Comments on: Why I Hate Air Travel: O’Hell Airport

By: Doug in Exile

Doug in Exile — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 21:47:47 +0000

Where’s Micro$oft Rail when you need it…? It’s a good thing I’m not electable!

By: jim

jim — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 03:23:56 +0000

You can thank Tricky Dick Nixon for the decline of rail service as he gave priority to freight over people

By: Doug in Exile

Doug in Exile — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 18:52:24 +0000

I don’t travel much any more, thank God, but I did discover this year that Delta has replaced their 737/757/767 aircraft on the Zion to Seattle run with Canadair RJs. If you haven’t had the experience of flying on one, I suggest that you start making your reservations WAY in advance if there’s any hint that your favorite airline uses them. It turns out that the seating for 50 or 70 (depends on the model) really refers to dwarf trolls rather than actual homo sapiens. If you happen to be one of the latter, there are only about 20 actual “comfortable” seats on the plane, those being the seats on the aisle. Sitting in a windows seat will get you permanent sideways curvature of the spine by the time you’ve reached the active runway. Just think of it as the reward that awaits you after enduring the security check.

And WHY, with so much evidence to the contrary, does the FAA still maintain, and the aircraft interior designers believe, that the average human weighs 170 pounds? “Dude” is much closer to the average, and that leaves, by any math you choose, 80 surplus fanny-pounds to cram into that narrow little space between the armrests! Try holding your Coke on the tray table that sits at a 45 degree angle no matter how much you suck it in…..

Now, just for grins, go take the Coast Starlight Acela train from Seattle to Portland. Compare the two, wonder why rail service is headed for the same destination as our vanishing civil rights, and marvel at the beautiful symmetry of it all.

By: Claire

Claire — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 01:30:16 +0000

I wrote a report on using a shower cap over my helmet, discussing effectiveness, noise and dweeb factor. Please find the post here: http://tinyurl.com/dtcn6.

By: woodstock

woodstock — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 22:23:17 +0000

Wow….just…wow. Nothing like having to deal with airlines to make you insane. Take comfort in the fact that the farther away from DC you are the better TSA operates. ;-)

By: jim

jim — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 07:53:03 +0000

Ooh, I didn’t realize shower caps were useful for that purpose. All this time I’ve just been leaving them sit on the counter for the next guest. Well, with my trip to Reno on Monday, that will change!

By: John

John — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 17:08:30 +0000

For me, the best part of travelling is getting the free shower caps in the hotel rooms. They make great bicycle seat covers on damp days!

By: John

John — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 12:31:24 +0000

10 years ago, one of the triggering events that got me to quit smoking was what I called the “death run” through O’Hare. Arriving late on flight “A”, I was instructed to “run” to catch flight “B”, in another terminal accessed via a tunnel. The flashing lights and echoing sounds as I loped along in my suit, combined with the self-flagellation provided by my laptop bag and my lack of oxygen capacity had me firmly believing I’d be triggering that $255 death benefit.

I made it, only to be informed that flight “B” would be taking off an hour late.

By: susan dennis

susan dennis — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 01:03:19 +0000

Add 40 minutes to retrieve luggage and the half-hour drive home, and I know everyone’s going to be cranky.

Hell, I’m cranky already just reading about all of this! I’m thinking agoraphobia has an up side.

By: jim

jim — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 23:39:06 +0000

Great… fifth phone call and the system is now saying the flight is “On Time” even though it’s really scheduled to arrive nearly “two hours later.”

Add 40 minutes to retrieve luggage and the half-hour drive home, and I know everyone’s going to be cranky.

By: jim

jim — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 22:00:23 +0000

In the “mixed blessing” department, the American Airlines’phone notification system seems to be working. It’s called me three times to update me on the most recent delays and gate changes.