tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post1402029079304147155..comments2024-03-28T07:22:08.644-03:00Comments on The Southern Yankee: A Writer's Log: THE JOYS OF MODERN AIR TRAVELDan Newlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01054536465220812092noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-24151272226572475562013-11-05T08:55:54.984-03:002013-11-05T08:55:54.984-03:00Thanks for being a regular reader of this blog, Pe...Thanks for being a regular reader of this blog, Peggy! Glad I could make you smile.Dan Newlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01054536465220812092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-53500172634588778472013-11-05T01:03:52.665-03:002013-11-05T01:03:52.665-03:00Once again, Dan, you entertained me to tears!
It&#...Once again, Dan, you entertained me to tears!<br />It's bad enough to be confined in such a little space but to have to share that space with someone's excess baggage can make for a very long trip. <br />Not certain if long flights are better with a silent passenger who happens to fall asleep and whose mouth drops open and of course they breathe their garlic dog breath towards you for several hours or to have one who constantly talks your legs off about everything that you could care less about.<br />Love your stories, Dan...keep them coming!Peggy Madison Marketnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-52456145318704212432013-10-16T11:26:31.817-03:002013-10-16T11:26:31.817-03:00Yes, Alan, the hand luggage is a real problem. Sin...Yes, Alan, the hand luggage is a real problem. Since their policy is to charge for every piece of luggage you stow, people try to find ingenious ways to carry everything but the kitchen sink on board with them, and since boarding is according to some secret esoteric code that only the airline and the priviledged seem to understand, there are people--you and I for instance--who end up having to shove their carry-ons "where the sun don't shine". Dan Newlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01054536465220812092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-62119623401940563952013-10-16T10:07:08.900-03:002013-10-16T10:07:08.900-03:00To add to your experience you need to try out the ...To add to your experience you need to try out the United Group boarding, ie Group 1 - deserving cases, Group 2 - the rich folk, and then Group 3 - Window seats, Group 4 - middle and finally Group 5 - aisle sitters. So by the time Groups 3 and 4 together with their travelling partners alongside them get on board, that leaves Group 5 with a few single stragglers with no room left for their hand luggage.Alan Starkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01412870968550861275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-80748952653807910062013-10-13T21:19:54.748-03:002013-10-13T21:19:54.748-03:00Thanks for sharing your story and memories of bett...Thanks for sharing your story and memories of better times in air travel, James.Dan Newlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01054536465220812092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-82957981555787258502013-10-13T20:56:15.954-03:002013-10-13T20:56:15.954-03:00I'll never forget my first trip to Argentina i...I'll never forget my first trip to Argentina in 2002, flying on Southern Wings.<br />The seats were spacious, I dined on grass fed beef and the stunningly beautiful stewardesses stopped often to refill my wine glass free of charge.<br />As soon as I arrived back in the US and changed to Delta, the seats were tiny, the old and jaded stewardesses treated me like a war criminal as they charged me a fortune for a skimpy box lunch and headphones. <br />It was a sad day when Southern Wings finally lost its subsidy and "flew south".Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-88045674129541425412013-10-10T09:19:00.906-03:002013-10-10T09:19:00.906-03:00I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Yoly. I wish I cou...I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Yoly. I wish I could have gone out west too! So little time and so many things I want to do...Maybe next time.Dan Newlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01054536465220812092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-88592234200287339042013-10-09T21:16:23.481-03:002013-10-09T21:16:23.481-03:00Oh, Dan. Gads I was splitting a gut on this one. S...Oh, Dan. Gads I was splitting a gut on this one. Sort of in the same manner people used to laugh at others slipping on banana peels...Travel is no fun anymore and as the seats shrink, Americans have also grown larger. It's a conspiracy to keep us grounded, I'm sure. <br /><br />Glad you met The Mr. Paul Toth and sorry you didn't come via Arizona (which would have had you burning up along with squished, plus dodging ten-gallon hats.Yolyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12778449137944643803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-91080289160013282582013-10-09T08:43:28.189-03:002013-10-09T08:43:28.189-03:00Thanks for sharing your story, John, and for readi...Thanks for sharing your story, John, and for reading me. Always a pleasure to hear from you.Dan Newlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01054536465220812092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-52555201160572406272013-10-09T05:11:19.051-03:002013-10-09T05:11:19.051-03:00Hello Dan. I always enjoy reading your stories. Th...Hello Dan. I always enjoy reading your stories. This one made me think of many of my flight experiences. One was on the "old" AerolĂneas Argentinas from Buenos Aires to New York City on a very old 747 with an observation deck that was closed to the public, but apparently was where the cabin crew slept because during the night they were nowhere to be found. We did, however, find the gallery and helped ourselves. We have had many sub-par Delta experiences, such as the flight from Columbus to Fort Lauderdale where they decided they had too much commercial cargo and left all the passengers luggage in Ohio. To make matters worse, they sat in the lost baggage office and watched a plane full of people watching the moving luggage belt for over a half-hour and never told us what was going on. We only found out when we went in the office to inquire. One of our high points was when upon landing one time, our flight attendant, who was retiring after that flight, announced, "Welcome to Tampa. We know you have many options when flying, so the next time you chose a bankrupt airline, we hope you will consider Delta again." We fly between Tampa and Columbus quite a bit now, and only fly Southwest. They have two hour non-stops and the first two checked bags are free.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06353953491564120301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-46230319088793430312013-10-08T17:58:13.909-03:002013-10-08T17:58:13.909-03:00I believe I can safely say that no one an inch big...I believe I can safely say that no one an inch bigger than me can travel comfortably in modern planes... and I am small. <br />As to bags, maybe we should carry all our things on us?Lillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06259190228844721563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-19377120024095621162013-10-08T16:41:51.255-03:002013-10-08T16:41:51.255-03:00Thanks for your story, Mauricio. Sad to hear that ...Thanks for your story, Mauricio. Sad to hear that not even the physically challenged are respected in this age of savage air travel.Dan Newlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01054536465220812092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616769513702255459.post-87323172710968376632013-10-08T16:08:43.842-03:002013-10-08T16:08:43.842-03:00Well, not so bad then to have a physical handicap ...Well, not so bad then to have a physical handicap and being given a seat in the first row of economy!! Unless (and this happened on a flight to Buenos Aires a few years ago) a full US film crew has taken over the whole first row (and then some), and no crew member dared to tell them to give us that space we were entitled. We made a written complaing and received a nice, apologetical call from LAN a few weeks later, but meantime we had been pressed like a cheap sandwich.<br /><br />Mauricio Kitaigorodzki Mauricio Kitaigorodzkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10095768768256852856noreply@blogger.com