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?

Little Orphan Maple

April 24, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

My Chicago-based company decided on Monday to send me to do a field visit in Anchorage on Wednesday. Everyone loves a last minute trip to Alaska in January, right? At the gate, the sign says we’re headed to Minneapolis. After some inquiries I learn that due to the prevailing winds, a refueling stop in Minneapolis […]

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Mommy Breastfeeds Her Boy

April 24, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

I was coming home from college for break, and was flying out of Charlotte. The plane I was in was rather small (2 seats on each side), and I had the window seat on the left side. I sat beside a woman and her baby (well supposed baby), and the father and infant were on […]

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The “Shrieking Dwarf”

April 24, 2009 Baby & Kid Stories

This is the tale of our return trip from Germany to Pittsburgh in June of 2008. 6:30am – wake up in Heidelberg 8:30am – arrive at Frankfurt airport, 2.5 hrs before departure. Plenty of time, lines at the check-in counter aren’t long, so far so good. As we check in, we’re told that one of […]

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The Perfect Passenger

April 22, 2009 Non-Stories

How should passengers behave and appear in order to be considered perfect? Based on annoyances described in stories received, we’ve come up with a list of airline passenger don’ts in order to avoid offending everybody in the world: The Perfect Passenger… Doesn’t talk too much Doesn’t expel unpleasant gasses Doesn’t pick or scratch his nose, […]

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Snow Causes Extreme Delays

April 17, 2009 Delay/Cancellation Stories

We were scheduled to leave JAX airport at 3pm on our way to Dulles with a connection in ATL. There was snow moving into ATL so our flight was delayed until 8pm. We took off from JAX and landed in ATL around 930 or so. The snow was accumulating in ATL and not enough flights […]

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A Friend’s Advice

April 17, 2009 Delay/Cancellation Stories

My worst experience was some years ago. I wanted to fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil. A friend suggested VASP, a now defunct Brazilian airline. The plane was practically new, the food excellent and the stewardesses beautiful and very helpful. But….we departed Toronto with a stop at LaGuardia. We were taken off the plane, shuttled to […]

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The Rude Manager

April 17, 2009 Luggage Stories

I love flying Southwest. I know many dislike it for various reasons but for me, $99 flights and no fees, along with the free seating arrangement which, if you know how to plan it right, actually has always worked out very well for me, cannot be beat. I normally fly out of Chicago to various […]

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A Clickety Clackety Calamity

April 17, 2009 Delay/Cancellation Stories

3 summers ago my husband and I vacationed in Australia for a month. Getting there was an unbelievable saga. Flight from Lansing to Chicago, uneventful; spent the night in our $56/night airport hotel (and all I will say about that is that you definitely get what you pay for!); took the shuttle back to O’Hare […]

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Bathroom Fiasco

April 13, 2009 Weather Stories

I don’t remember where I was flying to but it was from Louisville. I was in the bathroom when the pilot announced that all passengers must take their seats as we were heading into some turbulence. Before I had a chance to finish up, we hit that turbulence. I bounced up, hit my head on […]

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The Cannibal

April 10, 2009 Weird People Stories

I was on a flight from Vienna, Austria to Belgium a couple of years ago and though I’m a frequent flier, this little trip will stay with me always. I sat in an aisle seat; in the aisle seat across and a little bit forward from me (one of those planes where the aisles don’t […]

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Filth Worse Than That At A North Dakota Truck Stop Outhouse

April 9, 2009 Animal Stories

I’m so happy to find this wonderful website, Flights From Hell, stories and commentary by people who matter the least to the airline industry, the passengers. I fly to Asia on a regular basis and am still mourning the loss of Thai airways direct flight to Bangkok from New York’s JFK. It’s amazing to note […]

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Anti-Smoking Announcements

April 9, 2009 Flying Hell Commentary

Flight attendants on United routinely make snide remarks about smoking during the official announcement when landing at SFO. I’ve heard everything from “please refrain from smoking until you have reached a designated smoking area, or for the rest of your lives” to “please refrain from smoking until you have cleared the entire State of California.” […]

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