Fear Of flying ...

[Stumpy Tim]

Can anyone explain to me why - when seats have already been allocated - people rush to be at the front of the queue to board a plane? All that happens is that you get to your seat in time for dozens of people to be milling around you, looking for their seats, or leaning over you, looking for space in an overhead locker.

I fly around 18-24 hours a week at the moment, and I always get to the front of the queue... the reason is that a number of times when I used to agree with you I got stuck with no overhead luggage room & had to sit for hours at end with my bags underneath the chair infront of me - a royal pain in the ass.

Never had a serious incident with the flying I do... some bad turbulence but that's it

 

[bhaexpress]

It's not the flying that irks me about air travel it's the airports. Most UK airports are pretty good if pricey. A lot of US airports are a pain thanks to lack of signposts and help desks, I cite Dallas Forth Worth as one I hate and Atlanta as another. DFW is the hub for American Airlines which is great if you are changing planes there with them but rubbish if you are with another carrier. Atlanta is the same with Delta. The best airport I used there was Pittsburgh, a big airport with relatively few passengers.

But the worst airport I have even had the misfortune of using (in the face of some stiff competition form some small European holiday airports) is Manila, a thorough;y hateful experience. Apart from the fact you have to queue to just get into the terminal building, you queue for hours thanks to utterly clueless check in staff then even dumber customs. You even have to pay £5 just to get into the departure area ! For a country that says it's trying to encourage tourism The Philippines does a great job of trying to convince you never to return. Mind you although I haven't 'the pleasure' I understand the Florida holiday airports are pretty lousy too.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

American airports are dreadful... everyone is just so afraid of everyone else it's horrible. They haven't cracked how to get people through the X-Ray machines quickly either. Every airport really is 2-3 hours of stress. Never been to Manilla, I'm told Saudi Arabia is pretty bad - you're greeted with soldiers & with guns pointed at you.

My favourite airport is Kuala Lumpur. Never a queue for Passport Control or Customs, loads of shops, loads of staff for the airlines, and good lounges... I've started using KL as my transit point ahead of Hong Kong & Singapore