A few observations on a quick flight to south Florida over the weekend:
South Florida in August? Are you nuts? Probably. Still, wasn't much worse than Illinois' recent heat wave. Just never cools off. The beaches are great, though.
Flying's becoming more and more of a hassle and less and less pleasant. To the point that any trip under 500 miles will be more pleasant to drive.
Those rumored security checkpoint backlogs simply do not exist except at really, really peak flying times, and then it's no more than a 15-minute wait. At most. My longest wait in line was about 30 seconds. At most.
The security personnel are quite serious about their jobs and being more vigilant than I've ever seen them. Nevertheless, they also seem more pleasant and understanding than in the past. They know that it's no fun for the passengers.
Despite all the hoopla about not being able to carry liquids or gels on planes, a surprising number of folks just never get the message. Or they believe it doesn't apply to them. Garbage containers at the security stops are filled. Little old ladies just do not want to part with their 40 pounds of makeup.
People also don't understand that they can't carry a bottle of water on a plane, even if they purchased it in the gate area. People are dumb.
Boarding is a lot more pleasant now since about half of all carryon baggage has been eliminated. No businessfolks trying to stuff an 80-pound steamer trunk into an overhead bin while 80 people wait to board. The overhead bins on all of my flights were never totally filled.
Conversely, lots more checked baggage means more crowded baggage return areas. And longer lines at the lost luggage offices.
In general, folks at airports and in the air seem to be making a real honest effort to be pleasant, friendly and helpful. They know that flying's now more of a hassle than an adventure. It is for them, too. It's not their fault.
And so it goes.
3 comments:
Where did you fly out of? Indy? I like them so much better than O'Hare...
I wish flying out of Willard was less expensive... talk about no wait for security! But with the extra cost on the ticket and the charge for parking ...
Yes, I flew out of Indy. Flying out of Willard would have exactly doubled the ticket price. And they can't figure out why more people don't fly Willard. It's a quick 2 hours 15 minutes to Indy with $6 long term parking. And the planes have more than 1 seat per side.
Thanks for the report ol’ guy. I have always been a Nervous Nelly about flying, and I was wondering what it was going to be like the next time I got on a plane.
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