I have flown several times in the past year and have come to find that I have a routine now when I go to the airport. Upon arrival, I check to see my seats. I MUST have an aisle or a window, because my height precludes comfort in a middle seat, and I get motion sickness easily and need room to survive the trip. After admission to the gates, I always have to have some old school Prince funk playing- I guess I just like the all-encompassing feel of "Dirty Mind," "Controversy" and "1999." Plus, the beat of songs like "Controversy" is set at a good walking pace. I like taking in the sights of people, thinking about what their plans are and where they are headed. Airports are such an amalgam of unique thoughts, goals, dreams and fears.

After I get to my gate, I check the time and call the person who will be picking me up to let him/her know if there is a delay, etc. I'll then head to the restroom and zone out to some more Prince until I have to board.

Once on board, I slide my backpack under the seat in front of me and pull out a book to read for the ride. I also MUST turn on the little air conditioning nozzle above because airplane air is always hot and stale.

During the ride, I usually keep to myself. If someone strikes up a conversation with me, I'm happy to indulge, but I usually like to use my time on the plane to relax or get some reading done. When the flight attendants come by, I always order tomato juice, although I don't know why. Maybe it's because I feel it's more hearty than anything else they offer.

Once the plane is nearing its destination, there is the inevitable turbulence of descent, which just as inevitably upsets my stomach. I hold on for dear life, trying to stabilize my body as to not upset my stomach any more (after all, I was the kid who puked so much in other cars that I was given my own personalized puke bucket with my initials emblazened on it).

Once we've landed, I always wait for everyone else to get their carry-on luggage, because I'm in no hurry to move after suffering through the landing. Once I'm off the plane, it's Prince again for me as I get any checked bags.

Do you travel often? Do you have an airport routine? What do you like/dislike about airports? Do you request specific seating on the plane?

Can you believe I have only been on an airplane twice

in my life... once when I was 7 and once when I was 12.

So I guess I dont have a routine!

luv4thepurple1 said:

I can believe it! After one trip when I was 7, I didn't fly again until I was 17.

I've come to like airports though.

same here...i've only been on a plane a couple times in my life...first time when i wuz 7, and the last time i wuz on one wuz when i flew in from iowa 2 here in minnesota.

i prefer the bus, anyhoo.

Moonbeam said:

I plan on flying a lot more starting this summer!

Am a little nervous to get on a plane but I will have

my kids with me and they are my security if I ever do

anything stupid!

I don't really have a routine. I just get on the plane and get off.

althom said:

get off? dont'cha worry about the stewardesses buggin u??

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

althom said:

u get on the plane and get off...

My routine involves sweaty nervous waiting followed by up to your elbows cavity searches.

Damn I hate air travel.

my routine is go the airport with whoever it is that's flying and see that person off, and then get my muthafuckin' ass outta there in my car... ...

the only other routine i have is going to pick that person up from the airport when they get back...

bkw said:

What airline do you travel on?

Moonbeam said:

Hehehe.
I like sarcastic parents.

I have a set routine when I fly between Singapore and Bangkok.

Firstly, I aim to check in so more than an hour before the flight, because I find waiting much longer around airports to be painful. I only carry hand luggage so that I don't have to wait for my bag at the other end. I ask for an aisle seat near the front - so i can get out of the plane quickly, and so i can enjoy a couple of beers without having to shove past somebody for the toilet - but not in the first row of economy because i don't like to have a wall in front of me, i.e. no leg room. I then wait near to the gate so I can be sure to get a newspaper when boarding.
I inevitably have the song 'Blue Light' going around my head at this point, "oh well, here we are again", and I've had that habit since the second time I flew back in 95.

Once the plane is in the air I read the newspaper thoroughly, so by the time I'm done the plane is already descending into Bangkok. I rush off the plane as quickly as possible so to avoid the often-slow queues at immigration, then zoom out of the airport and walk to the highway so I can a taxi without dealing with the airport taxi mafia.

If I'm flying with my wife I try to get the very back seats by the window, because at the back the seats are usually in twos rather than threes.

sabaisabai said:

You're lucky u only have to go from Singapore to Bangkok. I get that same line in my head from "Blue Light" about going from Heathrow to Bangkok. This last time it felt particularly surreal. I've done the trip several times now, and often stopped in the same place for transit (Doha- gulp!). There's something very lonely about waiting around in these middle eastern airports, I really don't like the trip. I talk with people on the plane but I still feel very much alone during the whole thing and I find my brain works overtime thinking about going back to Thailand, about my wife and stuff.

Anyways, I hear u about the taxi stuff, though we're usually fine with that. Damn, I do hate some of the pushy guys u get around the airport though.

As for flying, I always try to get an exit seat because I'm about 6ft 3. Other than that my strategy is just to sleep or listen to music.

Some of my best music listening experiences have been on planes. I remember listening to Flamenco Sketches by Miles Davis as we came over Rome at night last year. That was amazing.

nickandmon said:

There is something about flying that agitates me. I've spent weeks on buses and trains without a problem, but a few hours on a plane feels like eternity.

The trip to Bangkok used to feel like it took forever, due to antipation from meeting my wife (who now lives in Singapore), and the trip back was always sad, partly from leaving my wife, but also because I love Bangkok so much and dislikeD Singapore so much (I like Singapore now, funnily enough)



I hear so many stories of farang getting ripped off and in all sorts of nasty situations with Thais, but I've never had any trouble myself, even though I lived there for a year. I think there is a certain positive attitude and way of carrying ones self that 'prevents' these problems from arising.

I haven't flown to Bangkok since last August, but hope to make a cycling trip there in November

I have flown a lot in the last few years! I love to travel I hate airports! (Especially since security went berserk! ) I arrive check in request a window seat and an empty row if possible! ( I curl up across the seats and fall asleep..using the center seat belt) I also request not to be placed over a wing as it is noisy.

I find coffee... Take all important documents that will be requested including my drivers license and place them in an envelope in the front pocket of the carry on SO boarding is easy. place my carry on in front of me and plop my feet up on top. Read a good book until boarding!


Once on board, I also MUST turn on the little air conditioning nozzle above because airplane air is always hot and stale.

I have a face that says talk to me! Usually always the crew strikes up a conversation. ( Which is cool.. I have learned a lot this way.) No one knows your destinations like the stewards. They have arranged excursions for me in various layovers. I was able to see the Mormon Tabernacle on one for instance.
I have flown so much at this point, I can easily sleep through landings and take offs! I hate going through Chicago! They are the "gate change capitol" of airports! Though you will never find a cleaner more sanitary airport in the system!

..
i just try to get my ass on that plane

before it takes off

damn that's a bitch when that happens
..

Man I hate airports. I've travelled so many times in the past 10 years... hundreds of flights. I just go through on autopilot nowadays After check-in I just get a cup of tea and a corner when I can pop open my laptop and check out Prince.org

I generally get to the airport, check in, go through security, realize how short of a line it really was and go back outside to smoke. I get nervous about not being able to smoke for several hours. Even though I do it without even noticing alll the time, the idea that I CAN'T smoke always makes me nervous. Then I browse the bookstores and magazine racks, but I always already have a book or two with me. I usually get a coffee, unless it's night time. Then I get on the plane, never talking to anyone. I try to read, but usually can't concentrate. I always, always get ginger ale when the nice lady comes by. I rarely drink it in real life, though. And that's about it!

I made more than 1100 flights in the last 10 years. 1150000 miles or 2928 hours sitting in planes.

I get scabies just by the thought of it.

My routine is to be there as late as possible, to piss off everybody who is in my way, sit as far as possible in front of the plane and get out of that thing and the destination airport as fast as I can.

Flying sucks big time.


.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 4 5:28:15 PST 2003 by ajd]

ajd said:

I do that too. Sit right at the front, get off and get out as quick as possible. There was a time when I might have enjoyed flying, now it is just hassle... and don't get me started on long haul flights - they kill me! Flying back and forth between Europe and San Franciso, and between Europe and Tokyo is just a nightmare... I've done those routes so many times, and it destroys my health every time. I can't sleep on planes, I get totally jet-lagged, I get cramps from the crap seats even in business class, I usually catch a cold or a flu from some bastard in the plane too, and by the time I get to my destination it takes 2 days before I'm vaguely human again. Basically if I have a meeting somewhere, I have to fly over a few days beforehand.

Hey ajd, if you've flown over 1100 flights in 10 years, I reckon statistically you are due a crash pretty soon now

ian said:

Well, you shouldn't have started. Now I have to take those pills again.

No, honestly. It bothers me a lot. I used to fly everything including Tupolev and smallest private planes. The fear of flying broke out full scale when 1 1/2 years ago I was supposed to be on a plane that later crashed and took the lives of 24 of the 33 people on board. I overslept and missed the plane. A friend of mine was on the plane and only survived because she moved from the front of the plane to the back because she felt disturbed by a group of passengers being very noisy. The plane broke apart when crashing. The front burned, the back was more or less intact.

Since then I only entered a plane when it was a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y necessary and sometimes get anxiety attacks on board. No longhaules since then. Can't do them anymore.

Moonbeam said:

Yes, but not by airplane. It's been a few years since my last flight. I actually enjoy long car trips... I've driven between Indianapolis and Maine (a two-day drive) solo on multiple occasions



The last time I flew on a frequent basis was back in 1998. At the time, I had obtained some space-available upgrade certificates. My routine was to get to the airport before the ticket counter opened so I'd have first dibs on any remaining seats in first class.



As a kid, I preferred window seats. Today I prefer aisle seats. However. if I know the flight is going to take off or land over downtown Indy, I might try to get a window seat on the proper side of the plane to get a nice view. Now that I live there, I'd like to be able to look out and spot things like my home, office, the canal, etc.

BTW, my dad once told me he has a routine when boarding an airplane. As he enters, he always touches the fuselage of the plane, next to the door. Why? I have no idea.

Prior to 9/11, my routine consisted of arriving just after they closed the gate for boarding... running frantically to the boarding gate and begging the flight attendants to let me on the plane... They'd usually open up the gate, and I'd stroll in, bags all falling off my shoulder, jacket half on, beads of sweat rolling down my face and breathing heavy from the run.

After 9/11, nothing has changed. Except, as I sit in the cab ride to the airport, I can usually see the plane I was supposed to be on, take off into the sky as I pull up to the terminal; and I just resign to the fact that I will be flying stand-by on a later flight.

Here's what a typical travel day looks like for me (taken from when I traveled last year to Minneapolis for the celebration):

Flight departed at 11 a.m. The airport is 30 minutes away, so in order to arrive two hours in advance at 9 a.m., I need to leave home at 8:30 a.m.

At 8 a.m., I split my time at the laundromat washing clothes and at home showering and packing. By 8:30, I realized that it was getting a bit tight on time, so I took my suitcase to the laundromat and just pulled clothes out of the dryer directly into the suitcase.

Still, I wasn't ready to leave. I needed to drop off my car at a friends house so that it would be secure for the week. She lived 10 minutes from the airport, so it was along the way.

After all of my dillydallying, which included finishing up a paper (oh yeah I forgot to mention that), I called the airline to find out about later flights... there was one leaving at 1 p.m. and there was room so I figured I'd fly standby and not rush.

Hmmm. Why did I mentally do that? Cuz I didn't arrive at the airport until 1:30 p.m.!!! I pitifully strolled up to the ticket counter and was like, "Umm, I was supposed to be on the 11 a.m. flight, then ran late, and was hoping to catch the 1 p.m. on standby..." The woman at the ticket counter looked at me--panting, beads of sweat rolling down my face, jacket half off with bags falling off my shoulder--and she just rolled her eyes . STANKHO!

In any case, it turned out that my original flight, the one scheduled to leave at 11 a.m., WAS STILL ON THE GROUND DUE TO WEATHER DELAYS!!! And I could still get on it! That's when you know the Lord is smiling down on you

So at 1:45 p.m. I strolled into the boarding area, cold chilling and relaxed, while all the other folk were lookin all frustrated and annoyed because they had been there since 9 a.m. Some time diligence does not pay

STANDBY EDIT.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 4 9:36:49 PST 2003 by NuPwrSoul]