Through the eyes of a child.

Turbulance.
Not a word air travelers enjoy hearing, but it is all part of the experience.
On my recent air flight, the pilot came on before we even took off and made an announcment similar to the following: "Hello Passengers. Please be prepared for the following 2 hours of your flight. Buckle up! Cause it's gonna be a doozie! If you feel the need, pray to the god of your choice and make amends. And remember flight attendants also need to remain seated so they won't fly into your laps or hit their heads on the ceiling. We'll do our best to make it less bumpy, but we're not miracle workers. Thanks for flying with us today. Hope to see you on the other side."

okay- so maybe this is slightly off and exaggerated for a little humos...but that is how it felt. And no one was freaking out more than the family behind me and the people next to me. Oh! and the old man in front of me. Ok- I am actually quite certain that entire plane was a little anxious. The flight attendants battened down the hatches and we were off! (Belted in, of course.)

We took off and got smoothly in flight. The ding! for electronics went off and still smooth sails. I plugged into my iPod and swiftly fell asleep (it was 7:45am and I hadn't slept well the night before). I slept soundly....that is until I literally woke up because I thought someone was shaking me awake. Nope, it was everyone shaking on the plane. The turbulance was SO bad that it actually woke me up from a deep slumber! Well, once awake there was no going back to sleep, so I was awake and aware of the bumps and dives. I couldn't read, so I listened to passengers around me. Now, while uncomfortable, I did not fear we wouldn't make it. I didn't worry that we wouldn't land. I wasn't fearful for my life, but others were. (drama...)

But then I heard a giggle. Not a sound usually paired with worry or panic.

The giggle; giggles, I should say, were coming from the girls behind me. They were first time flyers and were nervous from the start. But when the bumps and dives shook them and bonk'ed them together, they giggled. Not a nervous giggle, but a giggle filled with pure delight. They thought it was fun! One even said, "Daddy! I love airplanes! They're just like roller coasters only cozier!"
Only though the eyes of a child. :)

An Open Letter to Airplane Travelers.

Dear Fellow Airline Traveler- As a regular traveler I have noticed some things about most of you and have some questions. 1- Do you really need to stand up as soon as the plane stops at the gate? You have to wait until the front of the plane unloads before you can go anywhere anyway. 2- Why MUST you place your overhead baggage at the front of the plane if you are seated in the back? You just mess it up for those who sit in the front and then there is chaos when we land and people need their bags. Moving forward, if you could place your overhead bag near your seat that would make life easier for everyone. 3- Why wouldn't you gate-check your bag if the flight crew is recommending it? It's a gate check and the bag will be waiting for you at the gate when you get off the plane. There's no charge (on most airlines) and you still don't have to deal with baggages claim. Double bonus! 4- Why do you have to get your bag first off the baggage claim carosel? The bag is not going anywhere and neither is the taxi, shuttle, or personal ride home if you all spread out around the thing. Just try it, you'll see. I look forward to seeing these changes ensue. Best, Your Fellow Frequent Flyer

Fancy Pants

I have to say, I do sometimes like to embrace my inner fancy-pants.

Hooray for elite status* and upgrades to First Class!

Reasons why I love First-Class...

1. You are offered a beverage while the masses are waiting for others to shove their belongings into the overhead bins, tucking their items in as they pass other passengers, and getting up and down to make sure that random family is all seated together somehow.

2. The seats are GIGANTIC

3. Even if the person in front of you leans the chair back, you still have space to cross your legs

4. There is no armrest jockeying!

5. There are only 6 passengers and the airline crew that share the bathroom. It's so much cleaner.

6. You don't have to wait for everyone to get their overhead baggage, you get off first!

*Without that status, I would NEVER purchase a ticket in First Class. While the above list is enjoyable it is not worth the dollars!

Terminals, Airports, and seat-mates...oh my!

And back to airports, airplanes and the random ways people travel. If you really think about it, airline travel is little more than a flying city bus. Poeple may have paid more for their tickets, but their habits are not that different. In fact, I often wonder why I feel it's okay to abandon all my belongings when I brave the bathroom or why I am not completely repulsed when the person sitting next to me starts to snore. (It is annoying, but I don't find it disgusting as I would in a bus or other public transit situation.) There are rules, guidelines and siggestions, but genreally I have found people abandon all good common sense and decency when entering an airport terminal or airplane. And that brings me to yesterday's experiences...
Experience One-- I arrived at the airport insanely early due to a wedding, so my dropoff time was about 2 hours before take-off. On a low-travel day like Saturday that leaves lots of time in the terminal. I grabbed a coffee, bought a newspaper (I like to be a little old school) and settled in near a window. People started to pile in, but this was a HUGE gate area, so it was still calm. Then I started to hear it...the snoring, like I have never heard. We were in a terminal, not a bedroom or even a couch. This man was completely out! I smirked a little and just cranked up the tunes and tuned him right out! Win- Jessica! I swear, it got louder! I am not sure how this was possible, but it really got loud. So loud, in fact, that a little girl nearby asked her mother where the train was because she could hear the engine! Yep, that's right. The man was snoring SO loudly that a child thought she was going on a train ride rather than an airplane. Several people in the area heard her and just cracked up. It's all about perspective. :) After I stopped laughing, my thought was that surely this man was going to be my seat-mate. Ugh. But as luck should have it, he had missed his plane to Madison and wasn't going to Chicago at all. Whew! That was close....
Or so I thought. The flight to Chicago was uneventful and nice actually. I had a full row to myself. Delightful! I wondered if my luck might remain on the Seattle leg and got a little bit excited. Sadly, no. Although my status now allows me to be automatically seated in the exit row, the planes are still FULL. I would say, as a rule, I am an excellent person to be seated next to. I don't take up overhead bin space (my stuff fits under the seat), I keep to myself, plug in my iPod, and read. Sometimes I sleep, but within my seat. I don't spread out and I am not large enough to expand into my seat-mates' space. Unfortunately, I have found that this done not guaratee a good space experience, even in the exit row! I was the in the aisle so I was seated last in the succession of my seat-mates. The man seated in the middle seat looked pissed when I went to sit down. He clearly planned to take-over two seats on the 3.5 hour flight from Chicago to Seattle. I settled in, opened my book and kept my arms within the confines of the armreast areas. As we reached the appropriate altitude said man got out his computer and started to work. He proceded to elbow me for a solid 20 minutes because he couldn't figure out how to open the table. UGH! Not only was it annoying, but it hurt. (I cracked a rib last week and it's still tender- I will tell that story soon). So instead of arguing with him, I simply leaned into the aisle a little more. Big mistake! The man decided that this was now his space. He leaned over and took up all his space, part of my space and part of the space on his other side. Uncool! I went to the bathroom (carelessly abandoning my things) and when I returned he had literally taken over my space. I am not a large person or mean, for that matter, but I decided enough was enough! The cart was coming down the aisle and I needed to be in my seat, not the aisle, so I did what any mature person would do and played elbow hockey for the duration of the flight. I know, mature. He never got it. Now, I travel enough to see patterns. Women never take over other people's space (unless they really are just too large for the seat), it's always men. Now I don't mean to bash men. I like men as much as the next gal, but I want my own space on an airplane! So, to all of you who read this (all 3 of you...) spread the word, here are the beginnings of the Airplane Rules and Etiquette:
1. As the flight attendants suggest, overhead bin space should be reserved for large bags, not your coat or hat. If there is space remaining, then place said item in the overhead space. Until then it stays in your lap on the floor in front of you.
2. If you sit in the aisle seat, please remember that you are going to have to get up many, many times so your fellow passengers can get out. Deal!
3. Armrests-- There are rules. Here we go. The window seat uses the armrest closest to the window, the middle seat uses the armrest closest to the window and the aisle seat using the armrest away from the aisle. The aisle armrest is not a usable space. People walk past, carts bump, it's just not a good space.
Basically, all I ask for with these rules and of my fellow passengers is a little common sense and common courtesy. Remember what you learned in Kindergarten? Nap time, show-and-tell, and sharing...bring it forward in your life. It'll make things so much more pleasant for those who come into contact with you.