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?

No Luck Getting To Ireland

August 14, 2009 Luggage Stories

Two years ago, I flew from Boston to Philadelphia to get a connecting overnight flight to Ireland. Due to summer storms, we circled Philadelphia for about 90 minutes and then sat on the tarmac waiting to dock at a terminal. There were about six people trying to make the connecting flight to Ireland, and what […]

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Flying With Baby – Never Again!

August 12, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

So we booked our flights MONTHS in advance with said airline. At the time I had a 6 month old, and we didn’t get an extra seat for her since they stated that there is no way the flight would be full – we could use the extra seat for more room after take off. […]

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A Fitting Punishment For Bernie Madoff

August 11, 2009 Seat Stories

I measure 6’6″ tall, which doesn’t seem that large to me. I dread flying though. The thought of putting myself through that is, frankly, masochistic. In perfect posture, I have my knees planted firmly against the seat in front of me. The seat that is always occupied by someone who NEEDS that extra 3″ of […]

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Bags, Bins & Balls

August 10, 2009 Luggage Stories

I am a flight attendant for a major carrier. Last week, while boarding a full flight from JFK to LAS, with each passenger having at least two bags, a man on the aisle, about 6′ 5′, was leaning inward away from a short man trying to stow his bag in the overhead bin. The short […]

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Kid Barfs But Misses Bag

August 10, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

My story probably isn’t as bad as most. I had started out from Moscow, connecting through Vienna and then to Frankfurt, so I had already been flying for 5 hours. At this point I was on a 9 hour flight from Frankfurt to NYC, then was getting on a 6 hour connecting flight back to […]

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Child With Possible Tape Worm

August 9, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

This story begins like so many others….rushing to get on the plane….rushing to get bag in the overhead……rushing to sit down….rushing, rushing rushing! Well I’ve settled into my window seat for an hour and a half flight. An oriental lady and small child take the seat next to mine and a large gentleman has the […]

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Passenger Has A Medical Emergency

August 7, 2009 Illness/Medical Stories

My husband and I were traveling with our 7 year old son to go to Zurich Switzerland from Atlanta on Delta back in Sept 08. Well we were all very excited and had very little hiccups since we arrived at the airport. Security wasn’t so bad, with no delays… As we board the plane we […]

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Passenger Fills Multiple Seats

August 7, 2009 Portly Stories

USAir, Fl to Boston, changed my seat to an aisle, very happy. Tap on my shoulder – the center person of three seats was there. Okay, got up to let her in. Should have known when the attendant gave her an extension for the seat belt!!!!! Should have known when the lady lifted up the […]

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Landing Gear Causes Consternation

August 5, 2009 Airplane Stories

About 20 years ago, I was on a flight with my then infant daughter and my wife. I don’t remember specifically what aircraft we were on except that it was a UA flight on a plane with 2 aisles (so: a “heavy”). We took off in a snow storm from Hartford’s Bradley airport bound for […]

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Ticket Troubles

August 4, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

My brother recently went on a class trip to Costa Rica during spring break. After they visited Costa Rica, they tried to drive to Texas to take a flight to St. Louis. They knew they weren’t going to make it on time though, so my brother’s teacher called into the airline, and the whole class […]

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An After Meal Snack

August 3, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

Several years ago I was flying from Denver to San Francisco to spend Thanksgiving at my Grandmother’s house. I had an aisle seat and next to me was a little boy, whose mother sat next to the window. I love children, and so for the first hour of the flight the little boy and I […]

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Drunk And Dirty Old Man

August 2, 2009 Senior Stories

A couple of years ago, I was on a flight from Philadelphia, PA to San Francisco, CA. I don’t mind flying, but I do get antsy sitting mostly still (with the exception of a few bathroom runs) for 5 hours. Mainly, I try to keep to myself and respect other people’s space. I mean, we’re […]

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