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?

A Rather Large Man

August 26, 2009 Portly Stories

Flight was from Washington Reagan to DFW. I took my seat by the window and as it got closer to take off, I still did not have anyone sitting in seat next to me. I am thinking “sweet….I’ll have room.” They were about to close the door and one more person got on. It was […]

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Passengers Late And Irate

August 25, 2009 Delay/Cancellation Stories

In January of 2003 I was flying to Amsterdam from Johannesburg, South Africa on KLM/Northwest. The flight was on time getting to Amsterdam. It had been snowing in Amsterdam. I had an approx 4 hour layover in Amsterdam before boarding a flight for Dulles Airport. Boarded the plane on time and the plane left the […]

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Toddler Reluctant To Fly On A Plane

August 25, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

We took our son to Florida for the first time when he was barely 3. I explained to him how we were going to be flying “on” a plane, and he took me literally. For days he said he didn’t want to fly “on” a plane. Finally I asked him why, and he said, and […]

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Little Girl Says No To Emergency

August 24, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

Back when my daughter was a toddler, perhaps 2.5 or 3 years old, I took a flight with her on AA from LAX to SJC. The plane was a beat up old 737 that American had acquired in its recent buyout of AirCal (the interior purple color scheme gave it away). My daughter was an […]

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Weapons and Airplanes Don’t Mix

August 23, 2009 Passenger Stories

I was on a LA to NYC flight with my son (11 years old) and before we left, my son bought a bunch of throwing stars from one of the China Town gift shops in LA. These things were Razor Sharp, I had no clue my son also bought a mini katana which when I […]

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From Hell To Heaven

August 20, 2009 Illness/Medical Stories

I remember the day as if it were yesterday. It was May 1976, I was 18. My first time and alone on an airplane and headed out from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Denver, Colorado. I was going to spend the whole month of May with my cousins hiking, camping and enjoying the Rockies. It was […]

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Overstuffed & Oversized Bags

August 19, 2009 Flying Hell Commentary

When did it become an unwritten law that “thou shalt cram all your stuff into carry-on baggage so thou mayest avoid checking luggage?” On most busy flights, attendants do not have time to make sure every passenger conforms to the size and weight limits for carry-on baggage. So the overhead compartments get full fast. It […]

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Diaper Change On Tray Table

August 18, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

On a business trip to Dallas, my co-workers and I had to rush to the airport to catch an early flight home. We decided not to check bags when checking in, but to check them at the gate. This resulted in the loss of a few personal items from my bag. Since we got the […]

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Why Is She Even An Attendant?

August 17, 2009 Attendant & Pilot Stories

I was flying from Charleston, SC via Detroit to Sault Ste. Marie, MI three flights, in August. The first two legs of the trip were routine. In Detroit we switched to one of those little turbo prop puddle jumpers. We had two intermediary stops even though all on the plane were going to the same […]

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Soused Senior

August 16, 2009 Senior Stories

On a short business trip from Buffalo, NY to Newark. I was on a completely full US Air plane. Two seats left on the plane, one next to me and one behind me. An elderly man with an English accent, filthy clothes, and pants unzipped, no underwear and held up with only his belt, boards […]

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Of Tank Tops And Samoans…

August 15, 2009 Portly Stories

No one ever wants to fly in the throws of an illness, but I found myself in this predicament on a flight from San Diego to Las Vegas 6 years ago. I had been struck by vertigo, congestion, and a stomach bug…all before we took off. I sat patiently in my seat until we were […]

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Flying Becomes A Headache

August 14, 2009 Illness/Medical Stories

I was flying from Canada to Germany in the Bulkhead area, so I had roughly 3 feet of space in front of me. I always take extra strength Advil on the flight as I get a migraine once every couple of weeks, however I had never had a migraine on a flight before. We had […]

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