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?

Titanic Toddler Creates Tumult

October 23, 2007 Baby & Kid Stories

I must preface this entire “flight from hell” with the fact that my outbound flight was an average, crappy-style flight. I was scheduled to arrive in Buffalo from Tampa at 8 or so pm. My layover – or should I say over night visit – was in Philadelphia. I did eventually arrive in Buffalo and […]

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Ungentlemanly Colonel Sanders Look-Alike

October 20, 2007 Passenger Stories

I was once on a flight from the Caribbean. After a long delay we were permitted to get onto the plane. It was totally crowded and it took quite a while to get everyone into their seats and prepare to leave. It was very hot outside and inside the plane was no better. The smells […]

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Missed Flight Leads To First Class Rage

October 20, 2007 Passenger Stories

I flew from Orlando to Miami one time back when a now-defunct airline had an hourly shuttle between the two cities on what they called the Sky Bridge, and what I called the worlds oldest 727’s. My friend who was supposed to pick me up was late, so I watched as the passengers for the […]

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Followed By Frat Boys

October 20, 2007 Passenger Stories

On my most recent flight from Chicago to Tokyo, a 12+ hour flight, seated three rows behind me were a small group of guys. Evidently, they were frat boys on a drinking vacation to the bars in Tokyo and were eagerly talking about their plans. It wasn’t bad enough that they could be heard above […]

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Violent Vegetarian Hurls Seeds

October 20, 2007 Passenger Stories

Well let me preface this with the fact I am a vegetarian. I know well ahead of time that most airlines have a problem accommodating us, so I always get something to eat before boarding. On a flight from SFO to Denver, I sat next to a young woman who was also a vegetarian. She […]

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Motor Mouths

October 20, 2007 Passenger Stories

This happened a few years ago. My wife and I flew out to Los Angeles to visit her daughter. On the return flight home, which was the red eye to Chicago, there were three young women sitting behind us. As everyone was trying to get settled, and at least trying to get some sleep, these […]

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Belligerent Passengers Take Over Airplane

October 20, 2007 Passenger Stories

I was 15 and flying alone from London to Orlando, and had to change planes in Miami. It was late evening and most of the plane was filled with families from Puerto Rico heading to Disney World. We didn’t leave on time and were told the ground crew was working to get a cargo door […]

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The Good Samaritans

October 20, 2007 Passenger Stories

My son was about 16 and we arrived several hours early to ensure that we were at least fairly certain of getting into the “A” or “B” group on an airline that won’t be named. We were proud of our hours of standing in line and the resulting fine boarding cards. We stood in line […]

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Lost Luggage And Lousy Service

October 16, 2007 Luggage Stories

Lets start off 4 hours delayed at take-off…….. My sister and I were on a flight from Puerto Rico to NYC. We usually pack very lightly so as to avoid the long baggage lines. Upon boarding the plane, it became very obvious that most people had decided to just push all their oversized baggage into […]

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Troubles Over The Bayou

October 12, 2007 Airplane Stories

Many years ago, I was on a quick flight from Tampa Fl, to New Orleans. Only a short time in the air. My mother and sister and I crammed ourselves into the tiny seats in the fully loaded plane and enjoyed an uncomfortable but to-be-expected flight…till it was time for us to land. The pilot […]

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Fearful Flight

October 12, 2007 Airplane Stories

I was flying from Colorado Springs to Washington National via Chicago O’Hare for a training course in the Research Triangle area. During take-off out of Chicago there was a loud noise from underneath the front aircraft, leading the pilot to believe that we may have blown a tire or something on the front landing gear. […]

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Stuck On The Plane Forever

October 12, 2007 Airplane Stories

Earlier this year I took a flight to Australia with United. It’s a flight I’ve taken a few times over. On this particular occasion, after a couple of hours layover in LAX, I took the flight to Australia. Approaching Sydney, the flight attendant told us that the weather would not allow us to land and […]

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