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?

FAs Ignore Cell Phone Conversation

August 4, 2010 Passenger Stories

I lived for 6 months in Kazakhstan last year. Not the one from the movie Borat, but in the original country. In spring 2009, I flew from Astana to Almaty on board Air Astana. Air Astana is the international operating and biggest airline of the country. A 30-year-old woman was sitting on my left in […]

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Kids Create Nightmare

August 3, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

About two years ago I was on the worst flight of my life. The flight was from Kansas City to Chicago Ohare. Well after everyone had boarded I requested to be moved to a window seat, with an open aisle seat since I’m a bigger guy (the aircraft, a 737, had several open rows). Anyway […]

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Amorous Activity Is Interrupted

August 2, 2010 Couples Stories

[Mature content] Several years ago, I was travelling from the US to Australia. About midway over the Pacific, when the meal had been served and the lights had all been dimmed, I had my seat reclined, dozing. Not asleep, but just dozing and aware of what was going on around me. I was in an […]

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Combative Passenger Confronts Navy SEAL

August 1, 2010 Passenger Stories

I am a 22 year-old female college student currently living in Rome. Returning home a recent flight from Singapore to Heathrow after a nice winter holiday, I had the complete privilege of being seated next to a very nice gay couple on their way back home to Paris. One was a French airline pilot, and […]

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Delayed And Unable To Contact Dad

July 30, 2010 Delay/Cancellation Stories

A long long time ago in a country far away… I was a graduate student in the UK, flying home for summer break, 1983. It was only my second international flight. My parents booked me a seat on a charter flight from Gatwick to Kennedy. I arrived on time at Gatwick, and got myself checked […]

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Stuck In Paris Wearing Cheap Clothes

July 29, 2010 Luggage Stories

This is a story from 2007:  When I finished school my mother gave me a short city trip to Paris. I packed my baggage with a lot of fashionable clothes since Paris is a real fashion metropolis. As the plane started its approach to land the pilot started a speech which went approximately like this: “Dear passengers, […]

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Urine Soaked Seat

July 28, 2010 Seat Stories

A few years ago – on a flight from Dallas, Texas to Portland, Oregon the overweight and asleep gentleman next to me urinated on his and, ultimately, on my seat. I promptly stood up – to avoid sitting on a urine-soaked seat, and asked the nearest flight attendant for permission to move to another seat […]

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Nice Lady Looks After Young Lad

July 26, 2010 Airplane Stories

I was 13 when I met a passenger who took care of me and treated me like a son. Before I tell my story, I must explain the background situation. I was on a flight from Beijing to San Francisco when engine #1 was on fire. Apparently a passenger discovered this and notified the captain. […]

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“No” To Toddler’s Temper Tantrum

July 25, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

I was taking a quick flight back from Orlando, FL to Lubbock, TX with a brief stop in Austin to let passengers get off and more get on. While waiting to board in Orlando, I saw a small family (Dad, two year old son, and Very Pregnant Mom) sitting in front of me. Dad had […]

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Almost Bonked On The Head By Overhead Bin

July 24, 2010 Airplane Stories

Several years ago I was flying Delta Airlines on a short hop from North Carolina to Florida. It was a large plane and I was seated on the aisle in the front 1/3 of the plane. It was a normal boarding and taxi, but things got interesting on take-off. As the plane lifted off the […]

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Loud Passenger Prevents Sleep

July 23, 2010 Passenger Stories

I was recently returning to Jacksonville, Florida from Kansas City, Missouri after an extended weekend where I was a co-hostess for my sister’s baby shower. Needless to say, I was exhausted. The first leg of my flight was from KC to Ft. Lauderdale. Flying Southwest and lucky enough to have an A boarding pass, I […]

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Terminal Hell In Phoenix

July 22, 2010 Airport Stories

This complaint covers all categories – airlines, airports, and personnel. The incident happened at Phoenix. If you have a choice, do not go there. Especially, do not change flights there in the middle of a summer day! We arrived from Seattle on Alaska Air. We were supposed to catch an American Airlines flight onward to […]

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