Flights From Hell flies you into the crazy skies with stories about the adventures and anxieties of airplane travel.

Commercial airline travel takes us far, far out of our comfort zone. We're herded into cylinders that zip hundreds of miles per hour at 30,000 feet, subjected to security screenings, confronted with delays and lost luggage, rushed to catch connecting flights, constrained to small seats, scrunched up with strangers, and surrounded by pathogens. Is it any wonder we end up becoming a bundle of raw nerves by journey's end?

Ice Cream Notification Receives Icy Reception

March 14, 2015 Attendant & Pilot Stories

“Would you like ice cream”? That is what the United flight attendant asked me as she woke me and 300 other passengers flying coach from Shanghai to SFO, four hours before we landed.

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My Travels with American Airlines/US Airways – Lessons in Incompetence

March 6, 2015 Odds & Ends Stories

No one enjoys air travel these days, unless you’re a wide-eyed child still in awe of big shiny airplanes. For most 21st century adults, airplanes and airports are necessary evils. We learn to make the best of the situation at hand. Unless, of course, you’re flying American Airlines or US Airways. In that case, your […]

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Standby Status Leaves Travelers in a Lurch

January 25, 2015 Odds & Ends Stories

Dear American Airlines: To whom it may or may not concern, Are you the least compassionate airline in the United States?? Let me tell you about my weekend:

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Airplanes “On Maintenance” Blamed for Delays

January 9, 2015 Delay/Cancellation Stories

My wife and I recently flew SCE to PHL to SJU (and back) for a vacation in Puerto Rico. We made it there and back, but US Airways didn’t make it easy.

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Plane Problems Cause Flight From Purgatory

January 4, 2015 Odds & Ends Stories

A few years ago my husband’s family bizarrely converged on St. Louis. I had been to St. Louis many years before, and he was unfamiliar with it. So, we decided to go “descend” on them for a week.

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Gentleman Passes Gas

November 29, 2014 Odor Stories

I had the aisle seat on a two-hour flight heading to London Heathrow Airport. It was a 3+3 cabin configuration; to the left of me sat two smartly dressed English businessmen.

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Passenger Stinks Up Plane

November 14, 2014 Odor Stories

I was flying from West Palm Beach back to New York on a small Delta regional type of aircraft. In the first class were single seats on the right and doubles on the left, with one small bathroom in the front of the plane.

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Security Officer Baffled by Object in Bag

November 11, 2014 Luggage Stories

I’m an American who lived overseas for 20 years. I’ve flown many, many times and have had bad experiences as well as good ones. This is a funny story about security in Gatwick Airport in London a few years ago.

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Vomit Lady and Other Woes Vex Traveler

November 3, 2014 Odds & Ends Stories

I was travelling from Melbourne to Athens via Dubai last December. I hadn’t flown in quite a few years, and my return to the aviation world was less than impressive. From the start I could tell it was going to be fun. I was seated in the middle seat in the centre row (a.k.a prime […]

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Portly Man and his Son with Peanut Allergies

October 31, 2014 Portly Stories

To start off, I’m a tiny girl, 5’2″ and 110 lbs. But just because of that, please don’t look at the extra space I have in my seat as “up for grabs.”

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Traveler Stands Up to Troublesome Passengers

October 26, 2014 Passenger Stories

Fight back. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

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Bathroom Break and Lost Luggage

October 24, 2014 Luggage Stories

I arrive at the Milwaukee airport in late August, looking forward to a quick direct flight to Dallas for work. As I arrive, I get an update from the airline: flights delayed for an hour. Oh well, have a couple of beers on the company dime and still get to Dallas in time for dinner.

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