During Thanksgiving weekend 2009 I was flying back to my home after a visit with family in Midland, Texas. Going through security, I removed my jewelry and shoes and put them in bins and then put my purse in another bin. I was wearing a velour jogging suit with a sports bra underneath. I was [...]
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Last May, I traveled to Saint Louis to visit my daughter. I’m a very nervous flier and had not traveled by plane in almost 10 years. One reason I dread flying is that I am always selected for a random search. So, to avoid problems, I paid to check my bag and only took my [...]
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I have flown abroad many times and have repeatedly noticed that the US customs agents are by far the most unfriendly and rude.
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I’m 17, it’s 1978, and flying back from England after having taken my grandfather home. The departing flight is delayed, and due to union rules or something, rather than flying into DC and then on to Detroit, the plane is rerouted to Detroit, and I have a 4 hour layover very late at night.
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I am an American expat now living with my family in Barcelona. We moved from Seattle to become “global citizens.” Now we’ve begun exploring Spain and Europe by air and it has been both a positive and horrible experience. We had been warned about Ryanair, cheap flights but absolute Nazi’s about rules, and trying to [...]
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My husband and I were flying from Toronto to Las Vegas with Air Canada. As usual we arrived at the airport 2 1/2 hours early, checked in, got through security, and still had 2 hours to wait. We did some duty free shopping, picked up some snacks for the flight, and settled in for a [...]
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Once again, Delta overbooked the flight. Not only did they overbook, but because the flight left from Accra, Ghana, Delta Airlines felt they could get away with bumping 60-70 people without compensation. The explanation: “Why didn’t you check-in for your flight 6 hours before takeoff like other people did?”
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The first time I went to Mozambique I was en route from Swaziland to Zimbabwe and had a whole day’s layover in Maputo Airport. I was restricted to the un-airconditioned departure lounge for eight hot humid hours; I didn’t even have a book to read. At 4:00pm I wandered through the airport terminal when something [...]
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Every December my parents take my family down to our annual winter vacation in Aruba (AUA). Living in Ottawa (YOW), there are no direct flights to Aruba and usually have an overnight connection at any of the Eastern Seaboard HUBs or Toronto (YYZ). Much to my dismay, we continually fly US Airways. People usually fly [...]
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This took place in January of 2011. I was supposed to return to Montreal from Atlanta through Toronto with Air Canada. I get to the airport on time, and am told that I have to take another flight to Toronto, since Air Canada switched the plane to a smaller one and there is no room. I [...]
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This took place in October of 2011, as always with United and purchased through Expedia. I had a flight from Montreal to Costa Rica. I had checked prices and they were around $900 round trip. The day I come to make my purchase, the price has jumped to $1300. Fearing that it will only go [...]
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This story took place precisely a year ago, in January 2011. I had spent the last 3 months travelling in South America, and was finally returning home to Northern Europe. At the time of return I was waaay south of Chile, bordering the South Pole areas. So it was obviously going to be a long [...]
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