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?

Customer Disservice

November 16, 2007 Luggage Stories

On July 10, 2007, my one year old daughter and I were to leave from NYC on US Airways. That flight was supposed to leave at 1.23 pm; boarding was supposed to begin around 12.45 pm. At around 1.30 the gate agent informed us that the aircraft (it was a prop plane) was too hot […]

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Two Ring Circus (Bus Bumps Plane & A Human Cannonball)

November 12, 2007 Airplane Stories

I will never fly on this airline again, ever. This flight originated in Newark, N.J., and was supposed to be a one hour commuter hop to Burlington, Vt. It was a very hot and humid July afternoon in Newark, and you can imagine the mood of the weary travelers and workers in the lower level […]

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Pilot’s Prevaricated Prognostication

November 12, 2007 Airplane Stories

August 17, 2007: American Airlines 525, Boeing 757 nonstop from Miami to Chicago O’Hare, sunny skies all the way, no delays taking off from Miami. No hassle, you’d think? Alas, no. Two hours into the flight, the pilot announces there is bad weather in Chicago and we must land in Indianapolis. In fact, he says […]

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A Great Martini

November 10, 2007 Food & Drink Stories

A good friend flew in from Chicago to NY, business class. His seatmate asked the stewardess for a martini. When she brought it, he thanked her and said that it was one of the best he ever had. A while later, to thank her again, he mentioned that he noticed that her bangs needed cutting, […]

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Neanderthal Man

November 10, 2007 Weird People Stories

The story I am about to relate took place in July 2005. My wife and I had booked a direct flight from Cleveland to Gatwick – a service that runs from April to October each year. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to make our flight. I made the mistake of asking […]

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Flying Ordeal Leads To Breakdown

November 10, 2007 Food & Drink Stories

I was returning from Rome to Arizona in July of 2007. I chose Lufthansa because I had flown them many times before, and they’re one of the most consistently good airlines I’ve flown. I flew a connecting flight from Rome to Frankfurt at 8:30 am. I got to the airport at 5:00 am. The computers […]

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Despicable Service

November 5, 2007 Attendant & Pilot Stories

I was called to come to San Francisco from Dallas because my mother was dying. I am disabled and must use a wheelchair when I travel as I can’t walk very far. I told the airline about this when I made my reservation. Dallas went off with no problem. When I arrived in San Francisco […]

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Seat Becomes A Punching Bag

November 5, 2007 Seat Stories

I was flying back to the U.S. after a vacation in Germany. I knew I was in trouble from the very start when I found my seat and realized that the seat pocket in front of me had six magazines in it. I look over and the elderly man sitting next to me and his […]

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High In The Sky

November 5, 2007 Odds & Ends Stories

Last year my sister and a friend and I flew from Philadelphia to Las Vegas for an eagerly awaited vacation. It had been many years since I had flown and I was nervous, especially since I have severe claustrophobia. My doctor gave me a few strong sedatives to take on an as needed basis. The […]

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Emergency Leads To Stinky Situation

November 4, 2007 Odor Stories

A few years ago I was flying from JFK to Las Vegas, non stop, on an evening flight. Flying time is about 5 1/2 hours. About an hour out, a woman in the rear of the plane starts screaming, really screaming. Her husband (big guy, probably under 40) is having an attack of some kind. […]

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Bad B.O.

November 4, 2007 Odor Stories

On a flight from Oakland to Kona, I was stuck sitting next to a man with horrible body odor. He apparently did not wear deodorant, and I dreaded every time he would raise his arm for something. Add to that the fact that I get motion sickness very easily, and I really thought I was […]

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The Lingering Aroma Of Vomit

October 30, 2007 Illness/Medical Stories

Once when I was flying to New York from Phoenix, I developed the stomach flu. After a nauseating one and a half hours into the flight, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to resort to the white puke bag (at the time I thought I was being generous instead of climbing over people and […]

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