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?

Ticket Confusion and Surly Service Vex Travelers

December 11, 2015 Airport Stories

My wife and I were going on our first-ever cruise to the Bahamas in July, 2015. The flight took us from Dulles airport in northern Virginia to Miami, then from Miami back to Dulles on the return trip. Our cruise was wonderful, and we came away from it relaxed and ready to return to Virginia. […]

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Cramped Conditions on Transatlantic Flight

November 13, 2015 Seat Stories

I have been an American Airlines frequent flyer for many, many years. I don’t fly the airline nearly as much now that we have moved to Hilton Head Island, since connections from Savannah are generally not as good as they are for other airlines to the destinations we fly to.

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Pandemonium and Pat-Down at Security

November 6, 2015 Airport Stories

Flight 873 American Airlines was everything but routine. If bad karma existed. I hope that the company goes down in flames.

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Panic Over Hydraulic Problem

October 26, 2015 Airplane Stories

So there I was flying home to Salt Lake City from a nice vacation in Florida on the Gulf Coast. I am not overly fond of flying to begin with, but if I’m going to leave this earth I want to see what’s coming, so I always book a window seat.

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Airline Agents with Attitudes

October 23, 2015 Airport Stories

It’s not just the airplanes that have all the fun. I was at a ticket counter attempting to reason with a foreign-born person (I assume) at the Chicago airport about my ticket. There was a serious mistake that had been made during the connecting flight and I was trying to get the agent to understand […]

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Snow Storm Forces Sleep Over in Airport

September 20, 2015 Odds & Ends Stories

My husband and I went on our first trip together to Japan for our honeymoon. We had a great experience, but the return trip was not as smooth! 

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Heavy Lady Tries to Take Half of Girl’s Seat

September 13, 2015 Portly Stories

I was flying alone from Orlando back home to Phoenix. I got my window seat that I paid extra for (or should I say my company paid extra for) and sat down. A few minutes later, some girl about 14 comes up and is the most polite thing ever. She asks to switch seats so […]

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No Fuel, Hot Weather, Out of Time for Wedding

September 11, 2015 Weather Stories

June 2006 – Montreal to Memphis: After a wonderful trip to Canada with my aunt and uncle, we were looking forward to coming home to Memphis and attending my cousin’s wedding that evening. We were approaching the Memphis area when the pilot began circling; a massive storm was barreling down over Memphis causing all incoming […]

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Travel Troubles End With Aerial Tour

September 10, 2015 Odds & Ends Stories

I didn’t want to find out when I flew from Denver to Philadelphia that all of the flights to New York got canceled for the night. Even though I stood in a long line for two hours, unable to charge my cell phone, I couldn’t get a hotel voucher because they ran out of them. Regardless […]

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Companies with Different Cultures

September 7, 2015 Airport Stories

On Sunday, August 23rd, I was traveling from Cuenca in Southern Ecuador with LAN Airlines Ecuador to connect with the American Airlines service to Miami.

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Ignored by Service Rep Viewing Cell Phone

September 4, 2015 Airport Stories

On August 7th, 2015, I traveled with Turkish Airlines on Flight TK 1764 from Helsinki to Istanbul for my onward journey to Lahore on Flight TK 0714. I had a stopover of 22 hours at Istanbul. How I got this long layover, I could not exactly figure out. I initially intended to take another flight and […]

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Moldy Cheese and Other Ills Spoil Flight

August 23, 2015 Odds & Ends Stories

After a 3 hour drive to the Seattle Airport, waiting in a long line, we were greeted by a wonderful host. Being very hesitant, because we had never flown this airline before, I thought these are wonderful people who work here. Boy was I ever disappointed!!!!!

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