I have been reinforcing my decision to never again fly in an airplane.

[BehindBlueI's]

I will put you donwn as comfortable being herded like cattle, ran through chutes like cattle, being stalled like cattle. Has nothing to to do with “soft”. Most of us here were born and raised with lots of personal space, I cannot think of much of anything I have done that my personal space is so violated.

Some are good with no personal space, I treasure it, but I can assure you, it is not soft…

The Army transported me in a *literal* cattle car. I've lived in pretty tight quarters and showered nearly nuts to butts with some of my closest pals in uniform, so I'm not real sure you're hyperbolic notions of an airport match up to what I consider personal space needs. I have to admit this is one of the funniest posts you've made, I'm legitimately laughing at the notion that anyone who functions in modern society could view the airport experience as one vaguely like cattle.

1) I check in at a desk, kiosk, or just on my phone without human interaction depending on airline and luggage needs.
2) I go through security. I try to look super cute and molestable. I get ignored because I'm unloveable.
3) I go to a lounge or restaurant. Pull out my handy dandy lounge pass and eat and drink for free. Depending on the lounge I can get one "perk" like a cot or a massage, but generally don't.
4) Get a notice to my phone boarding will start soon.
5) Go to my gate, show a ticket, get on plane.
6) International flights tend to have decent meals. Domestic flights, meh. Which is why you eat at the lounge.
7) Get whisked through the sky as I read a book or watch television/movies in a magical metal tube that takes you to places in hours that not terribly long ago in human history took days/weeks/months to get to.

I can't imagine passing up the opportunity to see all this world has to offer because "But somebody may get close to me." or "I'll have to stand in a line." Do you panic in the grocery store line? If you're legitimately claustrophobic or have some mental aberration then I apologize. If not:

 

[Ingomike]

The Army transported me in a *literal* cattle car. I've lived in pretty tight quarters and showered nearly nuts to butts with some of my closest pals in uniform, so I'm not real sure you're hyperbolic notions of an airport match up to what I consider personal space needs. I have to admit this is one of the funniest posts you've made, I'm legitimately laughing at the notion that anyone who functions in modern society could view the airport experience as one vaguely like cattle.

1) I check in at a desk, kiosk, or just on my phone without human interaction depending on airline and luggage needs.
2) I go through security. I try to look super cute and molestable. I get ignored because I'm unloveable.
3) I go to a lounge or restaurant. Pull out my handy dandy lounge pass and eat and drink for free. Depending on the lounge I can get one "perk" like a cot or a massage, but generally don't.
4) Get a notice to my phone boarding will start soon.
5) Go to my gate, show a ticket, get on plane.
6) International flights tend to have decent meals. Domestic flights, meh. Which is why you eat at the lounge.
7) Get whisked through the sky as I read a book or watch television/movies in a magical metal tube that takes you to places in hours that not terribly long ago in human history took days/weeks/months to get to.

I can't imagine passing up the opportunity to see all this world has to offer because "But somebody may get close to me." or "I'll have to stand in a line." Do you panic in the grocery store line? If you're legitimately claustrophobic or have some mental aberration then I apologize. If not:

Glad you enjoy all of that. I do not. I do travel and enjoy seeing incredible things but the hassle of travel saps some of that joy. I have followed many of your travel posts and you are in your own league of travel. I do not have all those perks that you have earned and have available and likely will not.

To me the funny thing is those that do not understand that many do not like the travel experience…

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Glad you enjoy all of that. I do not. I do travel and enjoy seeing incredible things but the hassle of travel saps some of that joy. I have followed many of your travel posts and you are in your own league of travel. I do not have all those perks that you have earned and have available and likely will not.

To me the funny thing is those that do not understand that many do not like the travel experience…

There's a huge difference between "I don't want to do that" vs "it might be uncomfortable so I forego doing it." I don't want to take a cruise because I don't think it's my kind of fun and like more freedom in my agenda. It's not soft to say "I don't want to go on a cruise." If I wanted to go on a cruise but "I might get hurt" stops me or "I might get seasick" or whatever, that's 10-ply soft.

It's all mindset. If you think it sucks, it sucks. I sit in the aisle seat because my wife gets cranky when people bump into her. I get it's a tight space, I may bump someone, someone may bump me. I hope one day Sofia Vergara is flying incognito in my section and bumps me as she goes by. Now it's not an inconvenience, it's something to look forward to. People bumping me doesn't bother me in the slightest because why would it? I'm not going to remember a non-Vergara hip that brushes me, but I'll remember something like the Sagrada Familia forever.

But yeah, sometimes it sucks. Sometimes I get irritated or cranky as well. I then get over it and enjoy the experience anyway. Being soft is demanding to be in your comfort zone at all times and missing out on things you would otherwise enjoy out of fear. I'm not worried about being uncomfortable, I'm worried about missing out on things before I lose the ability I have to enjoy them.

The perks help, but I didn't start with them and still enjoyed my experiences. The lounge access makes my wife more comfortable and makes it cheaper, plus it does make me feel a little more "special" and elevates the experience. Getting through lines faster is always more betterer.

 

[Ingomike]

There's a huge difference between "I don't want to do that" vs "it might be uncomfortable so I forego doing it." I don't want to take a cruise because I don't think it's my kind of fun and like more freedom in my agenda. It's not soft to say "I don't want to go on a cruise." If I wanted to go on a cruise but "I might get hurt" stops me or "I might get seasick" or whatever, that's 10-ply soft.

It's all mindset. If you think it sucks, it sucks. I sit in the aisle seat because my wife gets cranky when people bump into her. I get it's a tight space, I may bump someone, someone may bump me. I hope one day Sofia Vergara is flying incognito in my section and bumps me as she goes by. Now it's not an inconvenience, it's something to look forward to. People bumping me doesn't bother me in the slightest because why would it? I'm not going to remember a non-Vergara hip that brushes me, but I'll remember something like the Sagrada Familia forever.

But yeah, sometimes it sucks. Sometimes I get irritated or cranky as well. I then get over it and enjoy the experience anyway. Being soft is demanding to be in your comfort zone at all times and missing out on things you would otherwise enjoy out of fear. I'm not worried about being uncomfortable, I'm worried about missing out on things before I lose the ability I have to enjoy them.

The perks help, but I didn't start with them and still enjoyed my experiences. The lounge access makes my wife more comfortable and makes it cheaper, plus it does make me feel a little more "special" and elevates the experience. Getting through lines faster is always more betterer.

The thing is very few working folks can see it all in their lifetime. There is so much to see in this country that international travel is not required to see awesome sights and places and if one does not like the flight experience great road trips can be incredible.

At this point in my life I strategize to avoid crowds. I have long lived by the adage to zag when everyone else is zigging.

 

[Basher]

That’s OK OP, airplanes are for suckas anyway. All the cool kids fly helicopters.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The thing is very few working folks can see it all in their lifetime. There is so much to see in this country that international travel is not required to see awesome sights and places and if one does not like the flight experience great road trips can be incredible.

At this point in my life I strategize to avoid crowds. I have long lived by the adage to zag when everyone else is zigging.

Nobody can see it all, period. We'll run out of time or money or both. But travel abroad is different in that it's not just awesome sights, it's an experience to see and feel a different culture. You either appreciate it or you learn to appreciate what you have back home more, often some of each. There's nowhere in the US that you can feel the weight of Western history like you can in Europe, where a bank may be older than your home country. There's a very distinct feeling to walking a Crusader castle, just like there's a very distinct feeling to walking a gurney that astronauts used to board their craft for Apollo missions, but they are different and I enjoy both. To see the land Moses walked, to touch a stone a mason laid thousands of years ago, to see the blend of everyday and exceptional in crafts of antiquity? I'll deal with some discomfort to do that.

I live by the adage I do what I want. If others are doing it, fine, if they aren't, fine. I'll travel in the off season to better enjoy the sights and take advantage of deals, but what's on trend or not is irrelevant to me.

 

[Denny347]

Huh.

I couldn't do my job without air travel.

"Don't distract me with statistics" = "I gave in to appeal-to-emotion logical fallacy."

The world is a tiny place if you never flew anywhere. I don't understand this lack of logic.

 

[bobzilla]

I know we can’t see it all. But I want to see as much as I can. I’ve been blessed as a child to have gotten to travel the US with the folks. Every state, almost every major national park. A lot of things that just don’t exist anymore. Now I want to see more things. Experience more things. I am not going to be deterred by minor inconveniences such as air travel. It’s a tool to get me to where I want to be.

 

[bobzilla]

The world is a tiny place if you never flew anywhere. I don't understand this lack of logic.

I think the more we travel the smaller the world becomes anyway. Running into people thousands of miles from home that you didn’t expect to drives that home.

 

[JCSR]

Just because she has tattoos doesn't mean she's a pig!

 

[tim87tr]

American Airlines. Most pilots are injected. Is this a concern?

Pilot Dies Suddenly After Suffering Medical Emergency Shortly After Takeoff from Chicago Airport

"An American Airlines flight was forced to return to its take-off location after the aircraft’s pilot suffered a medical emergency in-flight. 'We need to return. Captain is incapacitated,' the aircraf

rumble.com

You are being redirected...

rairfoundation.com

 

[avboiler11]

American Airlines. Most pilots are injected. Is this a concern?

No, no it isn't.

 

[88E30M50]

LOVE that series, by the way

If you need further reinforcement, consider that quite a few of the top code share airlines, the ones running smaller aircraft under [airline name] express banners, are experiencing a pilot shortage

Where once a pilot would have needed 1200 - 1500 hours and an ATP just to get in the left seat, they are currently offering $100,000 signing bonuses and accepting total time as low as 950 hours as long as it was accumulated in part 121 operations (scheduled air service). Someone operating a fixed gear, single engine turbo prop 4 to 6 hours per night, 4 days per week, for a freight company contracted to UPS or FedEx or USPS could hit that mark in a bit more than 6 to 9 months assuming 300 hours when they started

It will be explained that those pilots will go into the right seat/copilot position, what won't be mentioned is that relatively low time co-pilots will be promoted to captain under that plan. Imagine if that Envoy 175 out of ORD, where the pilot dropped dead just after takeoff from a very busy congested airport, had had a low time co-pilot in the right seat who was new to that aircraft rather than an experienced check airman

If you have watched a lot of those episodes, you will have seen how unfamiliarity with an aircraft's systems so often prevents recognition of the real problem until it is too late or pilot fatigue and overwork dulls their intelligence to the same effect

You will not hear those code share airlines mention that copilot pay was so low in some cases ($18-19000 per year to start) that people just starting out in were living out of their vehicles in domiciles with high cost of living and many pilots lost interest in starting out in those seats, nor will you hear about how ruthless the majors were in wringing every drop of financial concession out of their junior partners and thus being arguably the root cause of the problem

Rant = off

Your info might be off a bit. My son is a co-pilot at a feeder airline and even the part 121 operation requires 1500 hours to make it to the left seat of a ten passenger commuter plane. There is not big money in flying at the entry level.

Getting into flying is incredibly expensive and when a pilot gets to 500 hours and can occupy the co-pilot seat of a Cessna or Tecnam, he or she has upwards of $90k invested, only to start earning less than $19 an hour salaried. This, for a workday that starts at 6am with often not getting back to a tiny apartment until near 7pm after 3 round trips into ORD.

By the time my son gets to the smaller regional airlines, he'll have somewhere around 2500 hours. Nobody is handing these guys huge chunks of cash. They are doing a job they love and that they take incredibly seriously for very little money to start.

/rant

 

[BugI02]

Your info might be off a bit. My son is a co-pilot at a feeder airline and even the part 121 operation requires 1500 hours to make it to the left seat of a ten passenger commuter plane. There is not big money in flying at the entry level.

Getting into flying is incredibly expensive and when a pilot gets to 500 hours and can occupy the co-pilot seat of a Cessna or Tecnam, he or she has upwards of $90k invested, only to start earning less than $19 an hour salaried. This, for a workday that starts at 6am with often not getting back to a tiny apartment until near 7pm after 3 round trips into ORD.

By the time my son gets to the smaller regional airlines, he'll have somewhere around 2500 hours. Nobody is handing these guys huge chunks of cash. They are doing a job they love and that they take incredibly seriously for very little money to start.

/rant

Tecnams? 3 trips to ORD?

Is he flying out of Manistee?

When I hung up my spurs I had just a hair shy of 900 hours

 

[BehindBlueI's]

American Airlines. Most pilots are injected. Is this a concern?

Pilot Dies Suddenly After Suffering Medical Emergency Shortly After Takeoff from Chicago Airport

"An American Airlines flight was forced to return to its take-off location after the aircraft’s pilot suffered a medical emergency in-flight. 'We need to return. Captain is incapacitated,' the aircraf

rumble.com

You are being redirected...

rairfoundation.com

Without even getting into the "injected" debate: Commercial flights have co-pilots because people can become incapacitated. I'm just hoping my pilot didn't just find out his/her spouse is cheating on them, the mortgage is 3 months past due, and last night's blackjack game didn't save the day.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I'm heading out to be herded into a flaming death sky tube after, with any luck, a good probing, this evening.

 

[bobzilla]

I'm heading out to be herded into a flaming death sky tube after, with any luck, a good probing, this evening.

We have 3 more weeks before we do the same. But the big island isn't going to come to me so....

 

[HoughMade]

Gotta be honest- I am looking forward to flying on a regular basis again.

Pre- [virus which shall not be uttered], I did 6 to 10 flights a year all over the country for work (mostly to the coasts). While airports are usually no fun, I liked flying and seeing new places, or even old places I haven't seen in a while. I'm a big fan of New York and Boston. Less so, L.A., but San Diego....oh yeah.

Unfortunately, some lawyers and insurance companies found out we can do a passable job of litigating using Zoom and such...which is cheaper. Not as good, but from their perspective, good enough and cheaper.

I even look fondly upon my personal "planes, trains and automobiles" adventure from 2017 where my 11pm flight from LaGuardia was cancelled and I had to get myself to Islip for a very early flight...just for the privilege to fly to Baltimore and wait 2 hours on a flight to Chicago.

A conservative guy having to traverse Queens and Long Island unarmed from midnight to 4am.....go figure.

Anyhoo, commercial air travel gets me where I need to go and I have no intention of stopping....and somehow at 6'3" and 220#, even the cheap seats work when necessary. It's a matter of attitude.

 

[Ingomike]

I'm a big fan of New York and Boston.

Another thing I do not enjoy anymore, major cities.

 

[Ingomike]

An interesting anecdote here, those fed up with travel are a different age than those that love it. 20 years ago my comments would have been different.