"Are we there yet?" gazillion times

I wish I could find a cure for jet lag, but other than that I pretty much like everything about plane travel and international travel. I hate road trips though. I can't stand being in the car for longer than a few hours.

Transferring a flight. I get panic attacks sometimes and things like that always trigger them, when I'm really watching a clock and hoping I have enough time to make the connection. Makes me SO nervous. Sometimes airports are backed up or just badly run (I'm looking at you Heathrow!) etc, I've had a few "made it by 2 minutes" calls before

Originally Posted by natalie78

Reclining seats in airplanes. I do not want to sit with a seat or someone's head in my face for five hours. Just because a person can recline their seat, it doesn't mean that they should. Have some courtesy for fellow travelers.

I had a small run in situation on my flight home from Japan last year. It was a long flight.. which allowed sleeping time (as i call it.. lol) when all the lights were dimmed and everyone was snoozing away with there seats reclined. Well low and behold the lady in back of me.. kept kicking my seat while I was sleeping and at one point.. told the flight attendant to have me recline my seat back up. Thought this was really unfair.. considering the lady that had complained about me.. had her friggin seat reclined back as well.. wtf? Sleeping upright... on coach...on a 12 hr flight.. no thank you. I was too tired and disoriented to cause a scene... . But seriously..next time.. I'm gonna cause a bish scene.. lol.

Everything having to do with the airport. I used to kind of enjoy flying - if you stop and think about it for a second it's pretty incredible that it's so mainstream. You're flying! Now... not so much. I get anxiety attacks going through security - the one time I was pulled out for secondary screening I felt seriously violated. Breasts squeezed from the top, bottom and sides; hands touching my vagina; buttocks cupped and squeezed. I cried during the whole thing. When I asked for a supervisor I was told that "this is how flying is now, if you don't like it we will escort you out of the airport."

Rude people, drunk people (there is no reason to be drunk and continuing to drink on the flight home, you've been drunk for a week already, grow up) and badly behaving kids. If people would just have some courtesy for others things would run much more smoothly and be a lot more pleasant.

Originally Posted by Cindi

Rude people, drunk people (there is no reason to be drunk and continuing to drink on the flight home, you've been drunk for a week already, grow up) and badly behaving kids. If people would just have some courtesy for others things would run much more smoothly and be a lot more pleasant.

I had a horrendous experience on a flight from Munich to Chicago sitting next to a drunk. He was getting ugly about it--the flight attendants cut him off so he strolled up to business and somehow got liquor in that section. That's a long flight to be drinking the entire time. The plane was full so it wasn't possible to move seats.

hmm, i hate long plane rides. something about being in the air over 4 hours with limited amount of circulated oxygen doesnt appeal to me.
elevator rides when you're staying on the 20 fl, also, the limited amount of air in the high altitude i feel like im getting.
obviously, you guys can tell i have some breathing/ air issue. lol

oh, and i hate unpacking. my suitcase will literally sit for a week before i bother unpacking. i know, so germy and dirty... sigh....

The overall stress and having to lug things around. People taking up more than their seat next to me.

I have no fear of flying, but given all the steps to actually get onto a plane, security etc, I much prefer taking the train if possible. A less than one hour plane ride can easily become a five hours endeavor, meaning you could get pretty far on a train without having to go through the same amount of stress.

Originally Posted by jpgoeth

Everything having to do with the airport. I used to kind of enjoy flying - if you stop and think about it for a second it's pretty incredible that it's so mainstream. You're flying! Now... not so much. I get anxiety attacks going through security - the one time I was pulled out for secondary screening I felt seriously violated. Breasts squeezed from the top, bottom and sides; hands touching my vagina; buttocks cupped and squeezed. I cried during the whole thing. When I asked for a supervisor I was told that "this is how flying is now, if you don't like it we will escort you out of the airport."

What airport? That kind of this has been the norm in a lot of countries for decades.

Originally Posted by babypie

What airport? That kind of this has been the norm in a lot of countries for decades.

This was maybe 5 years ago in Ontario (California) International. In the domestic terminal. It wasn't as though I had set off any alarm, it was just random. I had a similar experience at CDG, but it wasn't quite so bad - she used the backs of her hands, didn't squeeze anything (applied a little pressure around my breasts, but that's it), and stopped at the top of my thigh (didn't feel my vagina).

I hate all the time it takes to get on a plane. Needing to be at the airport 2 hours before when fying 40 minutes annoys me. Also getting from and to the airport. I really don't like flying i love car rides except the dirty toilets.

Other passengers! I always get sat next to people who have the grossest habits. The guy on the flight to Australia kept sucking down his snot the entire 13 hour flight! 13 hours of that noise ----ugh!

The guy on my flight over to France on this trip kept blowing his nose--he must have had 30 or 40 tissues by the end of the flight & they kept falling out of the back of the chair pocket (and eww the poor flight attendant who had to reach in there & collect those at the end of the trip) & on to my feet---double ugh.

Other passengers! I always get sat next to people who have the grossest habits. The guy on the flight to Australia kept sucking down his snot the entire 13 hour flight! 13 hours of that noise ----ugh!

The guy on my flight over to France on this trip kept blowing his nose--he must have had 30 or 40 tissues by the end of the flight & they kept falling out of the back of the chair pocket (and eww the poor flight attendant who had to reach in there & collect those at the end of the trip) & on to my feet---double ugh.

I actually love packing. I do carry-on sized backpack, even if I check it in sometimes, which means I'd need to pack light, but I have a generic packing list that I adapt all the time to suit the climate and duration of the trip (pack the same for 3 weeks as you would for 4 days - 3 full outfits). It took a long time to set up the list and categorise it, but once it's done I don't have to do much except get a piece of paper and write down a new list for different destinations. It's so thrilling to pack! My backpack is the front-loading type (like a typical roller luggage without the wheels), not the old-school top-loader backpacks which are a nuisance, so I can carry it on my bag around the world.

I really dislike it when I get to a city where the tube or underground has tons of steps and everyone is walking really quickly around me and I'm just moving with the flow when suddenly, the person in front of me stops ABRUPTLY when approaching steps to press the handle of his luggage down to bring it up and then stopping again at the top or bottom of stairs to pull said handle up again. I mean, seriously. Step to one side and do that stuff; I'm being glared at by local commuters for stopping behind you! Sometimes I even almost clash into such people, which makes me annoyed for so many reasons.

But my biggest dislike has to be simply being on the plane. I am slightly claustrophobic and an incredibly nervous flyer (even though I'm getting better; actually managed to sleep on my last trip as the plane was taxi-ing to the runway!) and I just want to get off it quickly at my destination but noooo - it will always take forever to unload us people. Plus I don't really want to rush out with the other crazed people, so we'll always linger behind (which makes feelings of claustrophobia arise).

I took trains between cities when I was in Europe last year, and they were such pleasant experiences! Except for Eurostar between London and Paris because the check-in is similar to that at an airport, which makes me want to tear my hair out. In Paris, when we were taking the overnight sleeper train to Florence, we simply hopped on the train a minute before it took off and the conductor kept our passports and that was it! The only stress came from the slow-moving queue from which we collected tickets.

Another peeve is when solo travellers who always seem to want to talk to me. Especially one flight where the guy was basically chatting me up and I had nowhere to go (he was in the aisle seat); so I keep faking sleep even though all I want to do is finish up a movie. Was too polite to not chat with him.

I always get annoyed when lost in a city, but looking back, I quite enjoy the experience. I'm nearly a perfect type A when it comes to planning for travels, and getting lost is just part of the ability to let go of that control freakishness.