Posted on 12/08/2014 8:34:00 AM PST by Vigilanteman
So, I'm looking out the window of the terminal at my airplane. Couple of mechanics are working on the nosewheel. One climbs down, looks at the other, and gives an elaborate shrug.
Truly confidence inspiring.
I don't fly much, but my favorite so far has been Memphis. The food was great, and prices reasonable (for an airport). I had one departure from gate B-29, and when I got there the entire wall was a mural of the Memphis Belle.
LOL. You should have told the gate attendant, “Hey, I’m a mechanic and would like to help those gentlemen out there diagnose and fix the plane that is about to carry me to my destination. And Heaven is not my intended destination today.”
Other than the moon, there is nowhere I need to go that a Ship, a boat, a train, or a car can’t take me....given enough time. Besides it is the journey and not the destination.
I won’t fly anymore....life is too short to be inconvenienced with tiny seats (and I am medium build)and no place for my legs, or being stuck next to someone who smells bad, or whines. They had three chances, and they are out! 1. lost my luggage. 2. pilot missed runway. 3. drunk was flying the plane....that’s enough.
I’ve always thought that the mechanic who certifies the plane as “servicable” should fly on it.
Here’s what should happen in SD but won’t. The marines should turn MiraMar over to the county for a new regional airport. Move the marine missions into Camp Pendleton. County or city could sell off the current airport land, marina access, water views etc to developers to pay for terminals at Miramar.
Sacramento Airport used to advertise. People in Sacto knew you could fly much cheaper from SF or Oakland.
After PSA and AirCal died and Southwest exploded, it saved the Sacramento airport. When they built a new terminal they gave most of the gates to Southwest. Now they have built another and southwest runs that too.
If I had to live in Providence or Tampa, I wouldn't be smiling either.
I fly Southwest all the time. Cheap prices, easiest and most efficient boarding of any airline, and almost always on time (or early). Their newer planes (737-800) are reasonably comfortable (at least no worse than any flown by United, American or any of the "major" airlines) and are wi-fi equipped. Southwest now serves decent beer in flight (Fat Tire). Their frequent flier program is vastly superior to United's (on which I had accumulated well over 200 K miles).
So, it's all relative. One man's disaster airline is another man's heaven.
Last flight was a couple of years ago, for a funeral. I flew, to save time. Flight up was fine, no probs, TSA people were polite, flights were ontime, they even upgraded my rental car. I said, "Hmmm. Been awhile since I've flown, maybe things are looking up, here."
Coming home, though, was a different story. In short, between cancelled flights and re-routes, my travel day home was 16 hours. Would have taken me 18 hours to drive.
Lesson learned.
LOL. You haven't lived until you've had a connection in Dallas and had to change terminals when the tram is shut down. I saw airport employees taking cash for rides on golf carts while handicap people searched for wheelchairs. A rental car shuttle driver was taking cash for rides to other terminals. There were old ladies RUNNING in the airport trying to drag carry-ons. I saw a dad carrying his kid like a football because he couldn't keep up. To add to the chaos, the airport was trying to comensate by "re-organizing the gate assignements". Gate changes were being announced over PA systems and they didn't match the changes on the screens.
After finally realizing the futility of the situation, I found myself laughing at the total dissaster that was my travel day. I imagined somewhere in a security office, with wall to wall monitors, they were playing circus music and in hysterical laughing fits while watching ants panic as their mound was kicked over.
I like being able to stop when I want, eat when I want, and take a break without some boring person in the seat next to me.
I talk here, it is how we communicate online. I can drive hundreds of miles and say nothing. Music is calm yet stimulating enough not to put me to sleep. I don’t like going the same way there as I come back...it just makes sense not to be so stressed out. Of course, it means avoiding big cities and all that hoopla...and trouble.
Yes, I has some of those times traveling that driving would have taken same amount of time. Yes, you get tired but it seems worth it to me. At least my clothes didn’t go missing.
Nice picture, thanks! And looking out the window, past the TWA logo, I see a rounded wingtip and what may be a nacelle for one of four Wright engines — perhaps a scene aboard a Lockheed Constellation, surely one of the most lovely aircraft ever built?
The round window seemed odd, but I did some quick research and a number of TWA Connies did indeed have round windows. I also did some more checking on what the cabins were like back then and your image is not much of an exaggeration! Nice!
Thanks for posting, trisham, I appreciate it!
LOL.
You make Southwest sound like a Chicago commuter bus.
You’re welcome, daltec!
I've accumulated more than 100K frequent flier miles with both Delta and United. Between the extra charges for luggage (which means more passengers bringing more cabin baggage) and the devaluation of their ff programs, the convenience of pre-assigned seating just isn't worth it anymore.
I can understand the luggage and even the drunk pilot. But I am curious about missing the runway. Was this all the same flight? Are you sure you were on the plane?
Yes, I was there and not all of it was the same plane. Private story.
You remind me of a friend who went to her hometown of Allentown, PA from Pittsburgh — usually about an hour flight. Well, there was massive fog east of Pittsburgh to the coast. Could not land in Allentown, so they tried Philadelphia. No luck. Tried Syracuse. No luck. Finally, my friend’s plane landed in Baltimore where the passengers were bused to Allentown. That hour flight ended up being about 18 to 20 hours.
From then on, whenever my friend would fly to Allentown, I would joke that I hope she didn’t have to stop in Havana first.
Been from the East Coast to Alabama, via Salt Lake City. That was the worst. Other than, maybe, getting stuck in a snowstorm in Little Rock, Arkansas. There ain't much in the airport, in Little Rock. Especially during a heavy snowstorm, in the middle of the night.
Most all of the flights I took connected via Atlanta (if I flew Delta) so to go North, more often than not, I needed to fly South, first. :-)
Contrast that with flying the company jet. It was wonderful. Get on the plane, no security, get off the plane, have a car waiting to pick me up. Only rule was that I needed to arrive before the ranking management (in my case, usually the CEO) because when she got there, the plane left. THAT was travelling, though I shudder to think of the cost.
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