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?

Training For The Olympics

September 21, 2008 Passenger Stories

For once, this is not a story about “the Ugly American,” instead it is of the “Insensitive Australian.” We are on our way to Los Angeles from Australia. Most passengers have settled in and are trying to go to sleep. We have bulk head seats. Therefore, there is a large space between us and the […]

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The Queen Of Sky

September 19, 2008 Non-Stories

Ellen Simonetti was a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines for 8 years until she was fired in 2004 for posting alluring pictures of herself in her uniform on her blog, Diary of a Flight Attendant. Ellen’s blog anonymously described her exploits as a FA, including dates from hell. But her identity was exposed once […]

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Reporters As Flight Attendants (And Vice Versa)

September 19, 2008 Non-Stories

Reporters As Flight Attendants New York Times columnist Michelle Higgins wrote about her two day stint as an American Airline FA (Flying the Unfriendly Skies). Michelle quickly gained an appreciation for what FAs have to deal with, particularly in regards to difficult passengers. Concern about passenger behavior is well justified as evidenced by this article: […]

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How To Ask Out A Flight Attendant

September 19, 2008 Non-Stories

Millions of men have fantasized about flight attendants. Much of it probably has to do with the sexy appeal that the airlines portrayed about FAs during less politically correct times. The instructional video below is designed to give guys a better chance of making their dreams come true. Whether or not following the advice would […]

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Earthquake In The Sky

September 13, 2008 Weather Stories

I don’t fly much, maybe two or three times a year tops. I flew to Florida this year to be in my best friend from high school’s beach wedding in June. I flew with Air Tran from Philadelphia and I had a stop in Atlanta. I should say here I NEVER have any issues at […]

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Mom And My Flight Through Hell

September 7, 2008 Airport Stories

This was supposed to be the beginning of Mom and my great adventure. But boy did it start off wrong! I drove to Dallas to meet my 83 year old Mom and my sister Becky; she drove Mom down so she wouldn’t have to drive 150 miles by herself. We stayed the night at a […]

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Squashed In A Window

August 27, 2008 Portly Stories

I was taking a one way flight from LAX to TPA, and I was flying coach. I thought to myself this shouldn’t be too bad. I boarded and found my seat somewhat near the end of the plane. I was sitting in a window seat, and there was a man in an aisle seat; there […]

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Germy Brats

August 24, 2008 Baby & Kid Stories

When I was a junior in high school (age 16) I flew TWA to Washington D.C. for Presidential Classroom, an educational week-long program that teaches kids about government. On the way out from Kansas City, I was stuck in a 3-seat isle with a mom, her two kids ages 5 and 7, and a baby […]

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Yapping Airhead’s Audible Assaults

August 21, 2008 Passenger Stories

my weekly travels from Dallas to LA have been somewhat uneventful for the most part until american started getting cheap… between the chaos of american and the summer travels, the last couple of months have been horrible as far as seating or the ability to change it… …so I board and sit with my NOISE […]

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Passenger Pitches A Tent

August 21, 2008 Passenger Stories

[Mature content] On one of my flights, a male took the middle seat next to me. He told me something to which I smiled and nodded. I thought it was obvious when I didn’t remove my headphones that I wanted no conversation. He told me something else and I smiled again and pointed to my […]

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Mr. Mutter

August 21, 2008 Passenger Stories

Right before boarding a flight from SEA to PHX, my daughter handed me a sub sandwich and a bag of chips for the trip. Once on board and seated next to the window (I usually request an aisle seat, but the aircraft type had changed), I dug out my book and began to relax. A […]

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The Foot

August 20, 2008 Passenger Stories

I was on a flight from Frankfurt to Houston on Lufthansa; I was 13 and this was 2002 I believe. Anyways there was this other girl my age sitting next to me and her mother behind her along with her grandmother sitting straight behind me. The grandmother decided to stretch, putting her foot on my […]

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