Flying: Things that irk me.

guitargeek62

Planes are loud enough regardless of other passengers, protect your ears and wear earplugs or noise cancelling headphones for the duration.

jonnyburgo

You sound like my father in law when he’s in my car

Fishboy7

Tannin said:

stickyfiddle said:

- dickheads who don’t know what their bag looks like, or bought a plain black bag and didn’t put a colourful ribbon or lock or baggage strap on it and have to check every single black bag

This. I went out of my way to find the ugliest, worst-possible-colour suitcase I could find. No-one has a case as ugly as mine. Works like a charm!

Agreed - I once had someone remove my bag from the conveyer and dump it on the floor on the opposite side.  I stood there and waited until every bag had been had been removed before I found it.  Twat !

Dannic

Dominic said:

Alcohol ......why ?
Had to get a 6a.m. flight a few days ago ....was through security by 5 a.m. for a meeting
Staggered to see hordes of people with huge pints of beer and shorts in front of them at that time of day
who gets up at home at 4.30 a.m. to drink a pint of lager ?
It's a grotesque image presumably owned by football shirted yobs going on a 'Lads Holiday ' but ,in fact , they only made up a small portion of the boozers ....plenty of middle-aged family parents ,men and women .....what's wrong with them ?
Is it some weird ritual because they happen to be on holiday , a boredom automatic reflex , or a desparate need for booze?
who can stomach that with their eyes only half open
It also seems to cause trouble/disruption
Breath Test at boarding gate gets my vote ......bit more lenient than a drink-driving test but no drunks on planes please

Absolutely agree. This has always bewildered me. I can’t even eat a light breakfast at that time of the morning let alone drinking alcohol and having a seat at that “wet fish” stall with the little conveyor belt. It’s enough to have me dry heaving as I have to walk past it to the departure gates. 

Offset

Emp_Fab said:

Fear of flying is completely irrational.

I'm not afraid of flying.  I'm afraid of crashing.

Fishboy7

I don't mind a bit of Vodka and Caviar in the morning actually 

boogieman

Roland said:

As an erstwhile frequent flier I hate airport food, much of which contain additives which make me ill. Redeeming factor is that sometimes there’s a non-chain food outlet. They’ve probably gone now, but Charles de Gaulle had an excellent pizzeria in the basement of the doughnut, and Milan Malpensa had somewhere serving freshly cooked food right at the top of the building land-side.

I also hate being forced to wend my way through that expensive shopping experience known as Duty Free.

Apart from that I like flying.

Duty free is pretty much a waste of time nowadays, unless you’re a drinker. Things like perfume, aftershave, sunglasses and watches are usually way cheaper through Amazon or high street shops. And I can’t believe the mark up on chocolate bars and sweets, it’s daylight robbery. 

We used to visit friends who lived in France fairly often, although they’re back in the UK now. At Limoges airport there was a nice scam going ..on the upper floor there’s a little shop where they sell jars of local honey. When you go through security on the ground floor the officers inform you that it’s illegal to take it on the plane and confiscate it. I swear it just gets taken straight back to the shop. 

dazzajl

I would have loved to travel in the days before tourism 

VimFuego

tell you one thing they should bring back, long distance airship travel. Now that'd be a fine way to get to Americay or Australia. Sure, may take a smidge longer, but what an experience. 

rlw

Offset said:

Emp_Fab said:

Fear of flying is completely irrational.

I'm not afraid of flying.  I'm afraid of crashing.

Quite.  Flying is cool but that 35000 feet fall to a horrible death, less so.

(A pyschotherapist I know considers it a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon your life and to consider the next stage).

Offset

VimFuego said:

tell you one thing they should bring back, long distance airship travel. Now that'd be a fine way to get to Americay or Australia. Sure, may take a smidge longer, but what an experience. 

An experience, certainly...

RobDavies

Dominic said:

Alcohol ......why ?
Had to get a 6a.m. flight a few days ago ....was through security by 5 a.m. for a meeting
Staggered to see hordes of people with huge pints of beer and shorts in front of them at that time of day
who gets up at home at 4.30 a.m. to drink a pint of lager ?
It's a grotesque image presumably owned by football shirted yobs going on a 'Lads Holiday ' but ,in fact , they only made up a small portion of the boozers ....plenty of middle-aged family parents ,men and women .....what's wrong with them ?
Is it some weird ritual because they happen to be on holiday , a boredom automatic reflex , or a desparate need for booze?
who can stomach that with their eyes only half open
It also seems to cause trouble/disruption
Breath Test at boarding gate gets my vote ......bit more lenient than a drink-driving test but no drunks on planes please

Gets a wis from me

I love a beer or two but never ever understood the need to immediately ‘get on it’ at the airport at 6am.  

As someone who works in the aviation industry, I have a fair amount of knowledge surrounding emergencies and in particular ‘passenger disruption’.   I’d estimate that 99% of passengers causing issues on an aircraft are intoxicated. 

Still, as long as the airports and airlines are making a few quid by selling alcohol, then who cares about passenger safety?

VimFuego

hey, they made a quick landing and didn't have a load of queuing at customs!!!

stickyfiddle

menamestom said:

I wonder why many people who get upset about noise, still fly without decent noice cancelling headphones. As soon as a I hear a kid screaming I pop in my Airpod Pro's, put some music on and forget about it.  

I did a few years around the Middle East as a consultant on & off planes most weeks. My life got materially better the day I got my first noise cancelling Bose. I don’t ever travel without a pair now 

Danny1969

I often have a beer on the way to the airport .... In 2018 there was 12 of us going to Tenerife to stay at a luxury villa for a week. Cracked the first beer in the wagon at 6:15 am 

Then again I used to work in a studio so am quite used to see'ing people drinking in the morning  

UnclePsychosis

I too am a nervous flyer but thankfully these days I have coping mechanisms that seem to work for me.

The stuff that really irks me about travelling these days isn't so much the flying, it's the airports, and specifically the other passengers.

I really, really detest rude, selfish behaviour and when you add other people's complete lack of spatial awareness into the mix then airports are like my own personal hell.

Things that really do trigger me

-twats crowding round the baggage carousel. If you all took two steps back then we could all see everything. Now nobody can see anything. 

-twats doing the same, but on the security conveyors 

-twats who repack on the security conveyor and get in everyone's way when there are tables for them to move to

-twats taking up extra seats in the departure lounge with their bags when there's people with nowhere to sit

-the insane price of food and lack of any decent options. Last night I paid 23 euros for two little vegetable salad pots and two fruit salads from Pret a Manger in Charles de Gaulle. Obscene. 

Timcito

Danny1969 said:

I don't think flying is statistically the safest form of transport. It might be on a per mile base but not on a per journey base. I mean I've never looked into it but I reckon that would be the case. 

The argument about flying being so safe is rather like the one about the slim likelihood of being bitten by a shark off the shores of South Florida. Sure, it probably won't happen, but if it does, it's really going to be nasty! 

Offset

Dominic said:

Alcohol ......why ?

Well... for me and Mrs O the reason is twofold.  It's the start of our holday and we like a couple of glasses of prosecco to celebrate.  We usually book a lounge at the airport (certainly before longhaul) so we can chill in comfort and relative peace so frankly, it's rude not to avail oneself of refreshments available :-).  The other reason is I'm a very nervous flier so a couple of glasses chills me out and usually ensures I sleep for a decent chunk of the flight.

All of that said, I've been on flights where people have been absolutely shitfaced and it isn't nice.  You'd like to think if someone was THAT pissed they'd be prevented from boarding but sadly, that seldom seems to be the case.

VimFuego

"All of that said, I've been on flights where people have been absolutely shitfaced and it isn't nice.  You'd like to think if someone was THAT pissed they'd be prevented from boarding but sadly, that seldom seems to be the case."

yeah, as pilots they really should know better.

stickyfiddle

@UnclePsychosis oh god yes all of that squared. 

And his help you if you have a dietary requirement. It’s a decking nightmare finding anything gluten free and half the time the flight people have forgotten to pack mine, or it’s just plain inedible. I usually bring my own food these days - makes life easier unless there’s a custom pre-clearance like from Abu Dhabi to the USA in which case you can’t take food on the plane