It sure isn't like it was with Delta last year during the big Covid distancing thing when NOBODY traveled. The planes these days are stuffed! An empty seat is rare on a lot of flights. A year ago you got an entire row to youself quite often. Now you're lucky to get either a window or aisle seat.
The class of people has dropped off also. With all the government money out there a lot of people that would have otherwise stayed home are taking to the skies. It shows.
I do the best I can to make sure I have a halfway decent seat as defined by no middle seats. I am at the point where I will pay extra NOT to get stuffed into a middle seat because if I am I always wind up being crammed into two real porkers. While I am no skinny minnie, I can fit into an airline seat and not pour into the seat next to mine. Truth is they ought to make some people either fly First Class or pay for two seats. It's unfair to the rest of us.
Often I see where there have been fights, brawls and other disorderly events in airports and even onboard aircraft. I have personally seen an unruly thug hauled off a plane in Chicago for fighting.
During Covid boarding and exiting was pretty good. Board from the rear, exit from the front. Now they have gone back to the zones system where you go according to whatever. It's a mess and if the company uses a corporate travel agency (and most do) I always find myself boarding last with all the cripples, dwarfs, hunchbacks, beggars and lepers.
It makes you want to panhandle the First Class people. "Alms! Alms for the poor! Alms!" I was on a plane once and before boarding I said that to some kid. He was with a traveling for school basketball team and told his buddies and they did just that. It was hilarious.
When a corporate agency sets up a flight sometimes connection times are incredibly tight and I've actually missed a flight because there was a fifteen minute delay at takeoff. I've skated in a few times at the last minute, too and twice I have been the last guy on the plane.
The flight I missed cost me 5 hours in Detroit which outright sucked. I figure an hour and fifteen minutes is about right and 2 hours is acceptable because you can make your connection without having to hurry too much. Especially if your connection is in Outer Mongolia somewhere across the airport. You may have to wait a bit but it's cheap insurance if the flight you are exiting has had any delays.
Anyway, besides being shoehorned in between two fat ladies that poured over onto me for five long hours. One of them spilled ginger ale on me. On top of all that I had a tight connection and none other than Two Ton Tessie up in an aisle just behind First Class decided that she was getting off.
Now let's see, now. Let's get her walker set up. Whoops! It has to be turned 90 degrees to make it fit in the aisle. Next we have to get her oxygen bottle set up.
Meanwhile the entire plane is waiting. Most of us had connections and things were tight for me. I was running late as we hit the tarmac 10 minutes late. I'm sure things were tight for many of us because of the delay.
Now somebody's got to get her carry on and her bag and arrange everything to be just so...
Thank God the attendant told her to sit down and wait until the plane was emptied. I don't think it was her idea, though. An angry voice announced loudly that the rest of us had connections to make. That's when the attendant took action. Admittedly she was somewhat caught between a rock and a hard place.
If Two Ton Tessie complained she would have to answer for it.
Needless to say, the higher ups would likely chastise an attendant for making a solid legitimate decision. This isn't restricted to the travel agency. It happens in businesses in general. I've had it happen to me over the years. Things like this can be explained but nobody wants to be called up on the carpet to explain, either.
The rest of us raced off the plane and ran for our connections. Mine ended up being like Indiana Jones jumping to avoid the chasm opening up underfoot and I raced to the next plane and got on as the last guy well after everyone else.
I looked at the attendant as I made my last minute leap and said, "My name is Dr. Jones. You can call me Indy. Master of the last minute swashbuckling save." as the door behind me closed almost hitting me in the ass. She was amused. I wasn't. I was mildly angry. I hate being late.
Needless to say, I had to hunt for a place to stow my carry-on and it was six or seven rows behind me. We were exiting front to rear and the most of the people were standing in their seats waiting. Some kind old soul pulled my bag out of the overhead and a couple of good people forwarded it to me. I exited the plane like a shot.
Air travel used to be fun and they took care of you. Now if you want something to eat you had best bring it with you. Airline meals are a thing of the past. Most of the time on the way home you can't even buy a damned drink. Here. Have some pretzels.
Throw Covid into the mess and it gets worse expoentially. Masks and panic as somebody coughs, fear of the dreaded disease and the fact that you are sitting in an aluminum tube shaped petri dish for hours and makes it even worse.
I loathe airline travel and the night before I have a damned hard time relaxing to get any sleep. Of course that makes the travel day worse...
So much for the glitz and glamor of the travel industry although I do have to admit that about 95% of the people in it are pretty good and make an honest effort to make things flow smoothly. I've had more than a few go the whole mile to make my trip, as boring and uncomfortable as it is, at least palatable and for that I'm grateful.
There are a lot of people in the industry that do a damned good job. They appear to have their hands tied by those upstairs running the show...as usual.
To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this:
http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY
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