It’s 2010 and I am here to proclaim, Traveling is no longer glamorous!

Coming home from a recent trip to FL, I have made the following observations:

1. They will allow anyone on a plane.  Anyone.
2. Your seat number is NOT your gate number.  A female traveler was confused, as our gate was originally C-11, and was changed to C-9…thus she thought her seat also changed… yeah, not really…as the flight attendant had to indicate to her that Gate C-11 on her ticket, was the gate number, while Seat 25-A, was indeed her seat.  She looked confused.
3. Just about Every person from seat 12 and beyond, tried putting their carry on luggage above seats 1-8.   And they don’t take kindly when those around us make snide remarks.  You really need to put your bags near where you sit.
4. Why are dogs and cats allowed on plane, while peanuts are not?  If my son was on a plane next to a dog or cat, he would have the same horrible allergic reaction, as if sitting next to someone enjoying a snicker bar.  I love dogs, but I know Kevin and Patrick have very strong allergies to them, and not sure what I would do if one was in our row.
5. The most useful thing you can bring onto a plane is your shawl.  Our flight was Freezing, but I had my shawl to keep me warm.  I know many airlines sell blankets now for $5, but you would turn into a frozen ice cube while waiting for 38,000 feet while the flight attendants moved throughout the cabin selling their wares.
6. If you have a cold, with a nasty cough… please bring cough drops.  The sound of a hacking cough, while flying the friendly skies, really takes the fun out of air travel. 
7. If you get on an airplane, wearing a surgical mask… take it from me…every other passenger on that plane thinks you are afraid of each of our germs, and it’s not because you are cautious about sharing your germs with the remainder of the passengers.  The woman above really was terrified of just about everything…surgical mask, eye mask, and a pillow for good measure.  🙂
8. If you are friendly to the flight attendants, there is a good chance they will give you happy hour prices for the several small bottles of vodka you consume .  I have tested this theory numerous times.

9.  4/10 passengers do Sudoku Puzzles…and if you are sitting next to someone who likes sudoku’s, there’s a good chance they will attempt to help you solve your puzzle.

10.  If you have to go to the lavatory and the flight attendants are in the aisle, it’s not considered good form to ask them to move their cart to the back of the plane, 65 rows back.  Just sayin’.  And, why can’t the passengers in coach use the first class restroom, when the cart is in the aisle?  I’ve been in both first and coach restrooms…and the first bathrooms do not have an attendant handing out mints, hand cream, or hairspray.

11.   While we are dissing first class 🙂 , it is horribly cruel to serve first class passengers fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, while coach passengers are sitting in smelling distance.  And we thought waterboarding was harsh!

12 The boarding process should be an efficient, aggressive approach.  Lollygagging about exhibits poor behavior.  And if you are all of 80 pounds, don’t carry on a 50 LB bag, and expect others to help you hoist it above into the overhead.

13.  When you are de-planing, stepping over passengers in front of you declaring, “I have to catch a connecting flight”, does not give you Priority Access to getting off the plane…and furthermore, it’s really not a good idea to be seen at Wolfgang Puck’s, perusing the pizza collection while the passengers whom you knocked over, are walking by staring at you in utter disbelief!

14.  My favorite thing on an airplane is wi-fi!  It’s like I’m sitting on my couch at home checking my emails, my blog stats, Facebook, and shopping at Nordstrom or Abernook.com. 🙂

And this all recalls a time, this year when flying to Kansas City on American Airlines and the overhead compartment would not close properly, and you cannot take off  with an unstable overhead compartment…so they called the airline mechanic, and he fixed it.  I took a picture to remember that wonderful moment.  His first effort didn’t work,  and he just needed to apply more Duct tape…it really does fix everything. 🙂

Safe Travels,

xoxo

T.