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?

Air France IS Hell!

February 17, 2010 Airport Stories

It was about 5 or so years ago when my wife and I decided to travel to Korea to visit the family and have a nice long vacation. We booked a flight with Air France from Frankfurt to Seoul via Paris. Everything was fine in Frankfurt; we boarded our flight and touched down in Paris […]

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Twin Troubles

February 16, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

My husband and I were on a direct flight between Amsterdam and Los Angeles – the plane was packed. For the first time (and hopefully the last) we actually saw passengers sitting in the jump seats. The cat at their feet began crying and we thought “This is going to be a long flight.” Turns […]

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A Very Uncomfortable Flight

February 16, 2010 Seat Stories

I just got back from a trip to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, and I have to be honest when I say that the plane flight that I endured from our lay-over in Frankfurt, Germany to Boston was the worst plane flight I have ever encountered. Lets start by saying that I am 6’5″ and I […]

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Gear In The Rear

February 15, 2010 Portly Stories

My GF and I were returning from LA to NYC on a Jet Blue flight out of Burbank. Prior to boarding, we learned we had been “Randomly selected by the computer” for a bag check. Whatever, nothing like having your dirty undies strewn about for some TSA agent to rifle through, but I digress. The […]

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Cross Breed Between Linda Blair & Yoko Ono

February 15, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

Having just left my new wife for a wholly unpleasant search for work trip to the UK, all I really wanted to do after waiting 4 hours for my connecting flight from Dulles to London was to at least try to get some sleep as I was on a night flight. Ho ho ho, I […]

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The Family Of Fourteen

February 14, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

I was recently on a flight to San Diego to see my fiancee who is stationed there. With the airline’s budget the way it is now, our flight was completely booked. I had a seat towards the rear of the plane, and that is where a new cultural experience started. A Middle Eastern family of […]

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Frustration Over Flatulence

February 14, 2010 Odor Stories

Two years ago on a flight from JFK to Heathrow, I was seated next to a middle-aged pudgy man. He ordered a cocktail directly after take-off, took two sleeping pills with his drink, and promptly fell asleep. Soon after he fell asleep, he began to pass gas; loud, smelly, ridiculous farts. I was on the […]

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Travel Voucher Bait Turns Into Big Bust

February 13, 2010 Weather Stories

In the winter of 2000, my mom, dad, sister, and I flew from San Diego back to Michigan, where most of my extended family lives. My parents were raised in Michigan and this winter was the most snow they had seen ever. The day it stopped was the day we were going to leave, flying […]

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Surly Senior Almost Gets Her Ass Kicked

February 12, 2010 Senior Stories

My husband, three kids and I were traveling from Brussels to Chicago around Thanksgiving 2006 on emergency leave as my father was dying. In fact, they were just waiting for us to arrive before they “pulled the plug.” So, already a miserable trip. Unfortunately, our newly potty trained little one peed his pants. I had […]

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Tense Landing In Tegus

February 12, 2010 Airplane Stories

I’ve flown frequently from the US to Tegucigalpa (Tegus), Honduras these past 2 years. Apparently, pilots have to have “special training” to land in Tegucigalpa because it’s like in a “bowl”… meaning they have to drop down suddenly in the mountains to land. I know this, I brace for this, but every time I land […]

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Tanked Trannies

February 11, 2010 Passenger Stories

[Mature content] Back when I used to fly coach, on a flight from Bangkok to Kuwait with a layover in Bahrain, there was a group of drunken Arab trannies. All 7 of them had to be in their early 20s. OK no big deal, if they mind their business I’ll do the same. I just […]

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Flattened Like A Pancake

February 11, 2010 Luggage Stories

Over the 20 years that I have flown for business, it is generally the rule that after about six months I need to replace my suitcase. Baggage handling is never gentle but on one trip, shortly after buying a new suitcase, I retrieved my suitcase and it was flattened like a pancake! So I went […]

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