Airplane Horrror Stories

[evart1975]

Originally Posted by kamakazi_joe

I was flying from Denver to Moline, IL. via Chicago O'hare, waiting at the gate they kept on telling us that the inbound flight was delayed, they finallly had the ground crew bring over a spare plane for us to board, they started boarding the plane then stopped and we then had to wait almost an hour while they put an oxygen bottle on the plane for a sick child, they then boarded the plane, now almost 2 hours late. When they were to the point of closing everything up, a thunderstorm went through, and they had all of the ramp personell go indoors as not to be hit by lightning, after another 20 minute delay, we finally took off. Because of the delays in Denver I missed my connecting flight, when I got off of the plane I went to the counter and asked what I need to do to get a hotel room because of being stuck there. The counter person told me that the airline was not responsible to provide a room because the delay was caused by "weather", I told her about the oxygen bottle was the cause of the delay, and the pilot that was standing next to her said it was because of the bottle being placed was the delay, she said "sorry, but it shows as a weather delay" so I ended on getting a room for the night and called the airline the next day after finally getting home and they offered me a $50 voucher for towards another flight, the hotel room cost me $75, so I said that wasn't good enough, after being transfered to a supervisor I was told the same thing. After writing the CEO of the airline a nasty letter they said that they would give me a $75 voucher, I told them where they could put it and said that I would never fly their airline again, and will go out of my way to avoid them.

I know your pain. I was once flying from Kansas City, MO and had a connecting flight in Cinncinatti, OH to Charlotte, NC. Well there was a storm and delayed us in Kansas City for about an hour. Here is there kicker though we were on the runway for and hour during this delay waiting to take off. So I knew right then it will be cutting is close to catch my connecting flight. Finally, we took off and landed in Cinn, OH. The flight attendents we readin off the cancelled flights and what not to the passengers. But for some odd reason they did not say anything about my connecting flight. As I got off the plane there was a lady with a clip board and started to annnounce anyone flying to Charlotte your flight is on-time and is departing from the gate C-4. Keep in mind there was at least 20 of us running to get to the our gate in the airport. We all made it with 5 mins to spare. But, we all notice somethig very odd. 5 mins before they close the gate we were watching our plane get pushed out of the terminal to taxi down the runway and watch it take off. So needless to say there was alot of angry people. The airline said well we can get you out on a 8:30 flight and we can direct you to the closest hotel. But they then said, we will not cover the cost of the hotel cause the weather caused the delay. So we all stood there scratching our head and wondering why the plane left the gate 5min early and no one called ahead that there was 20 people suppose to get on that flight. Crazy world we live in!

[lissa]

Flight from Norfolk to Las Vegas. I get the middle seat. On my left my husband, on my right a large gentleman with a snoring issue. But he is not the problem. The plane is full. No empty seats anywhere... My problem is a 4 year old named Donnie seated directly behind me and his unbelievably stupid mother. For the entire flight, Donnie kicked my seat as hard as he could causing me to get jolted every few minutes while his brilliant mother whined "Stooooop it Donnie". After a while, her whine was a bigger issue than the kicks. After 4 hours I stood up and tuned around and asked Donnie to stop... His father [who knew this demon had a father???] apologized, told his wife the whiner to deal with it and he promptly put his headset back on. So now I got kick---"Stoooooop it Donnieeeeeeeeee" kick kick "I am going to tell Daddddddddieee" kick kick... I arrived in Vegas literally black and blue, with a migraine from hell and was determined to tell off the woman as we got off the plane. Fighting nausea, and dodging lights, I made my way to the woman and there I stood face to face.... I told her I raised 2 children and that I had never met a less effective parent than her. I advised her to have her tubes tied because obviously she was unfit to parent... and her husband was no better....As she started to tell me off, Donnie climbed on the luggage conveyer belt and off he went... so proving my point. Hey Donnie.... you must be 6 now. Are your parents on Prozac yet?????

[sultan]

My worst flight was from Zurich to Dubai. It seemed alright at the beginning. However, I was soon to find out, that this was not going to be like any other trip. About halfway through the trip, the lady sitting next to me clearly wasn't feeling very well. Kept getting up out of the seat and walking the aisle, etc. Later that flight, I was watching a film on my pull out screen when all of a sudden she falls onto me. I was surprised, and didn't know what was wrong. She was waking up, just collapsed that, simple. I rang the flight attendant call button, several times. They ended up dragging her out of her seat, and in the process broke my screen. So. for the rest of the flight I had to hold the screen on my lap to be able to watch the films. After a total of nearly 22 hours of travelling from chicago to dubai, i can tell you, i was happy to get off this plane.

[jsmith]

I was on a flight from Maine to Montana. I was seated in the middle of two football cheerleaders and when we took off one started to scream out loud. I said what is the problem and she said I am going to put you in jail. She screamed until the waitress came and she said to her that i put my hand on her leg. I said that is not true and then her other friend said it is true. The co-pilot got out and took me by my hair and through me into a closed room until we landed. When i got out the cops and guards were there with there guns out, i said let me talk, but it was to late, they had already hand cuffed me to the wall. When I went to say something else, the cheerleader got in my face and smacked me like 3 times until i was bleeding.
I actually went to jail for 2 years and when i got out i went to sue the airline company and the 2 girls on the plane that day. When I called the company, I got no service from anybody because i think they were all aware of this.
WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?
THIS AIRLINE COMPANY NEEDS TO GO DOWN
I NEED HELP

[inkling]

I have NEVER had a really bad experience with flying except when I complained to an American Airlines stewardess that a first class passenger was smoking, (a stinky cigar), and she said she didn't see it and so she could do nothing. I saw it and I was sitting 10 rows back in coach. I smelled it, (how could SHE not smell it). Obviously, he was given the advantage because he was sitting in first class, (even though smoking had been banned on all flights no matter where you sat). After I complained and she did nothing to remedy the situation, he turned around and smirked at me, (talk about adding insult to injury...). Then he lit it up again. When I complained again, she stated, (in a flippant tone), that she never saw him smoking, walked back up to first class and closed the curtain so I couldn't SEE him smoking. He was sitting in the last seat in first class so the smoke was traveling into the coach area, and I could see the smoke coming around the curtain. NOBODY deserves the priviledge to contaminate other people's breathing, (even if they sit in first class). I have never again flown American Airlines in the past 14 years, and I used to fly it all of the time prior to that incident. The Airlines are in a service position. They are there to serve US. They can't please everyone, but should be able to please the majority. The stewards certainly aren't there to please themselves though, or any individual based on the amount of money they pay. I put my money where my mouth is. If a company, (or a representative of a company), doesn't take my complaint into consideration, I consider never to do business with them again.

[inkling]

I don't know how many people can identify with this...but when my daughter was young she used to fly to see me. She would travel from Pennsylvania to Texas. Every time she would travel on Northwest Airlines, (which I now refer to as NorthWORST Airlines), her plane was delayed. Sometimes it was 45 minutes. Other times it was 1 1/2 hours or more. The last straw was a 2 hour delay. I swore that I would never fly her or myself with Northworst Airlines again, and I can proudly say that I haven't for almost 20 years. I refuse to do business with a company that doesn't care about their customers. WE are not the bottom line, their profits are.

[v1parm]

Just a quick one.
We were at ft myers new RSW airport for a 7 am flight to boston
Thick ground fog prevented us from taking off
We were number 1 for take off, sitting at the end of the runway.
the visual rule for take off is 1/4 mile, which we did not have.
3 hours went by and everyone was getting edgey. no food , no drink, and we could feel the sun baking the top of the airplane, it was hot in the cabin.
at 10 am the pilot announced that he was going to check another runway to see if the visibility was any better.
i started to laugh to my self as he taxied up the runway turned 180 degrees went back to the starting point did another 180 degree turn
and now i am in a fit of laughter. as the plane takes off.
Why was i laughing you ask? ft myers only had one runway at the time
and the pilot had taxied up to the 1/4 mile mark to visualize it turned around went back to the end of the runway and had moved enough of the fog to see the marker when he took off.

[Jeni50]

I know this isn't as bad as many others, but it just happened last week and it is fresh in my mind. I was on a totally full, cramped Southwest flight from Sacramento to Chicago when a middle aged woman came in and sat down next to me. (I was in the middle seat, my husband was in the window seat). Anyway, at 8 AM she smelled like a brewery! I soon found out that she was acting like she just came from the brewery and had no intention of stopping drinking what she was drinking at the brewery. She decided I was "so sweet", (I should have been mean), and was holding me and kissing me all over the face. I asked her to stop but she wouldn't. My husband rang the call bell and the flight attendent cut her off from the booze and had a talk with her which did no good. I pulled out a book of Sudoku and started playing it and she was grabbing the pencil and trying to write. I say trying because she had never played the game before, and she could do nothing but scribble. I kept asking her to stop. RIGHT! Remember, full flight....every seat taken. I finally pretended I was going to sleep. She spent the last hour of the flight trying to wake me up about every 5 minutes, but I ignored her. I was never so happy to see Chicago in my whole life!!!

[Host Bonjour]

v1parm:

What airline was this? Are you sure you heard the pilot right? I read your post a few times and all I could think of it sounded like he took a measure whereby the plane itself would clear the fog and hence give him his visiblilty marker for takeoff. He had to have known that he was on the only runway - ground control dictates every movement on the taxi-ways, parking, pushbacks, takeoffs and landings.....from the point when the plane is still on the ground. He is obligated to follow their instructions and would be sanctioned and deplaned most likely if he failed to comply with ground control instructions.

Also, it just occurred to me: if indeed the sun was beating down on the plane for three hours, it would then follow that the sun was out and should have burned off any fog - certainly the fog would have disappeared very quickly if the sun was that intense. And if the fog was indeed so dense, the flight would simply have been delayed on account of weather.

The first thing every pilot does when he wakes up - before dressing and going to the airport, is call to check the weather. That is the first task of any pilot; my father is an instrument rated pilot - he does not fly every day but if he has plans to fly he starts calling the weather way in advance - sometimes a day or two and then of course the day of, if the flight seems remotely possible. Of course, he is not flying large passenger jets which are equipped with computers and sophisticated equipment plus controllers. So, I would be surprised if the pilot did not check the weather the morning of the day in question.

My question would not be to the pilot but to the ground controllers: they'd have my anger because they are the ones who OK'd pushback and taxi; it couldn't have been a flash fog attack that suddenly enveloped the runway and so I fault the ground controllers, not the pilot; they probably told him to do what he did as it makes sense. What doesn't make sense is why they waited that long to make the move.

I'd question the controllers on this instance; it doesn't sound like the pilots messed up; sounds like ground control goofed it big time!! If you have more details - share them with us!

Thanks!

[KrowGyrl]

On July 8th, 2005, that's right, the day after the London subways bombings, I found myself on a flight from New York City to Italy via London. Well first off the carrier had booked our flight to Pisa instead of Florence as requested, didn't inform us and refused to make any adjustments or arrangements for us to get from Pisa to Florence, (a 1 hour train trip) On the flight from London, and after a strained 3 hour layover in the London airport, we took off for Pisa. However, over we were informed at one point by the captain that we had lost oxygen and were going to have to be taking the now rather common immediate nosedive into breathable airspace. This was a chilling experience as other travelers have indicated. Panic, vomiting, hysteria, loud yelling at cabin crew. After this "emergency descent" we were then informed by the captain that we were going to have to do an emergency landing in Vienna as the next leg of our journey. So we land. But of course, we are an unscheduled British airline flight out of London the day after the excitement attempting to land in a country we aren't even scheduled to be in and one which does not have ground service for our airline. The next leg of our journey was sitting on the tarmac while their security forces decend on us to check our story. Needless to say, no one is allowed to deplane. After it is determined that we are, relatively speaking, who we claim to be, we are allowed to deplane whereupon our pilot tells us they are going to put us on buses over the Alps (an eight hour trip) to take us to Pisa.
I can't relate what that trip was like as my companion saw to it that they made suitable and acceptable arrangements for us. He can be most persuasive and gentlemanly at the same time. A handy combination at such times. Well, thanks for letting me relate this tale. Cheers~!

[schllwg]

I was coming back from Massachusetts with a layover in Detroit. A really bad thunderstorm started. An few hours passed, and the first flight cancellation started.
During this time, I met a woman and her daughter who were from my city. We sat together and talked. Then one by one more flights were cancelled, but not ours. An older lady was wandering around wondering about her flight to another state and started talking with us. Her flight was not cancelled yet. We could see her going to and fro up and down the escalator. After a while, her flight was cancelled. She came over to us and said that ours probably would be too, and that we needed to find a place to stay for the night. However, as ours was not cancelled yet, we didn't want to do that as we hoped we would finally get to go. We inquired at the desk numerous times, but were told that our flight was still scheduled to leave.
I had made up my mind to stay there for the night if the flight did not go. I called my husband and he said that if the flight were cancelled, to go on to a hotel. The older lady was still after us to do go to a room. I know that she was dreading having to decide on where to go and stay alone in a room. Finally, the flight was cancelled, so we rescheduled. By this time, the waiting room was virtually empty, so the four of us knew we had to stay at a hotel. We headed on to the buses. The mother and daughter had company with each other, but the older lady and I were alone, so we decided to all share a room together.
We took the first bus we came to that went to the LaQuinta Inn. We split our room cost four ways.
The older lady was cold, so we had to leave the heat higher than I was used to. Of course, we didn't have bedclothes, so had to sleep in the clothes we had on. One of the women had a long slip that she used as a gown. She snored so loud that it was hard to sleep along with the too-hot room.
The next morning, we got on the bus and went back to the airport and left with no problem.
When we got to the home airport, I saw my husband and started crying like a baby. It was hard to introduce my two new friends, but I finally did.
The next day, I was the sickest I can remember ever being with vomiting and diarrhea, so sick that when I went to the bathroom, I fainted and fell on my head and had a big bump and bruise. My grandson had been sick during my visit to Massachusetts, so I guess I caught what he had.
Some good came out of this fiasco. The four of us keep in touch by mail and email

[ajjd1221]

Our horror story happened while traveling with our 2 children that were 6 and 18 months from Chicago to Spain. We got to the airport 3 hours before the flight only to be told the plane was still in Spain. We had taken a limo to the airport and had no way home. We waited it out and left for Spain 10 hours late. We we got to Madrid the cargo door was stuck on the plane and it took 2 hours to get our luggage. Unfortunately it not over. On the return flight we had requested bulk head seats( they have more room) and when we boarded they were the wrong seats. My 18 month old cried for most of the trip back, so we were quite edgy already. We were about 4000 feet from landing when the piolot pulled the plane straight up, he did the hard left you can imagine. People were screaming and crying. 2 people passed out behind us and were laying in the isle. The pilot finally came on and said that there was a storm in the area and they closed the airport and we needed to get out of this area asap. We were diverted to Detroit. Once we landed paramedics came on board for the people who passed out but they would not let anyone off the plane. We waited on the runway for 3 hours with no word from the pilot or crew of what was happening or when we would be able to leave. They would not give anyone drinks or food. My baby was out of milk and they said that there was only 1 can of milk left on board and it was for first class passengers only. We finally arrived safely in Chicago 15 hours after our trip began only to be greeted with 24 tons of luggage on the plane. Ours ofcourse was in the last load off the plane, 2 hours later.

[KateNYC]

I skimmed through the other responses and unless I overlooked it, I don't think anyone has a similar story to mine (I could be wrong).

I was on a flight from JFK to Tampa...the flight attendents frantically asked if there was any doctors or nurses onboard. 2 women got up, as well as a man. Went over to the front of the aircraft....and were attending to a man....next thing I know, I see the doctor using a defibrilator on this man as we were told that we were reroutingto Charlotte (if I remember correctly).

The man DIED 11 mins prior to landing!!!!! Unbelievable. We had a dead man on our plane! They took his body off the plane and we proceeded to go to Tampa. I was in shock! Worst thing is...I was late getting out of the arrival terminal because of a phonecall I stopped to take...and was confronted by a woman looking for her husband....it was HER husband but she had no idea!

Oh man....worst airplane story ever for myself. Heartbreaking!

[Heidi]

When I was 21, the band I was in traveled to Florida and five days later, flew back to Boston. There was snow on the ground and when we landed on the runway, the plane bounced back into the air. Earlier in the flight, we hit turbulence and dropped a large distance.

[IdyllicWanderer]

Back when Czechoslovakia was still the nation of record I flew their national airline from Bratislava to Praagh one afternoon for $12 US. After watching their flight preparations, I changed the name of the airlines to “Pterodactyl Air” a change which was accepted by most English speaking travelers waiting to board the aircraft. The ground crew circled the plane with small screw drivers and cotton towels pushing pieces of towel into rivet holes where rivets should be. When asked about this procedure, my translator for the UN informed me that it was routine and kept the plane from whistling in the air. He said that he thought they only flew at 10 thousand feet now because the cabin pressure could not be controlled due to the lack of seals in the cabin. As we were boarding the airplane, the efficient ground crew each grabbed a broom and swept the fresh snow from the aircraft sufficiently servicing their ‘de-icing procedure’ we took off without incident and arrived in Praagh without incident having indeed flown closer to the ground than normal. IdyllicWanderer

[atlann]

Last summer I was on a flight out of Atlanta that was delayed waiting for takeoff. It was hot, everybody was grumpy, and I'd gotten stuck in the very last seat on the plane. My neighbors were young college guys and the stewardess in the "jump seat". Presently an airline empoyee who was hitching a ride on our flight made her way down the aisle and went into the restroom just behind me. She was in there a loooonnnng time. Little by little the unmistakeable smell of excrement seeped out around the door. There we were, trapped in a closed container, in Atlanta, in the summer. Finally the woman emerged and went back up to the front of the plane, but naturally the miasma emerged with her.
Everyone was trying to politely ignore the situation, but the college boys were starting to redden and shoulders were starting to shake and the smell was becoming unbearable. Just about the time I heard the stewardess mutter in her best ebonic dialect, "Humph. She know better than that!" on comes the voice of the pilot, "Our sincere apologies!" Doubtless he was refering to the delay but all that pent up mirth exploded in raucous guffaws and exclamations like "Whew-eeee!!!!!"
We were all in tears and I wondered if the oblivious culprit who supposedly "knew better" had any idea that the howls coming from the back of the plane were her doing.

[Proud2BWLVRebel]

Let's see, Airplane Horror Stories...where do I start. I guess my first airplane horror story began about six years ago when the hubby and I were going on a dream trip to Hawaii. Our flight, on Delta, was scheduled to leave Montgomery, AL, fly to Atlanta, GA, to Dallas/Ft Worth, then on to Honolulu (sp). Now I've forgotten the specific times, but we had an early fight from Montgomery to Atlanta, which meant that we got up at about 2:00 am to finish packing, and get to the Montgomery (a little podunk place) airport. Our flight from there to Atlanta went just fine. We got to Atlanta, got on the plane and taxied onto the runway. After sitting there for about a half an hour, the pilot came on the intercom, saying that there was a slight engine problem and to better be safe than sorry he was going to go back to the terminal to have maintenance check it out. We sat on the plane for a long time before they announced they wouldn't be flying that plane out and had us depart to book another flight. When in the process of doing that, they decided that our original plane was fit to fly. So we got back on and flew to Dallas/Ft. Worth. Once we were there we had to change planes, and this time we didn't even make it out to the runway before they detected some sort of mechanical problem. After many hours in Dallas, they finally decided the plane was fit to fly, however, the crew had been on the plane too long to fly straight to Hawaii. They then told us they were making a decision on whether to fly us BACK to Atlanta, or get a new flight crew. They got a new flight crew, but instead of flying direct to Hawaii, they flew to San Francisco for a brief stopover. Now we were flying first class, thank God, because by that time I would have gone postal back in coach. On the flight to San Francisco from Dallas a couple in first class had a small male child, around the age of 4-5 that they were determined to keep in his seat. Well he had been cooped up as long as we had and wanted to move around. Since his parents decided he should sit still he SCREAMED and I do mean SCREAMED all the way to San Francisco. When we got there, everyone started to get up to go into the terminal to stretch our legs, try to get a smoke, get away from the screaming child, etc. The Delta personnel told us that in order not to further delay our flight they would NOT let any of us off the plane. The father of the screaming boy, who all the other passengers were ready to kill, told them "You don't understand I have to get this child off the plane". Well they wouldn't let him, but the child finally passed out from exhaustion and we had an uneventful flight to Hawaii. By the time we were arrived, we had spent a total of 24 hours en route.

My next flight horror story was about a year ago. Again, traveling on Delta out of Montgomery, I was going to Portland Maine, and then driving up to Orono. Well our flight out of Montgomery was delayed about an hour, because the flight crew had gotten in late and they hadn't had enough down time according to the FAA. Long story short, I was flying from Montgomery to Cincinnati to Portland. I told the Delta personnel that as it was I had 5 minutes to make my connecting flight to Portland, then had a 2 hour drive to Orono for a very important meeting. They assured me they had radioed ahead to Cincinnati and I would be taken care of. Oh Yeah, they took care of me! I arrived in the Cincinnati airport 5 minutes before my flight was due to take off. And we all know they NEVER take off when they are supposed to. Instead of rushing me to my flight, they told me they had booked me on a flight to Portland that would get me there 8 HOURS later than my original flight, hence making me miss my meeting. So I spent a lovely 8 hours in the Cincinnati airport, which, as a small condolence, does have a very nice smoking area. As a "consideration" for my long delay they upped me to first class for the 2 hour flight to Portland. I get to Portland, and of course my luggage didn't show up. I'm like I was in the airport 8 hours, how could my luggage NOT get on my flight. Went to lost baggage, and there was my luggage! Why couldn't I have gotten on the same flight that my luggage did I'll never know.

Latest flight horror story, I was flying, again out of Montgomery to Tampa. Flight there was uneventful. However, the trip back...OY! I get to the Tampa International Airport and go to the curbside check-in. Even though I had my itinerary in my hand, the guy at the check-in couldn't find my name on any flight. He told me to go inside and use the customer service phone for help. Customer Service told me that my flight, which was scheduled to leave from Tampa to Atlanta, was delayed from 11:00 till 1:00, and the last 3 flights from Atlanta, one at 4:00, one at 7:00 and one at 11:00 (all pm) were totally booked and that I had to fly standby. Luckily I did get on the 4:00 pm flight to Montgomery. Now this is important to remember, my flight back was on a Sunday. When I finally got home I read all the e-mail that had accumulated since I left on Saturday. Nothing from Delta in the mail. Monday morning, I checked my e-mail again, again nothing from Delta. Monday night I get an e-mail from Delta, dated back to Saturday evening, saying that my flight on Sunday had been completely cancelled due to bad weather in Atlanta, and I was booked on flights for Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder they couldn't find any reference to my itinerary at the airport on Sunday, because they had already rebooked me till Monday, which, if it had worked out that way, would have cost me a day's pay at work, and additional motel and car rental bills. Of course the lady at the Delta desk in Atlanta, had told me that if I couldn't get on any of the standby flights, they would NOT put me up in a hotel because it was due to "weather" delays.

Needless to say, the next time I'm going anywhere, I'm flying out of Birmingham, AL, which seems to have a better handle on things, and do not automatically fly you into Atlanta. We have a saying down here that if you die, you have to go to Atlanta first. Ok I've rambled enough....Next?

[msr]

This may seen tame compared to some of what I have read, but here goes.
On a recent flight from LAX to KCI, we were supposed to board the plane at 7PM. We were told that due to weather issues elsewhere, the plane is delayed.
Finally we boarded around 8:45PM. As soon as were all boarded, the Captain says,"Sorry folks for the delay, but this plane had maintenance issues in Oakland, but it is in tip top shape now".
After a 3 1/2 hour flight, we finally landed, then about 2 minutes after we hit the runway, the planes whole electrical system shot craps.
Since it was nearly 2AM in KC, it was pitch black and people started to freak out.
I thought to myself, at least we are on the ground!!!! After a while, the lights came back on and we taxied to the jetway and finally got off.
I often think, what if we would have taken off 5 minutes later.HMMM
That's my story.
I did have another bad experience, but I'll save it for another post.
MSR

[bpd7]

I received a call on my cell stating that my plane was delayed. The guy was extremely nice and promised to search for an alternative way for me to get from CLE to LAX and call me back. He eventually did call back and tell me that the only alternative I could have was on an Alaskan Airlines flight and would arrive at LAX at 11:10 (10 minutes later than the flight I was already changed to), so I decided to stick with the delayed flight.
I arrived at the airport, and commented to the counter agent that it was going to be a long evening because I am a student and don't travel with much cash, and that it was going to be difficult to find something I could afford. He snidely replied "that's too bad" and took the next traveler.
I headed to the gate and found a place to plug in with my laptop, and the only one I could find was near a children's play area. Since there were no children there, I assumed it would be fine. I sat on the floor and plugged in. Before my computer could boot, to my disgust and horror, I realized that some child had peed on the carpet I was sitting on.
I called my mother to complain who then said she would take care of it. She immediately called customer service for the airline and I was given both an apology and a meal voucher from the jerk that told me it was "too bad" that I wouldn't be able to have dinner that night. So at least I got to eat.
I then was seated on a plane in front of a child in a carseat, whose legs were just long enough to push continually on the back of my seat. To make it better, the infant in the arms of the parents began a wailing, screeching cry.
I arrived in Phoenix where the monitors said that my connecting flight was on time and leaving in 15 mintues. I ran through 2 complete terminals, only to arrive at the gate to find that the flight was in fact delayed and hadn't even arrived yet.
By this time, I was exhausted (it would be 1:30 am PST, 4:30 am EST before I would even leave!), my pants had urine on them, and all I wanted was a shower, a bed, and a clean pair of pants. The agent at Phoenix said she could discount a local hotel for me for $75/night (when the original price was 89), that it was my responsibility to find transportation to and from the airport, and that that was all she could do. I began to cry out of sheer frustration and decided to stick it out.
I finally got on the connector where I sat with a broken arm rest next to the world's smelliest woman. I didn't get to my destination until about 3am (6am EST from where I left).
To compensate me for the rude agents and miserable experience, I got $125 voucher. Gee, that was generous.

[Jeanie821]

Originally Posted by lissa

Flight from Norfolk to Las Vegas. I get the middle seat. On my left my husband, on my right a large gentleman with a snoring issue. But he is not the problem. The plane is full. No empty seats anywhere... My problem is a 4 year old named Donnie seated directly behind me and his unbelievably stupid mother. For the entire flight, Donnie kicked my seat as hard as he could causing me to get jolted every few minutes while his brilliant mother whined "Stooooop it Donnie". After a while, her whine was a bigger issue than the kicks. After 4 hours I stood up and tuned around and asked Donnie to stop... His father [who knew this demon had a father???] apologized, told his wife the whiner to deal with it and he promptly put his headset back on. So now I got kick---"Stoooooop it Donnieeeeeeeeee" kick kick "I am going to tell Daddddddddieee" kick kick... I arrived in Vegas literally black and blue, with a migraine from hell and was determined to tell off the woman as we got off the plane. Fighting nausea, and dodging lights, I made my way to the woman and there I stood face to face.... I told her I raised 2 children and that I had never met a less effective parent than her. I advised her to have her tubes tied because obviously she was unfit to parent... and her husband was no better....As she started to tell me off, Donnie climbed on the luggage conveyer belt and off he went... so proving my point. Hey Donnie.... you must be 6 now. Are your parents on Prozac yet?????

Prozac for the parents, Ritalin for Donnie.

BTW - he proves my point that some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.

[Jeanie821]

I now have another to add to the growing list.

I was due to fly to Miami on the morning of Sunday, February 12th for a cruise leaving the next day. However, weather forecasters were predicting a snowstorm to hit my area the evening before, bringing anywhere up to twelve inches of snow. Needless to say, I got an automated call from American Airlines on Saturday morning - flight cancelled. I called the airline back and managed to get a seat on a flight from JFK to MIA for Sunday evening. I then called Lorilee, the cruise director for the Christian singles group I was traveling with, and advised her that I would not be attending the pre-cruise dinner as originally planned.

Late Saturday night, with the snow piling up outside, I called American Airlines to check the flight status. Good thing I did - the flight was cancelled again. Spoke with another woman who booked me on a flight out of JFK to Miami first thing Monday morning. I then followed this with another call, this time to Days Inn Miami Airport North, to cancel my room reservation. Whether I get the money back remains to be seen.

Sunday morning was spent in a sound sleep. I was already packed and obviously I wasn't going anywhere at the moment, so I heeded the call of my electric blanket and took a nap. That afternoon, I checked my e-mail, only to see an e-mail from American Airlines. I immediately started praying, albeit inarticulately: "Oh, God, no... please, God, not again..." But there it was: CANCELLED. Another call to American, this time in a panic. After a ten-minute wait, I got a man with a very heavy Indian accent, who kept repeating that he couldn't do anything and that I should just take the refund. Finally I asked for a supervisor.

The magic words! I was soon on the phone with a Chris Webster, who explained that out of the three NYC airports, one (LGA) was shut down and due to be closed through Monday, and the other two only had limited service - he wasn't even suggesting standby, it was that bad. He then presented another option - flying out of Westchester County Airport to Chicago, then Chicago to Miami. After a quick call to Dad to see if he could drive me to White Plains, I told him to make the reservation. Now, I was due to fly out of HPN at 6 a.m., arrive at Chicago-O'Hare at 7:35, depart for Miami at 9 a.m., and arrive in Florida at just before 1 p.m.

Dad dropped me at HPN at - I kid you not - 1:20 a.m. It was just me, one other traveler and the cleaning crew. Nothing was open. I spent three hours reading and dozing until the ticket counter opened up. This made me the first to check in, thereby saving me from being bumped. By then, the snack bar was open, so I was able to get a bottle of orange juice before heading through security. (By the way, HPN is the tiniest airport I've ever been in. They can't even accomodate standard size jets - only regional jets.)

6 a.m. came and went. We were waiting on the flight crew to show up from the hotel. They arrived just after 6:30, and we began to board at 6:40 ("This is your first AND FINAL boarding call...") Airport personnel were stationed every ten feet to assist us across the ice to the plane, where the sole flight attendant greeted me: "Good morning, and welcome aboard! This is a mini-jet!" My response: "No kidding." She saw how nervous I was, though, and did everything she could to ease my anxiety. Kudos to Barbara of American Eagle Flight 4413! We didn't take off until 7:20, though, due to a plane that broke down on the runway and had to be towed off.

We made it into Chicago with only 20 minutes to spare. Remember O.J. Simpson in those Hertz commercials? Think of a little blonde woman in jeans and a warm-up jacket, backpack firmly strapped to her back, and you've got it. I just barely made the flight. We took off, and I fell asleep, waking up just before landing at MIA.

And would you believe it, my luggage made it too!

[PALLOS]

well One Airplane Horror I Had Was When I Frew To Uerope It Was A 9 Hour Flight For The First Plane Then A 3 Hour For The Next. The Lady That Sat Next To Me Was A 300 Pound Maybe Even More, The Weight Was Not The Problem But It Was Incomfortable. The Problem Was As Soon As She Entered The Plane And Sat Down She Had A Huge Bag Of Mcdonalds And It Was So Hot In The Plane The Air Was Not Working At That Point, The Smell From The Mcdonalds And Her Was Making Me So Sick, The Whole 9 Hours Was Forific,all She Did The Whole Time Was Click The Help Button And Also She Had Bad Gas!!!!!

[flyinghigh]

flying for many years i have lots of stories but the strangest one and one you wont believe was a flight on delta airlines where the seat I was in wasnt bolted to the floor- as I found out during takeoff
luckily the flight wasnt full and i changed seats- the attendants were so shocked they didnt even say anything- I wrote about it but never got a response

[CAL10PILOT]

I guess I don't know what passengers are complaining about. Everyone wanted cheap fares. You got them. Unfortunately, they came with a cost. Much smaller airplanes. Less ammenities, like food. It costs money to get from point A to point B. $39 just ain't going to get it. Maybe we can get NYC taxi cab drivers to fly the airplanes for less. It's just my opinion, but if to become an airline pilot, one has to complete 4 years of college, at least 2 years of flight school at a cost of $50,000, plus room and board, and another 10 years (at poverty wages) building the experience necessary to just have a CHANCE to get this job, only to have the airlines drastically cut wages and eliminate their pension, and require the pilot to retire at age 60, why would anyone in their right mind do so?
30 years of flying airplanes, 22 with a major carrier, and I see the light. Bail out while the getting is good. In 5 years, there won't be any qualified pilots. They can make more at Walmart.

[styxfan05]

This story is actually about my parents. They went on a cruise in February and flew from Moline to San Juan. Their flight was an hour late out of Moline because of weather delays in Atlanta. When they got to Atlanta, the plane they were supposed to get on to go to San Juan was already on the runway and turned around them to pick them up with twenty other people. They got to the ship, but their luggage was missing and finally showed up about three hours late.