Don't Take Us For Stup

*Originally published on my Wordpress blog 01.30.2020

My original point in writing this piece was to reflect on both the upside and downside of travel. As the piece unfolded however, I realized it wanted to be rant and not a well balanced discussion.  I've decided to allow it that opportunity.  This will give me a moment to vent and I can follow up with a more thoughtful  review of what I like and what I don't like about travel.  This is your warning.  Feel free to go have a beer, take a walk, watch mindless tv,  play with the kids, or whatever your pleasure might be if you aren't interested in listening to a rant right now.  I get it. On the other hand, I'm curious if others agree or disagree with my take on things. All opinions are welcome.

I recently returned from a winter vacation that plunged me into the world of  air travel, tropical drinks, and spectacular blue water. Many parts of the trip were lovely. Some parts of the trip were difficult. I loved being in the warmth and light of endless summer but getting there? Not so much. I've been back less than a week and that's too soon to be issuing grand finale statements but I do wonder if this vacation is was my last overseas vacation.  Let me explain my conflict.

For this excursion, the only way to reasonably get there was via the airways.  You can't drive to Hawaii from California. This means you must deal with the world of air transportation. Let's start with the price of plane tickets.  They are not only expensive but the airlines play games with passengers and prices.  Prices fluctuate but once you purchase a ticket, you are stuck with it.  No way to adjust if the fares go down.  If you wait too long, you may or may  not see the fares go down (or up?).  This is really not the way to do business yet that's how the airlines does business. There is also the actual dollar cost of flying.  The base ticket might be one thing but the necessary add ons (Hello??? One needs a suitcase if one is going to be away for ten days) are a scam. Airlines, just be honest about your prices. Don't take us for stupid.

The airlines also take advantage of passengers with the ridiculous limitations that they put on refunds and changes in tickets.  It burns me up that you can't transfer a ticket that you purchased.  If, for some reason, you can't go on a flight, why can't you give that ticket to someone else?  It doesn't make sense to me that the airlines have these no refunds/no transfer of ticket rules. If your plans need to change, all you can do is take a financial loss and that is not right.  Or, if you want to change the reservation, you are required to pay an outrageous fee (for example, $200 per ticket) when the change simply requires a  click on the computer.  Perhaps I could understand the high fee if the change was being done within 24 hours of the flight but weeks out?  No way.  Funny thing is, the airlines CAN and WILL change the passenger's ticket at any time to meet the needs of the airlines. They do this routinely and there is no compensation to the traveler. Go figure.
Another source of my anger with airlines is their attempt to cram as many passengers as possible in one metal tube. Human bodies are loaded in so closely and so uncomfortably that it hurts. Sure, you can pay four times the coach fare and travel like royalty up front but most common people can't afford that.  Yes, the oligarchs and elites win again and I resent that. You have to sit in that cramped seat for long periods of time. You will be offered a half can of some beverage (typically very limited selection of beverages) and a packaged boring cookie OR a mini package of dry pretzels.  You can bring your own food and you can also be subjected to the pleasant or unpleasant odors of food brought on board by other passengers.  Yummy. Your carry on luggage may or may not fit in a storage compartment above your seat.  If you want a carry on bag with access during the flight it needs to be small enough to shove under the seat in front of you.  Try doing that when you are over 50 years old AND you are one of the many passengers who are not seated on the aisle.  News flash:  bodies are not meant to bend in ways that will allow you to shove the bag under the seat for later access during the flight.  Be prepared to be bored.

Beyond my complaints with the airlines, I have a different set of gripes with the whole airport security process.  By process I mean, getting through security lines.  Most security lines that I have experienced in the USA are cattle prod worthy lines.  The TSA agents are bossy and loud.  They often act as if air travel is something that people do every day and therefore the travelers should know all the rules about who takes shoes off and when, who pulls computers out, and do phones go in buckets or can they stay in purses and backpacks, and which line do you go through for x-ray scanning?  I hate when the TSA people look at travelers with disdain because travelers are confused about the rules.  The rules do seem to be different from place to place. But, bottom line, there's no need to be rude or arrogant.  I have traveled in other countries and had an entirely different experience with security so don't tell me it has to be like this.  I know it doesn't.  And here's a funny thing.  Ever heard of TSA pre-check? For a fee (of course) you can buy your way into a modified security process.  For $85 and a passport, you can secure your way into five years of not taking your shoes off or your computer out.  You can buy your way into shorter lines and less irritable TSA agents. Oh wait. That doesn't necessarily work if you have metal in your body.  Then, even though you paid the big bucks, you will need to go through regular security games because why?  I don't know but it's happened to me twice in six months.  And, by the way, how is paying $85 and having a passport any guarantee that you are not a terrorist? If security is essential, then why is it that people can buy their way out of it?  Then there's the taking your shoes off thing.  Because one guy in December of 2001 tried to ignite a shoe bomb, every passenger ever since has had to deal with shoe security.  REALLY?????  C'mon, people, get it together.  Can't technology figure out a way for those bomb ingredients to be detected in shoes going through the screeners just as they presumably are detected in bags going through screeners?  The shoe thing is absurd.

In addition to the frustrations and resentments cataloged above, there is dealing with life in an airport and on an airplane.  For me there is a one and half to two hour drive through urban traffic to even get to the airport.  Then there are costly fees to park your vehicle in long term parking ($25 PER DAY at San Francisco Airport).  Food available within the airport is grossly overpriced and generally of poor quality.  Your flight may or may not be delayed. You may or may not sit immobile on the runway for an hour or two (occasionally longer). I won’t complain about turbulence because I get that turbulence is NOT the fault of airlines or airports and, in my experience, those flying the plane are generally great about warning about upcoming areas of turbulence. They are also terrific about reassuring travelers about their safety in moments of turbulence.

Finally I cannot look away from the impact that flying has on the environment. Flying takes a lot of energy and that translates into a lot of jet fuel. Burning jet fuel releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Those greenhouse gases block heat from escaping from the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise just like in a greenhouse. And there you see the terribly threatening condition known as climate change. According to Dietrich Brockhagen, executive director of Atmosfair, a German non-profit that focuses on flight emissions, ““It really does matter. If there’s one thing a single person can do with maximum effect, it’s thinking about their flights.” I look at that statement (from USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/12/26/flying-bad-environment-heres-what-do/2350488002/) and think that I can make a difference here. If every person would reconsider their need to fly and perhaps cut back by one or two flights per year, that could matter for the health of the planet.

From all of this ranting and raving about air transportation, you might justifiably wonder why I even travel at all. I’m asking myself that same question. There are many positive reasons to travel and I will cover that in a future post but for now, I just needed to lay this out for myself. Let’s see where this rant takes me in the future.