Flights From Hell flies you into the crazy skies with stories about the adventures and anxieties of airline 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?

An Arsenal Of Pills

November 22, 2009 Medical & Illness Stories

This story is a reflection of my world. It’s not a hell story, but really funny…
Years ago, I’m taking a short flight from ATL to RDU. I had just gotten back from being stationed in Germany, and was on the last leg of a 19 hour flight day. I was in my BDU’s, so I [...]

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Seat Recliner Proclaimed To Be A “Comunista”

November 22, 2009 Reclining Seat Stories

I was flying Air Italia (my last time!) Boston to New Delhi via Milan. On the first leg that was packed to capacity, an elderly Italian woman continuously pushed my seat back upright while consequently I pushed it back down. This went on for hours until I turned around and told her to stop and [...]

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Threat Of Arrest Over Armrest War

November 21, 2009 Portly Stories

This happened this past summer on my way from IAH to ABQ. I had gotten on the flight early and had settled into my window seat. I was lucky enough to get a bulk head seat, as I like to stretch out my legs.
I was reading my book when a big, I mean BIG woman [...]

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Passenger Hoodwinked Into Making A Bad Decision

November 20, 2009 Odor Stories

I was on a Virgin Airlines flight from Tokyo to London back in ‘99. At first I had this wonderful aisle seat and a sweet FA who had this wonderful British accent. I chatted things up for a bit with her and was then greeted by a Senior FA (an old hag BTW) who asked [...]

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A Panoply Of Problems

November 19, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

My son and I were flying to his great-grandmother’s funeral. He was 11 at the time and I was 7 months pregnant. Due to the fact that we bought the tickets the day before, we were pulled aside at security for a special search. They separated my son and I and frisked both of us [...]

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Triplet Toddlers

November 19, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

My husband, seven-year-old son and I were taking the overnight flight from Honolulu to Dallas. The only return flight we could get from Hawaii to the mainland was at night, so we figured we’d take what we could get. We were shoved into one of the very last rows of the plane, next to the [...]

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Men Of The Cloth

November 19, 2009 Passenger Stories

Back in the mid-1990’s, I boarded a Delta flight from Helena, Montana to Salt Lake City, pretty much the only way to get anywhere else in the world if you lived in Helena, Montana. I was going to visit my parents in Georgia.
Little did I know that at the time, the Pope was visiting America. [...]

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Beastly Brat

November 18, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

I was on a flight from New York to Los Angeles and as I board the plane and walk up to my seat, I notice a young boy – at least 2 years old – sitting in my seat. I walk up and say to the woman next to him, his mother, that I believed [...]

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An Expensive Cup Of Starbucks

November 17, 2009 Delay Stories

I left SNA Orange County Airport on United Airlines with my final destination “Fargo, Dakota.” Our connection is through Denver. We landed on time and it was a nice flight to Denver. I proceeded to my departing gate connecting to Fargo, and waited as other passengers were waiting. Our departure time was 3:45 pm. Then [...]

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Chutzpah Guy

November 17, 2009 Passenger Stories

I’ve flown hundreds of thousands of miles yet the oddness and stupidity of my fellow travelers never ceases to amaze me. On a recent evening flight from Houston to Tucson I observed a man teetering on the edge of insanity.
First, when we were taxiing for take-off he rang his flight attendant call button to tell [...]

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