offer.
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Several times (overseas flights), when I went to the kiosk to check in, I was given the option to upgrade to FC for $400-$1K depending on the flight. I always declined and was always upgraded. They over sold coach and had to kick the highest status coach pax to the pointy end. Sometimes, having FF status had unexpected perks. :D
 
Just did a trip from Oregon to Halifax. Multiple connections, but on the trip back in Boston they asked if anyone would check their carry on bags for free! We did, which was a bit of luck, as we landed in Minneapolis with no spare minutes. Had to run (but with just our underseat bags) from one end of the airport around and dow and up to another leg of the terminal. They re-opened the passageway and let us on the plane and we left like 15 minutes behind schedule. Got to Portland and one of our Boston checked bags did as well. The other, full of dirty laundry, was delivered to our door, 70 some miles from the airport, at 3 the next day. Luxury!
 
Where we live, your only options for getting out are by ferry and a couple days drive (just to get to a starting point), or plane. So we end up flying a lot. We found that flying FC on flights longer than 3 hours makes it more tolerable and use of lounges reduces stress while waiting for the next flight. Elite status with FF programs have been useful for keeping costs lower and the occasional upgrade is nice. We do end up enjoying our time between trips.

Currently, we flew down to watch our youngest defend his thesis for his PhD (he passed, yeah!). We’ll be driving his car from the Midwest to the Westcoast while he stays a month to finish some research. This will be DW’s first adult long driving trip, so we’ll find out if there will be any more in our future.
 
Bestwifeever said:
I don't love flying but I don't find it intolerable, and I want to go places that I wouldn't be able get to otherwise. It's a voluntary activity and I really have to laugh at the level of torture some people here see it as. Don't do things that you hate that much.
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Yeah, peoples attitudes towards airlines are simply ridiculous. If you go by how people talk, you'd think these airlines were out in the city center executing children. I'm on multiple flights per week, it's not my favorite, but it's no big deal. Because I travel so much for work I'm obviously in first class most of the time so I get that my experience is not quite the norm, but still. The crud I see people pull on planes and in airports because they bought some $200 coach ticket is inexcusable. I've literally seen physical altercations break out over the overhead storage LOL.

I for one am glad air travel is as affordable and accessible as it is. Sure it has it's inconveniences, but the world has never been as available as it is to people right now. If flying is as much torture as people would have you believe, don't do it.
 
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