TRAVEL THERE: BLISSFULLY BORING FLIGHTS
I’m of the opinion that travel is more interesting if there are problems. “Everything was perfect,” might make for a great vacation, but you could bore your friends to death with that kind of travelogue. Lost luggage, crazy GPS instructions and rude hotel clerks make better copy. Hopefully, I won’t put you to sleep today, but our travel to Egypt was without incident. That all changed once we got to Cairo, but that’s for later.
I Flew on American and I Liked It
This may not be a newsworthy item for you, but it was for me. I’ve sort of hated American for a long time. For years, every travel horror story I lived through began with, “I was on an American flight…” I carried that anti-American chip on my shoulder for a long time, but in recent years I noticed that other airlines were doing their part to be as awful as I thought American was.
Most recently that was Lufthansa. I’d always counted them on my favorites list, but then I flew them to Frankfurt. The plane rattled so much I thought it was made out of Tinker-Toys. Bill claims the flight wasn’t that bad, but if I hadn’t been sitting next to him, I would think he must have been on another plane. Bottom line, I could no longer say my worst flights were American.
My other problem with American had to do with Love Field and the Wright Amendment. As a Dallasite, I love Southwest Airlines and Love Field. The Wright Amendment tied the hands and feet of both, in favor of DFW, and I didn’t like it. I also loved Legend Air, which was a Love Field underdog that I maintain was run out of business by American. I’m always for the underdog. I go out of my way to avoid Walmart. I won’t buy anything on Amazon. I hate most chain restaurants, too.
This American flight snuck up on me. (Yes, I know snuck isn’t really a word, but I like it better than sneaked.) I wasn’t the one to make the reservations and I thought we were flying British Airways. It wasn’t until a few days before the flight, when I was researching baggage allowances, that I realized my British Airways flight was going to be on American. By then it was too late to do anything about it and I knew Bill was tired of hearing American Airlines Hysteria. I just lived with the revelation.
A Brand Spanking New 777
So we got to the airport, parked our car, rode the shuttle to the terminal and checked our luggage curbside. It was easy. It was a late-night flight, so the airport was pretty boring. We had a nice chat with a lady in the L’Occitane En Provence store. In fact, she sensed my concern and we actually prayed together. Finally it was time to board.
Let me tell you, our plane was so new I think it just rolled off the assembly line. Nothing rattled. Everything was pristine. There were bells and whistles I hadn’t even thought to wish for – and we were in economy. Even the food was decent. I watched a couple of movies. I was even able to sleep!
So, American Airlines, I know you weren’t losing any sleep over my grudge against you, but I want you to know it’s over now. I can easily say my best flight ever was on American. Singapore Air still holds my best-food-on-an-airline award, but the shepherd’s pie on American’s return flight was pretty decent. (BTW Sing Air, I liked your old paint job better. This new one is boring.)
jane sadek 