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 Is Held Together By “Duct Tape”

November 25, 2009 Passenger Stories

“This is one of those things, that sounds worse than it is…” Has anyone ever said that to you? Does it ever make you feel better after they’ve told you the information? Well, this is one of those stories… So I was in the USAF, and was heading home to see family from Little Rock […]

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Grandma Is Stuck In Dallas With No Luggage

November 25, 2009 Senior Stories

Well, this story takes place on a trip from El Paso, TX through Dallas/Fort Worth and then on to Dulles, VA. The trip out to Virginia was fine. No problems whatsoever. The way back however is a different story. I was meeting my 76 year old grandma in Dallas/Fort Worth. Well to begin with, I […]

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They Lost My Son!

November 24, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

My son flew from New England to North Carolina on Continental. He was 13 at the time. I paid $15.00 to book the flight by phone (you can’t do it online) and $100.00 extra for Continental to take him on and off the plane.  When the plane landed in NC, my son did as he […]

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Child’s Second Flight A Nightmare

November 24, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

I had my second flying experience when I was 7 or 8. We were visiting my sister in Missouri, so we flew out of Pittsburgh because it was closest to our home in Pennsylvania. The flight out was nice, but the flight back was a nightmare. There was a foot of snow dropped on Pennsylvania […]

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Fast Food Family Unable To Fit Into Seats

November 23, 2009 Portly Stories

I was on an Atlanta to Ft. Myers flight waiting at the gate for a couple of passengers to fill the remaining seats. It was a full plane with the exception of the three seats a couple of aisles ahead of me and on the left of the plane. All the passengers have been on […]

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Student’s Grueling Trip Home

November 23, 2009 Delay/Cancellation Stories

Two years ago I was applying to graduate schools on the east coast. I had an interview at the University of Connecticut and had flown in from Michigan the night before. I chose to leave a day early and pay for a hotel just in case there were delays and whatnot as it was still […]

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An Arsenal Of Pills

November 22, 2009 Illness/Medical Stories

This story is a reflection of my world. It’s not a hell story, but really funny… Years ago, I’m taking a short flight from ATL to RDU. I had just gotten back from being stationed in Germany, and was on the last leg of a 19 hour flight day. I was in my BDU’s, so […]

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Seat Recliner Proclaimed To Be A “Comunista”

November 22, 2009 Seat Stories

I was flying Air Italia (my last time!) Boston to New Delhi via Milan. On the first leg that was packed to capacity, an elderly Italian woman continuously pushed my seat back upright while consequently I pushed it back down. This went on for hours until I turned around and told her to stop and […]

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Threat Of Arrest Over Armrest War

November 21, 2009 Portly Stories

This happened this past summer on my way from IAH to ABQ. I had gotten on the flight early and had settled into my window seat. I was lucky enough to get a bulk head seat, as I like to stretch out my legs. I was reading my book when a big, I mean BIG […]

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Passenger Hoodwinked Into Making A Bad Decision

November 20, 2009 Odor Stories

I was on a Virgin Airlines flight from Tokyo to London back in ’99. At first I had this wonderful aisle seat and a sweet FA who had this wonderful British accent. I chatted things up for a bit with her and was then greeted by a Senior FA (an old hag BTW) who asked […]

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A Panoply Of Problems

November 19, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

My son and I were flying to his great-grandmother’s funeral. He was 11 at the time and I was 7 months pregnant. Due to the fact that we bought the tickets the day before, we were pulled aside at security for a special search. They separated my son and I and frisked both of us […]

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Triplet Toddlers

November 19, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

My husband, seven-year-old son and I were taking the overnight flight from Honolulu to Dallas. The only return flight we could get from Hawaii to the mainland was at night, so we figured we’d take what we could get. We were shoved into one of the very last rows of the plane, next to the […]

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