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?

Plane Etiquette

February 24, 2010 Passenger Stories

I was flying back from Malaysia yesterday on Etihad and had specifically requested a row of three seats as I was making a 28 hour journey and was hoping to catch some shut eye on the way back. You never know with these requests whether they will process, but on this occasion I was lucky […]

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Partying Passenger’s Indiscretion

February 23, 2010 Passenger Stories

I recently flew from Liverpool to Amsterdam with one of the budget airlines. It was a 6.15 am flight so I got to the airport early as the airline operates a first come, first seated policy. I’ve always been amazed that when I get to the airport this flight is always full of the stag […]

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Nauseating Nigerian Flight

February 23, 2010 Odor Stories

Nothing in the world smells worse than any flight to or from Nigeria. After 4 years of back and forth action between Lagos, Nigeria and London, I began to find my gate not by number but by stench. I understand that different countries have different levels of acceptable hygeine, but… it takes weeks or months […]

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Made For Each Other

February 23, 2010 Couples Stories

I am a travel agent, specializing in the Caribbean and Mexico. I have had many crazy flight experiences, but last year on a flight to Jamaica really takes the cake! My co-workers and I were ready for a week in paradise away from our clients and boarded our plane in Charlotte for what we thought […]

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Two Vomit Stories For Your Reading Pleasure

February 22, 2010 Illness/Medical Stories

I don’t travel much. Life sometimes changes things and air travel is by far the quickest way. I flew to Orlando for the weekend from Michigan. The trip down was nice and pleasant. The return, however, was another story. The plane was packed; no empty seats. I’m at the window with a newly married couple […]

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Sick And Tired Of Being Asked To Change Seats

February 21, 2010 Airplane Stories

This happened on a flight from San Francisco to New Orleans connecting through Dallas. I was flying to visit family for a long weekend and had packed just a small carry-on. My flight to DFW was easy and hassle free. However, once I boarded the plane to go to New Orleans things got interesting. I […]

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Wind Chill

February 21, 2010 Airplane Stories

When I was 18 my girlfriend, my mother and I were travelling back home to the UK after a wonderful adventure on Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa. We would be flying to Manchester in the UK, in a total three hour flight. I had a rather painful sunburn on […]

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Olfactory Assault

February 20, 2010 Odor Stories

Let’s begin at the beginning to properly set this “olfactory assault” in the proper perspective. A small group of friends and I were traveling from the U.S. to a small ( translation: thatched roof ) airport in Papua New Guinea for a 2 week dive trip. So far so good after numerous connecting flights in […]

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Delayed Due To No-Fly List Passengers

February 19, 2010 Delay/Cancellation Stories

In July of 2005, I was on an Air France flight from Charles de Gaulle, or however it’s spelled. Anyway, I was 17 and coming home from a wonderful 3 week tour of France, Germany, and Austria. Unfortunately, the return home was muddled up a bit, as the London tube bombings occurred two days before […]

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Ex-Pilot Comments On Changes Over The Years

February 19, 2010 Flying Hell Commentary

I want to tell you that back in the 70’s air travel was an adventure and people who sat in First Class did indeed wear suit coats and women wore dresses. The food (even in coach) was actually tasty and you could tell that people cared when you had cloth napkins and fine wine glasses […]

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So Many Stories. Where To Begin?

February 19, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

Reno, Nevada. United Airlines. 1989. This airport is in the middle of the city and the flight path is surrounded by hotels. There is a severe windstorm but the pilot decides to land anyway. I have a window seat and am watching in disbelief as the runway veers from left to right as the pilot […]

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Door Covered With Frost

February 17, 2010 Airplane Stories

OK, I grew up both in the US and Japan so I grew up flying. This flight goes down as by far the WORST flight of my life!!!! I now live in Rome, but I spent a lovely 2 weeks vacation in Japan and I was coming back to Rome on Finnair. After one of […]

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