Airports, Airplanes, and Smokers

Let's talk about the airlines for a bit....

First of all, I flew to Montana last weekend to take my niece to her mom who had just moved there from Wisconsin.

When booking our tickets, I found it appalling that it was more expensive to book a round trip ticket and a one-way ticket than it was to book two round trip tickets. Guess what??? I booked both of them round trip and my darling niece simply did not fly on the way back. What kind of sense does that make??? Beyond that, my niece is two years old... past the 24-month mark when you can fly with them on your lap. Though I was not allowed to fly her on my lap and not pay for the extra ticket, they still allowed me to hold her throughout the trip! Also, she weighs about 30 pounds and her ticket cost just as much as my ticket did... no discount for a child. Essentially, I paid for a seat that did not need to get used.

Another thing I really love is when you get online and check your flight status and what gates you are flying into and departing from in your connecting airport and you find that you are flying into gate C13 and back out of gate c14. Mind you, I checked this info directly before leaving for the airport. Then you get to your connecting airport and find that you flew into gate B14 and have to go to gate F10 on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AIRPORT to connect! I don't know why I bother checking-- it's never right. In the 50 times I have flown in the last 2 years, I think that only once or twice did I actually get accurate gate information. Why post the information if it is totally incorrect???

And airports in the North have absolutely no consideration for smokers. You have to go out through security at the main terminal to go have a smoke before you depart. Then you go through the bullshit of getting back in through security again. Now, you get to a Southern airport and even if there is no room in the terminal area for passengers who are smokers to smoke, you will find a restaurant that allows you to smoke. This avoids the huge inconvenience of having to go out through security and back in again. Even if they want us terrible people who smoke to go outside, there should be a place within the area only ticketed passengers can be to go outside and support your habit! I understand the non smoker's right not to be exposed, but smoker's have rights too and it's about time we were treated that way! We pay our taxes on our cigarettes in hefty amounts to have that right.

Basically, flying is a convenience when compared to driving, but the airlines make it seemingly inconvenient in little ways. And they know that you would rather fly and get there faster than drive, therefore, they really don't care enough about the little things to make them any easier on us.