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?

Toy Car Kicked In Anger

January 27, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

I was on a flight from LAX to ATL with a stop in Houston one morning. I sat in my seat in the back of the 737 to relax after a stressful business trip and was disturbed to hear the high pitched whine of a loud eight year old that was sitting behind me. In […]

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The Bad Kid

January 27, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

I was waiting to board a plane on a return flight from Paris when I saw a woman from Africa with two children, one of which was shaking up a bottle of soda while waiting in line. I saw what was about to happen and got out of the way. He opened the bottle and […]

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Seats Turn Round Bottoms Square

January 26, 2010 Seat Stories

This is about NOT RECLINABLE seats. Should you have masochistic streaks, you can find them on the Cathay Pacific 747B-400 flights from Europe to Far East. They are something of a kind: a plastic shell 40 cm. wide, with some 3 cm. thick Styrofoam filled sliding cushions… Yes, sliding… the seat won’t recline, only the […]

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Passenger Gets What He Asked For

January 26, 2010 Passenger Stories

I was on a flight from Philly to the West Coast via Chicago. I was already in my seat in coach when a man (I won’t call him a gentleman) stormed down the aisle and said that I was in his seat, and that he had a ticket to prove it. Sure enough, he did […]

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Left In A Quandary By Qatar

January 26, 2010 Delay/Cancellation Stories

On Dec. 22 6:30am we checked in on flight 613 in Bangkok scheduled to fly out 8:15. The plane was basically empty. We departed from the gate, got on the runway only to hear the captain say we were returning because of engine problems. After a 3 hour wait they said the flight was being […]

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Ordeal Over Wheelchairs

January 25, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

Started off real nice. I was going from California to Oklahoma City on United Airlines. I have C.O.P.D. and can hardly walk and breathe now. Requested wheelchair ahead of time at each airport. Going was real great. Wheelchair at each airport and even at the door to the plane. Now the return trip was a different […]

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Seat Is Stolen From Pregnant Passenger

January 24, 2010 Passenger Stories

Having been a regular flier, I always booked my flights well in advance and always chose the same type of seat – by the aisle closest to the front of the plane. Knowing that my upcoming trips would be towards the end of my pregnancy, I made an extra effort to ensure that I would have […]

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Passenger’s Strangest Misadventure

January 24, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

About 10 years ago I was flying from Boston to Atlanta to return to school from my parent’s home. Due to logistical issues, my father had to drop me off at the airport about 5 hours before my flight. So, I checked my bag and went out for a long walk – Boston is an […]

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Grace Asked For Children’s Behavior

January 23, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

About two years ago, a family with three little ones were traveling from Chicago to Dallas, about a four hour jaunt. As the plane gets ready for takeoff, the dad starts freaking out. Apparently, the baby’s diaper was gone (the dad was sitting across the aisle from the mom and other two children) and she had […]

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Rough Day Leads To Anxiety Attack

January 23, 2010 Passenger Stories

I am afraid my story incriminates me as a passenger from hell, but it has to be told so that some people can see the other side of bad behavior and maybe sympathize just a tiny bit. Some people don’t mean any harm and just find themselves in a bad situation they never wanted to […]

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Reflections From A Former Airline Agent

January 22, 2010 Attendant & Pilot Stories

In 1988 fresh out of college, I decided I wanted to work for the airlines so I could see the world.  So, I went to the International Air Academy in St. Louis to learn the trade.  After three months at the trade school, I went to work for Braniff Airlines in Kansas City, MO. (MCI). […]

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Nauseated Over Nail Clipping

January 22, 2010 Passenger Stories

I was on a puddle-jumper from SFO to Bakersfield, about an hour flight. A woman across the aisle started clipping her fingernails, the clippings falling on the floor. This lasted about 10 minutes (It must have been her bi-annual hygene maintenance day). At the end of the flight she got up first and I looked […]

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