The Art of Flying Part 3

After finishing my last posting about flying I realized that I forgot to talk about the actual flight.

Being on a plane is uncomfortable, unless you have the actual money to fly business or first class. Having flown to France in coach I highly recommend paying the extra money for that first class ticket. Trust me 12hrs in coach you are just about ready to jump out of your skin.

Yet I digress. Most people today don't check their bags, I know I don't. I don't want to pay the $15-$25 fee to check a bag. A fee that didn't used to be there. The problem with everyone bringing a suitcase on the plane is that these people don't pay attention to the appropriate size. Your bag should be able to fit straight in, without having to turn it around to make it fit. When you do that it takes up more room leaving less space for the next person.

But space isn't the only problem with carry on bags. The other problem is that some people take way to long to get in the over head compartment. I'm guessing there are about 400-600 people on a flight depending in the size of the plane. Now take that into consideration the next time you are trying to get your bag up there, being in your own little world holds up the entire line of people still trying to board the plane.

Back in August flying back to California from my school's orientation I had a lot of trouble getting the my suitcase in the over head bin. I luckily had the aisle seat so I moved out of the aisle holding my suitcase in the seat letting the people behind me go by. When it was clear I had a couple of guys help me fit it in the bin.

My point is just be conscious of where you are and of the rest of the people in the plane. The same goes for getting off the plane. I often end up getting a seat near the back of the plane, once I was in the very last row. As a result of being in the back I have to wait forever for the people in front of me to get grab their stuff and get out. But I honestly I think there is a no real way to get off the plane any faster except just try to get your bags as quickly as possible.

Also if you see a person trying to get his or her bag, get out of the way. The last couple of times I've flown I've had a bunch of people standing in the aisle in my way. I couldn't get my bag down without hitting anyone in the head. As a result I ended up holding people up by the time I could get my bag. Here's a tip if you see someone who is obviously trying to make a move in getting their bag before the line moves, try to get out of the way. Shift slightly or better yet stay in your seat. I know you are anxious to get out but trust me unless you are in the front of the plane you aren't going anywhere.

My other pet peeve is people who take forever to get their bags, why are you taking so long? Unless you have kids or are old and can't move as well as you used to then you have no excuse. Get it and get out.

When flying most of my flights have been pretty uneventful but there is still the occasional horror stories. My friends and my own mom who fly way more then me have twice as many stories. The biggest annoyance it is agreed upon is children! Children I've seen can either be really well behaved or really bad behaved. I once had a kid that would not shut up for the entire flight. It was a late night flight and almost 6hrs and I'll I wanted to do was try and sleep. But the Gods were against me and they burdened me with this child. I understand that a young kid is going to be excited to be flying but parents shut them up, PLEASE!

Another time the parents weren't paying any attention to their two kids who were just going crazy. One child kept running up and down the aisle, if he wasn't doing that then he was fighting with his sister over their video game. Finally my mom told the kids to sit down and shut up, the parents didn't take to kindly to that. But they had it coming. So parents you aren't at home you are on a flight with 400 other people.

The next thing that really pisses me off are people take up all the room possible on the seat. What I mean is that there have been a few times I could barely move without really bumping into the person next to me. I've often had people fall asleep and damn near have their heads on my shoulder. That's why I try to get a window or aisle seat a little more room. I once got stuck in the middle and the guy next to me in the aisle seat was doing paperwork or some sort of work. That didn't upset me, what pissed me off was when he fell asleep he didn't bother to put any of the work away. So here I am stuck in the middle can't move because the guy has is stuff everywhere and he fell asleep right when I had to go to the bathroom. I hate waking people up I always feel guilty. So I didn't, I held it until he finally woke up. 3 hours later.

One final complaint are people who put their seats back. I am almost 5'11'' so you can imagine how uncomfortable it can get. Couple that with someone putting their seats ALL the way back. I just lost about 10 inches of movable room. Not a lot but after 5hrs those few inches are very precious. You hate it when someone does it to you, so why would you do it. I think that if everyone put their seats back there wouldn't be a problem. But alas that will never happen. All I ask is that you remember that you have someone behind you and maybe not lean the chair all the way back.

When flying just think of all the things you hate that other people do on flights and try not to do it yourself.