Fear of Flying

No, I'm not afraid of flying, but a few people I have close relationships with would prefer other modes of transportation. Sometimes, though, flying is the quickest method of getting to your destination and there is little choice but to get your butt on a jet.

Recently Jan and I flew to Portland, Oregon to visit family. We went on Southwest Airlines due to the low cost fare that was offered for a time period that was perfect for us. Southwest is unique in that there is no assigned seats. They have A,B, and C seating assignments. In general the sooner you log on within 24hrs of your departure, the better chance you get to be in the front of the line. In practice, this does not work. If you wait one minute past your time you will end up in mid-B seating. This time we paid an extra $12 per person ($24 round trip) to get preferred early check in. This basically enabled us to get an A seating assignment and better selection of spots once on the plane.
There's no free lunch.

Seating space on all jets is pitiful. I read today that some airlines are thinking of shrinking some of the seats even more and offering them at "special" prices. The current minimum is small for anyone over 5'8" and the width is just horrible. Jan's elbows were jabbing me the entire flight. I can't imagine a smaller space. In the event of a crash you are supposed to duck down, bent over, hands over head. The majority of our population can't do that in the size seats offered today.

Ten things I learned about flying during this adventure;
1. Southwest Airlines crew are the nicest of any airlines.
2. I liked my minor Augieism - a business traveler on our flight home offered me his free drink coupon. I readily accepted and had my first drink of alcohol ever on a plane (Heineken beer, nice and cold). I almost got a Scotch in honor of NervousNellywhileflyingWeinpress, but the beer sounded good at the time.
3. It takes longer to get your checked bag from Rochester than Portland, even though the PDX airport is 5x larger.
4. Always, always take your own disinfectant wipes and clean the seat armrests and tray table as soon as you sit! The tables are the worse offenders of germs. On one flight a baby was having its' diaper changed on the seat tray. I understand a parent doing this, but just think if you were the next person in that seat? Yuck.
5. Did you get up and walk to the bathroom, like everyone should be doing on every flight to stretch legs and help prevent blood clots? Good. I hope you had more hand sanitizer when getting back to your seat and used it liberally.
6. Pets on plane. Sorry pet lovers, but this is getting out of hand. We had three dogs and a cat on our plane from Chicago to Rochester. One dog was a Labrador, very large, service dog. The woman had no obvious disability, such as sight, walking, hearing, etc. Maybe it was for anxiety? She got on the plane first, off first, got the best seat because of the dog. Nice deal. I may be insensitive here, but this seems a stretch.
7. Where in airports do animals eat and relieve themselves? At the Chicago Midway airport it seems to be anywhere they please. Three cleaners were working on a large area that a dog had used and people had then stepped in. (the Labrador maybe?)
8. When the flight crew repeatedly tells passengers not to place coats in the overhead bins because the flight is full and space is limited, don't do it! People are so self-serving.
9. Hey pig(s), the crew brings trash bags by at least 4x on a 90 minute flight. Do you really need to toss every piece of garbage on the floor by your feet?
10. Can we please get rid of seats that recline? Yes it can be a bit more comfy to lean back, but going back to my notes above, leg space is limited. Having your 1980's mullet cut hanging a foot from my head is not a pretty sight.

Sorry, another blog article not about running or triathlons. Well, I was wearing Brooks running shoes on the plane and did continuously stretch my legs (within my own seat space). I also read a Running Times magazine and almost completed re-reading "Once a Runner".