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?

Pathetic Parents

July 21, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

I used to fly weekly for my job, but now I only fly a few times a year for family visits and vacation, thank goodness! Several years ago I was flying from south Florida to Newark, NJ going home after visiting a friend. I had noticed a family with 2 small children in the boarding area […]

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No Room For Portly Passenger

July 20, 2010 Portly Stories

I was flying from Albuquerque to Phoenix. On Southwest Air, I got my “A” boarding pass and took my window seat. Some guy took the aisle seat and the flight filled up. At this point, there were only about 3 empty seats on the plane — all middle seats. As you can imagine, some guy […]

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Memo From An Airline Station Manager

July 19, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

As station manager at LCA (LCLK), I had always advised my staff to seat passengers with infants exactly behind the Business class for comfort. Last year, on a night flight back to LCA in “C” class, I had a woman with a child and infant seating behind me in Coach. The infant (poor kid) was […]

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Unaccommodating Airport Staff

July 18, 2010 Airport Stories

About 4 years ago my wife and I were returning from visiting family in Los Angeles. This was the experience that convinced me to avoid US Air and the Philadelphia airport at all costs. The flight from LAX to Philly was not a problem. We had an 8:30ish connecting commuter flight to our little hometown. […]

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Steamed Over Seat Separation

July 16, 2010 Seat Stories

Travelled Malaysian Airlines on a family holiday. This was the second time I had flown with them and after encountering problems both times I won’t be flying them again. We travelled as a party of four. The flight to Malaysia was fine (apart from a questionable landing in KL). The return flight was the problem. […]

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Volcano Vexes Travel Plans

July 15, 2010 Delay/Cancellation Stories

We were returning from a wonderful vacation in Greece in early May. We left the states two weeks after the volcano starting erupting. I had checked Delta’s website every day since the volcano started erupting and there was only 1 day when either of our flights outbound or returning were delayed by the volcano. That […]

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Distraught Over Delays

July 14, 2010 Delay/Cancellation Stories

Back in June 2008 my husband and I plus our 5 month old baby were waiting in DC IAD to head back to Boston. We purposely booked 4:30pm (little expensive being a Sunday) so that we would have plenty of time to rest and prepare for the next day. Everything from security check point to the […]

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Christmas And A Funeral

July 13, 2010 Delay/Cancellation Stories

On Christmas Day 2005, my family received the grim news that my grandfather had passed away from Alzheimer’s. While we knew this was going to happen within that 2 week period, obviously we were not expecting it to happen on Christmas Day. We had to book a ticket to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which anyone from […]

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The Only Passenger Without A Meal

July 12, 2010 Food & Drink Stories

A few years ago I was travelling on Malaysian Airlines from KL to Australia. The flight was full as there had been a major sporting event on in KL that finished earlier that day. I was seated in the last row by the window. Dinner service started and a few rows ahead I could hear […]

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“Assed” By A Flight Attendant

July 11, 2010 Attendant & Pilot Stories

Not a story, but an observation about flight crews: There seems to be two distinct categories of FAs: those that respect personal space and those who do not. We have just returned from Mexico, and our carrier’s flight crew falls into the latter category. I was whacked by a FA moving in the aisle at […]

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Flight Delay Déjà Vu

July 10, 2010 Delay/Cancellation Stories

I was flying on American Airlines from SFO to Rio de Janeiro (changing planes in Miami) last July. When I checked in for my flight at SFO, I was told that the flight to Miami might be slightly delayed. I wasn’t worried at first, as I had a 2 hour layover in Miami. Unfortunately, what […]

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Overweight Family On The Walkway

July 8, 2010 Airport Stories

A couple of months ago I was late for a flight from JFK to SJU. I fly almost every month to SJU and I’ve become very familiar with the airport. After I got off the AirTran plane, I started running towards the walkway to the JetBlue terminal. They have moving walkways to go quickly from […]

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