Flying Woes

I hate to fly. Actually up until about a year ago I loved to fly. In fact I have often yearned to learn to fly. However, lately I haven't found too much to enjoy about flying. Somehow, airlines have managed to make flying from one place to another a test of endurance, attitude, patience, and fortitude. At the same time airports try to make you feel like either a villain or a load of sheep being loaded on cars for slaughter. Where did the "service with a smile" go? Why can't they still make an effort to create a pleasant experience instead of a nightmare journey? I realize that there is a very real risk of terrorists, but for every terrorist there are thousands of travelers who just want to get to their destination as quickly and easily as possible. Do we count for nothing?

Last spring we flew to Bermuda with another couple. We arrived at the airport the required two hours early to be sure we had time to get through the security line. We had tried to follow all the rules. All carry-on liquids in a quart bag, shoes off, coats off, laptops out, phones out, change out, and Bob's c-pap machine unloaded. Of course, the breathing machine caused a line hold up. Bob had to remain with it while they checked it over and over. Then he was allowed to repack it and continue on. Everything went fairly smoothly but I was reminded of a previous experience.

On that occasion the line was stopped for a thorough search of a wheelchair. The suspected terrorist was an extremely frail, white haired lady who may have weighed all of 95 pounds and her equally frail husband. The TSA employee was demanding in a loud, hectoring voice that she leave the wheelchair immediately so he could thoroughly check it. She was struggling to rise with the help of her husband while this employee kept urging her loudly, "Get out of the wheelchair. Step to the side. Don't take anything with you. Get OUT of the wheelchair!" The whole time the little couple was trying to explain that she was getting out but it took a little while since it was very hard for her to move or stand. The employee just kept yelling. By now the entire line was watching the process. With obvious embarrassment the couple stood in dismay while her wheelchair was emptied and thoroughly examined for explosives, I guess. I understand that terrorist come in all sizes, ages and nationalities, but on the off-chance that they really were just paying customers, could they not be treated with dignity and politeness? Is there no way to be thorough without treating everyone as if they were dangerous criminals?

Somehow what used to be an exciting adventure has become a trial. Not only are we treated as a nuisance, at best, or a positive danger at worst, but it seems that the reliability of the airlines has gone down with the increase in security. Everyone who has flown has had the occasional delay but they used to be fairly rare. I flew for years with few problems. Once my luggage went to Atlanta while I went to Louisville but they found it and returned it in a surprisingly short time. Once Bob had a connecting flight cancelled but they got him on another flight with just enough wait for him to catch part of a ballgame in the bar.

Now, rather than the exception, delays and canceled flights are the norm. Out of the three flights I have scheduled I can bet that I will deal with at least one delay and probably one missed flight. Gone too, is the policy of keeping the customer happy. On the Bermuda trip we were held up in Louisville (on the plane) for an hour because of a storm that was going through Philadelphia. We arrived with not enough time to run from one end of the airport to the other to reach our departure gate on our connecting flight. In times past, a call would have been made to the departing plane that four passengers were on their way and to give them a few extra minutes. Now we were just told to run! We arrived, out of breath, only to discover that the door had been closed. The plane was still there and the ramp still connected but we were too late. We watched as the plane sat there for another 10 minutes before it began to detach from the ramp and pull away. The rule is "once the door is closed it cannot be reopened". OK, I've got that, but if they had called ahead they could have held the door for another two minutes for us to get to the gate (unless they had already given our seats to "stand-by's" which is my guess).

We were directed to a customer service booth where we were informed that we were just out of luck. There was another flight tomorrow and if there were seats we could get on it. The lady at the desk was rude, abrupt and totally unhelpful. I did rather wonder what the "customer service" part was. We were told that there were lots of hotels in Philly and we could get one if we wanted or sleep in the terminal. OK that sounds like fun. Finally in desperation I asked if she at least had a list of close by hotels, at which point she presented us with a printed list of hotels at the airport and discounted room rates. Why not offer this first instead after we had reached maximum frustration? (Did no one tell this lady that her job would be to handle people who weren't really happy to be spending the night in Philadelphia instead of Bermuda?)

The bright point of the experience was the passing employee who heard our distress and told us that there was a good chance that our luggage had been pulled from the plane. He then directed us to the office to see if we could retrieve it. The gentleman there was helpful, polite and friendly--there is hope for travel yet!! I wish I had gotten his name so I could write the company and tell them that they have one great employee!

The good news. We got our luggage and had all day to enjoy a mini-vacation in Philly. It's a great place to visit. Put it on your list of places to see, but you might want to consider driving or taking a train!