It doesn't frighten me. I've had a couple of rough landings including the last one when I was convinced we had gone off the runway. I just put my faith in the professionals at the controls and trusted in them.
What I hate are the cramped gosh awful conditions when you're stuffed in like sardines and can't get comfortable while the child behind screams or kicks the back of your seat the whole flight and the woman in front keeps violently adjusting her seat back. Then there's the airports where there's nowhere to sit for the two hours you were told to be there before check in opens. And the often awful food. And having to pay for a seat. And people forcing the oversized bags that they've somehow got on board into the overhead storage crushing my bag. And everyone who walks passed me when I'm sat in the aisle seat whacking me. And when the plane has landed I hate people taking their seat belts off and standing up in the aisle knowing full well that no one is going to be able to move for another 5 minutes. And just the logistics and costs of getting to and from the airport and parking at the airport.
I hate it, all of it. I just can't imagine anyone enjoying this gosh awful process and experience. I hate it.
A few points,Alan. Well..I'll respond to
all your points because they are all valid and clearly resonate with you. They did make me smile, though.
Re putting your trust in the pilots. Not just the pilots but the manufacturer, too. Boeing has been accused of cutting corners and of having a toxic internal culture. When we first went with Tui I noted that the plane was a Boeing 737 Max 8 .As they had been grounded after a couple of crashes, I had faith that the auto-pilot problem had been resolved. It has.We've flown many times on that plane since the two crashes. Ethiopean Airlines and Lion Air.
An expert said this in an interview in relation to the Ethiopean Airways crash. He's saying that Boeing convinced those companies and National Carriers buying it that as the plane is so similar to the previous age-old 737 model that Boeing didn't need the expense of re-training the pilots. Ie More profit.
Investigators found faults by Boeing, Lion Air and the pilots led to the crash, which killed 189 people.
www.bbc.co.uk
The recent Ethiopian Airlines crash led to the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes across much of the globe. But as new details emerge about the cause of the model’s second crash within five months, questions are being raised about how the plane's safety was approved in the first place. John...
www.pbs.org
Expert said this in interview.
I mean, Boeing -- it is said that Boeing wanted to be able to say to customers, you don't need to retrain your pilots, because they wanted it to be cost-effective. They wanted it to be a fast changeover for these airlines.They basically tried to add these new fuel-efficient engines onto an aging airframe. The plane wasn't designed for this kind of engine. They had to sacrifice some flight characteristics in order to get it to work.
Ethiopean Airlines.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47553174
Lion Air
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50177788
Re airports. Because of the delay through biometrics they want you at the airport, not two hours, but three hours before take-off .It can be and often is very stressful; My wife hates it,too...but she loves the hotels we go to.
Onboard Food. We buy a sandwich to have on board .I see passengers with sandwiches they made at home.At Birmingham there's M&S..Greggs..Giraff.. Pret A Mnager. All sell good quality sandwiches. I love Greggs sausage rolls..
Seat surcharge. We pay £10-15 extra for seats so I know I have a full or at least 75% window view .. for photos.I have a list of those seat numbers and they are at the front so we get off quickly. Every time, passengers in the aisle have let us out . We book seats-1-8 excluding seat 6. Past 9 are over the wings. No good for getting photos of the Alps or Pyrenees or approaching landing. After the wings there's the engine exhaust causing a heat haze.I don't know how far back that travels..quite a way,I suspect.
Bag Overheads. I also wonder at the size of some carry-on. They do take a look when you book in you suitcases. I'm allowed my camera bag under the seat infront. Next April we're booked to Madeira and we could have had the first row but my wife helpfully pointed out, after I said 'great' that our hand luggage would have to go in the overhead because,of course, there is no seat infront to put them under. We booked row 2 seats A&B. We have small carry-on.
Getting whacked.. Yes..elbows...lol. Passengers going to and from the loo, especially people who haven't experienced a diet for years.
Children screaming . Yers but mainly babies. I've seen..rather 'heard'...lol.. 4 month old babies screaming for ages. The mum or dad take them on an aisle walk to the front,to the back and repeat until said baby falls asleep. I don't think taking a 4-6 month old on a flight is very sensible tbh. There's pressure to think of and a few other issues. Can you imagine being 16 weeks into this world and you are taken up a flight of steps into a metal tube, full of huge strangers and then squeezed into a seat with mum(usually) who then puts a belt across you and minutes later the tube makes a a lot of banging and a terrifying noise and is lifted into the air making you feel strange and your ears hurt. Why are mummy and daddy doing this to me ?
I want to go home..............
Seats eased back. Yes. That's really annoying and very selfish. The cabin staff need to look out for that. On our last flight the large man in the aisle seat infront let his seat back several inches making the space between it and the man in our row aisle seat much smaller but,as he slept most of the time, it didn't bother him . His wife was in the aisle seat opposite. A lot of couples do that. On a flight back from Italy one year, I was in my window seat and the window wasn't quite square but slightly infront and a section was in the row infront. The 14/15 year old girl there just pulled the blind down not aware...I would hope..that I was photographing the Alps. I just pushed it back up.
Standing in the aisle when it lands. Yes..they just want to stretch their legs and arfe relieverd the ordeal is over...for now. I don't think it's so much to do with getting off early.
Costs to get to airport. Agree. It's costly. We pay £100 each way to B'gham for a taxi. 50-50 we stay in a hotel at the airport for an early flight...eg 0700-1300. It could be a disaster trusting the motorways... M5 & M42 will run without incident. Buying breakfast (sometimes)..a sandwich to take on the plane..and water. Lastly..A tourist tax is being imposed upon arrival at the hotel. I paid €25 at the Riu Palace hotel, Madeira last year. I was unaware of it until I was asked to pay.
You didn't mention this but there's the queue to get through security. Staff can be nice or 'orrible...lol. I now wear elasticated lightweight trousers because belts have to come off and my trousers always started slipping when I have to put both arms out to my side ,legs apart going through the x-ray machine...or metal detector,whatever. You think it's over until you're in another long queue to show your passport and boarding pass before..if you're lucky.. going down the tunnel to the plane or just outside the terminal for a very short walk..50m.. to the plane..if not then onto a bus..mainly standing ..where you're so crushed up to other people it can be hard to breathe. Getting in your plane seat is a relief...lol.
You know what, Alan...? You're right.....So..I've just shouted out to my wife to cancel the holidays abroad that we've booked....
In July we're going to Altbea,Loch Ewe... near Mallaig for a week and then onto Southerness on Solway Firth for another week where I can visit RSPB Mereshead .....Can't wait...lol.
