Rovers Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I am a week into being tobacco free, but as a smoker, none of these things can hold a candle to what an addict denied his drugs goes through. It's really great when a flight gets delayed. You are looking at a 3 to 4 hour flight, and you have to sit in the terminal for another 2 hours. You have to go through security all over again if you dare leave the terminal for a cigarette. That was brutal. No amount of Nicorette could alleviate the withdrawals. I would go off searching for someplace, anyplace I could sneak a couple of puffs near the gates. There never was one. These complaints are miniscule compared to what a smoker has to go through. Thank God I found electronic cigarettes. No smoke, no smell, no cancer, no emphazema, no carcinogenic tobacco. I'll never have to go through that agony again. And that is what it was, agony. I will never hate smokers, pity them, yes. I know what they have to go through. It's far worse than anything mentioned in this thread. It's a curse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I see a lot of whining on here by travelers who don't understand the whole story. You never check on baggage unless you need to, if you have a carry on you jump in the line first when they call yer seating area. I've been many a flight where the guy in front of me puts his carry on in the last bin, and then I have to check my carry on through. Dude in front of me is already got a 30 minute leap while I'm waiting for my baggage claim (or a full day when my checked in carry on didn't show up). You always jump in front of people to get on the same plane. I almost always have an aisle seat, almost always economy plus or first class, and almost always jump up right away when the plane lands. I distribute as many luggage carry ons on overheads as I can to my nearby passengers, many a time its a woman; even if it isn't it saved time because I jumped up early making it easier and quicker for the people behind me. We may all be on the same plane but sometimes there are people making it easier when they aren't sitting until last call. Edited February 17, 2011 by bushwacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I always bring Chinese food for meals on the plane. This way I don't have to smell the nasty food other people bring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I see a lot of whining on here by travelers who don't understand the whole story. You never check on baggage unless you need to, if you have a carry on you jump in the line first when they call yer seating area. I've been many a flight where the guy in front of me puts his carry on in the last bin, and then I have to check my carry on through. Dude in front of me is already got a 30 minute leap while I'm waiting for my baggage claim (or a full day when my checked in carry on didn't show up). You always jump in front of people to get on the same plane. I almost always have an aisle seat, almost always economy plus or first class, and almost always jump up right away when the plane lands. I distribute as many luggage carry ons on overheads as I can to my nearby passengers, many a time its a woman; even if it isn't it saved time because I jumped up early making it easier and quicker for the people behind me. We may all be on the same plane but sometimes there are people making it easier when they aren't sitting until last call. Not sure you understood... We're talking about people who crowd the gate that haven't been called yet and I said I like to wait until everyone is through the gate before going through because I know I'm going to be standing in line anyway and as an added bonus I may be able to pick out a better seat. I don't carry on anything that is big enough to have to be stowed in the overhead so I never have to worry about it. BTW, if you always get 1st class or Economy plus then why are you waiting 30 minutes to get on the plane when they are usually the first one's called? And about passing out bags to everyone, while it seems a nice thing to do, personally I would rather a stranger that does not work for the airline not handle my belongings. Some old lady who can't get it for herself, sure. But everyone in the general area is a bit much if you ask me and I'm not quite sure how you getting their bag is quicker than them getting it. Edited February 17, 2011 by rajncajn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljbrun Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Anybody have suggestions for a good travel backpack? I have a Tug that I got from Office Depot, but it's extremely worn and no longer sheds water. ETA, don't really like the wheeled one's like Riff posted. Obviously everyone has their own preferences/needs, but I use North Face Box Shot. It's sturdy, comfortable to carry, fits in the overhead and has enough compartments to keep me organized. It's also my choice for hiking etc. Had it for 3-4 years. added: I guess my pet peeve is the way customers are treated now. There's no longer that feeling that the airline really cares about my business. It just seems like they view passengers as an impediment to their work instead of the reason for their work. I don't fly as often as I used to, just once or twice a year, so my sampling is small, but the experience is not a positive one. Edited February 17, 2011 by ljbrun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Obviously everyone has their own preferences/needs, but I use North Face Box Shot. It's sturdy, comfortable to carry, fits in the overhead and has enough compartments to keep me organized. It's also my choice for hiking etc. Had it for 3-4 years. added: I guess my pet peeve is the way customers are treated now. There's no longer that feeling that the airline really cares about my business. It just seems like they view passengers as an impediment to their work instead of the reason for their work. I don't fly as often as I used to, just once or twice a year, so my sampling is small, but the experience is not a positive one. Very nice... is the laptop pocket padded on all sides? Agree on the treatment of customers too. Back in the 70's you were treated like a king, now you're herded like sheep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Agree on the treatment of customers too. Back in the 70's you were treated like a king, now you're herded like sheep. I used to really enjoy the travel as well as the destination. Now I hate the travel part. It's a miserable means to an end is all. Edited February 17, 2011 by Ursa Majoris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljbrun Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Very nice... is the laptop pocket padded on all sides? Front & back, yes, but I'll have to check the sides. My laptop is too big so I use a regular laptop case if I'm bringing one. Even if it was big enough, I think carrying a laptop in a backpack isn't as convenient as some of the more airport security friendly laptop cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Front & back, yes, but I'll have to check the sides. My laptop is too big so I use a regular laptop case if I'm bringing one. Even if it was big enough, I think carrying a laptop in a backpack isn't as convenient as some of the more airport security friendly laptop cases. Bottom is my biggest concern. My current one had no padding at all and I'm always worried about damaging it when I set it down. I use a tablet too, so it'll pretty much fit in any size backpack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljbrun Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Bottom is my biggest concern. My current one had no padding at all and I'm always worried about damaging it when I set it down. I use a tablet too, so it'll pretty much fit in any size backpack. Yeah, the bottom has some padding. Feels like enough that you should feel comfortable putting it down on the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Very nice... is the laptop pocket padded on all sides? Agree on the treatment of customers too. Back in the 70's you were treated like a king, now you're herded like sheep. You know why you were treated so good in the 70's? Because airlines were prevented from competing against one-another using prices. (yes, you read that correctly--regulations were put in place so that ticket prices couldn't go too low) So basically the only way the airlines could compete with one-another was by offering better service. Now, the airlines know that people care more about prices than they do about service, so they are willing to cut service to have lower prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) Here's an update, for those of you who had travel tips to offer, as well as anybody else who might be interested. Our trip to Minnesota went better than expected, in nearly every aspect. We flew Southwest, from Oakland to MSP, with a brief layover/plane change in Denver both ways. This was our first flying trip since our daughter was born (she turned five months on Sunday). The departing leg of the trip was actually the easiest... Woke the baby up (around 5:30 AM) after everything else was packed, and got to the airport just over an hour before takeoff. We were fortunate enough to have someone available to drop us off (as well as pick us up upon return), so there was no need to mess with parking, shuttles, etc. We checked four bags (three suitcases and a travel Pack N' Play), as well as the baby's car seat (with base attached). Luckily, the car seat didn't count against our two bags each, or we would have had to pay $50 for any additional checked item. In other words, since we didn't actually purchase a seat for the baby (which you can get away with until they turn two), we were limited to four checked items, plus a carseat and stroller. Once we made it to the security line, we became somewhat concerned, since the line was very long. But, we were pleased to find out that we could use the "Family" line and basically jump to the front, which probably saved us at least 20-30 minutes. We checked the stroller right at the gate, before boarding. On all four flights, an announcement was made, slightly before boarding, that the flight was full and every seat would be taken. However, on all four flights, we were fortunate enough to get three seats... nobody dared sit in between my wife (holding baby) and the 6'6" guy sitting by the window (myself). So, I guess the flights weren't quite as full as they were advertising. We didn't go out of our way to discourage anyone from sitting by us, by any means, but nobody even gave us a second look, once they saw the baby. In fact, a few people took one look at us, and chose to sit in another row, with slightly older children. The funny part about that is that our daughter was about as "well-behaved" as I could ever hope for, on every single flight. Meanwhile, I saw a number of instances where various single passengers got completely terrorized by some of the other young children on the flights. For example, there was a mother (sitting in the aisle seat) in the row in front of us... her boy (probably 4 or 5 years old) was sitting in between her and a man in the window seat (not somebody who was travelling with them). As soon as the crew started serving beverages, the boy managed to dump his juice in the lap of the man next to him. Mother was franticly trying to clean it up, while apologizing profusely to the man, over and over. Meanwhile, the lady directly behind us, with two kids (probably ages 2 and 4, I'm guessing), was practicing damage-control for the entire flight. Kids were whining, crying, kicking our seats constantly, etc. Normally, that might bother me, but I was so thrilled at how our kid was keeping quiet that all of the other little rugrats didn't bother me at all. Long story short... The biggest pain of the whole trip was renting our car from Avis. I'll save that story for another time, but all I can say is that it's frustrating, dealing with people who either have no training, don't care, are just plain stupid, or all of the above. Meanwhile, my wife and I continue to be amazed at what a blessing we have in our daughter, each and every day. Some of this is somewhat repetitive (from others' posts in this thread), but off the top of my head, here are some benefits of flying (at least with Southwest) with an infant: Pro's - Some airports let you sneak to the front of the security line, when you have kids with you (Oakland did, and Minneapolis did not). Fortunately, it made a huge difference in OAK, and wouldn't have made much difference at all at MSP. - The free checked bags with Southwest is an enormous benefit, when compared to the $20-30 per bag that other airlines charge. Just beware that, if you ever exceed two checked bags per paying passenger, the additional bag fee is not $20-30, but $50 with Southwest. - Checking the car seat and base, as well as the stroller, at no cost, was a nice plus. - You can basically bring unlimited liquids (milk, water, etc.) through security, if you have a baby. - With Southwest, you can board between groups A and B, if you're a family. If you checked in online, and have a boarding number in Group A, you can still board when you normally would have. Edit: I meant to list some con's (to flying with kids) as well, but besides the obvious, I can't really think of anything. Having to take the baby out of the stroller, and carry her through the metal detector, was a slight pain, but only because we were hoping she might go back to sleep (which she usually does in a stroller, if she's tired). Obviously, if your kid is fussy, being cooped up on a plance can be a nightmare. But, at least for this trip, we avoided that scenario almost completely. In fact, we got several comments/compliments on how well she behaved, and what a good traveller/flyer she seemed to be. Of course, I realize that the next trip could be the exact opposite, so I'm not putting too much into this one experience, but so far, so good. Edited February 28, 2011 by Gopher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 3. Getting stuck next to Andre the Giant on a flight and you're on the inside seat. I feel sorry for you bigger guys, they just don't make airliners with you in mind. I'm not even that big and the airline seats are cramped as all hell for me. Before you start with the fat jokes, my ass fits in the seat just fine but my shoulders tend to invade others' space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 ...check in online early and/or see if you can get switched to a bulkhead seat. You'll have all the legroom you need as well as some space to move around with the baby. It may cost you an extra $50 or so, but it may be well worth it for you. Another trick for slightly older kids - get them a new book/toy etc that comes out of the bag AFTER takeoff. We flew once with our then-2 yr old; new toys, new books and a bulkhead seat and the flight went off without a hitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I used to really enjoy the travel as well as the destination. Now I hate the travel part. It's a miserable means to an end is all. We took the train out to the West Coast - I wouldn't advise THAT (it was 48 hrs on the train) but Amtrak is a decent way to travel - space to move around AND you can bring your own liquor on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) . BTW, if you always get 1st class or Economy plus then why are you waiting 30 minutes to get on the plane when they are usually the first one's called? I'm talking about waiting for bags because my carry on got checked. I travel a lot, when I am forced to fly something other than my normal airline I won't be in first class and probably not in economy. And about passing out bags to everyone, while it seems a nice thing to do, personally I would rather a stranger that does not work for the airline not handle my belongings. Some old lady who can't get it for herself, sure. But everyone in the general area is a bit much if you ask me and I'm not quite sure how you getting their bag is quicker than them getting it. I ask the people inside of my row if they want their bags before I just start grabbing stuff. As far as the bolded part, the time spent getting off the plane is primarily due to the time people in front of you are spending gumming up the aisles while grabbing stuff from the overhead bin. Edited March 1, 2011 by bushwacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 I h8 tsa with a passion!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 the time spent getting off the plane is primarily due to the time people in front of you are spending gumming up the aisles while grabbing stuff from the overhead bin. no doubt. especially when some dude is handing out luggage to people still in their seats that have no place to put it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 no doubt. especially when some dude is handing out luggage to people still in their seats that have no place to put it. Yeah, pretty much what I was thinking too. Gopher, Glad to hear your experience was an uneventful one. Pray it stays that way when the little one hits those terrible two's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 We're flying in 2 weeks. Haven't been on a plane in a year. Any major changes? (ticketing/security/etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) no doubt. especially when some dude is handing out luggage to people still in their seats that have no place to put it. Well there is a typically a good minute or two from end of taxi to opening the door, and that's up front. If I'm standing up someone else's carry-on can easily fit on my seat, therefore taking them less than half the time it normally would to exit from the row and move. It's not rocket surgery here fellas. Edited March 7, 2011 by bushwacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 We're flying in 2 weeks. Haven't been on a plane in a year. Any major changes? (ticketing/security/etc) Expect to pay for checked bags unless maybe you are a MVP or elite member. You may want to consider UPS shipping luggage if you need to check it on (again another time saving/convenience measure). The three oz liquid/gel carry on limit in a plastic bag has been in effect for quite some time. The TSA wants to see your junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 We're flying in 2 weeks. Haven't been on a plane in a year. Any major changes? (ticketing/security/etc) Don't attempt to carry on a snow globe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I used to really enjoy the travel as well as the destination. Now I hate the travel part. It's a miserable means to an end is all. It's gotta just be me, I guess... but I didn't mind the travel part one bit. In fact I kinda liked it. And boy do I miss it. No joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Don't attempt to carry on a snow globe Just saved me a big headache. (Now how do I sneak on my large amount of acid?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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