A First-Hand Experience Of Flying Home For Christmas
With so many people traveling for the Christmas holidays, I thought I would provide a first-hand report of my experience of going home to see my family.
This is everything I experienced and also things I observed from TSA security to the airports to the airlines, airline staff and – of course – other passengers. I was on American Airlines, started at LAX in Los Angeles, flew into DFW for a three-hour layover in Dallas and landed at TYS in Knoxville, TN. Yes, it was a long travel day.
I had one rollerbag carry-on and a backpack, and had my boarding pass on my smartphone. I booked the least expensive ticket (still, close to $700!) and did not fall for the airline’s trap of e-mails the previous few days offering me “seat upgrades,” “boarding upgrades” and on-board meals, all at extra costs.
LAX, 6:10 a.m.
Arrived at the airport. A friend dropped me off and I proceeded immediately to security. At first, this looked like it would be a breeze. There were only about 25 people in line but this proved to be a cruel tease. That line was actually three times that long once I rounded a corner, and then I (and other passengers behind me) were rounded up and sent to a dark and dingy room that looked like a dungeon.
It was dirty and the bins were so worn and filthy looking I did not want to put any of my belongings into them. But, of course, I had no choice. I tried to keep an eye on my laptop because it was briefly and accidentally stolen a few months early in New Orleans but people from all directions kept bumping into me. For a moment, I thought I was in a third-world country.
Fortunately, this process was pretty quick and I – along with my laptop – were spit out the end of security in about five minutes. Later, I was pleased to see a large Christmas tree in the terminal and there was holiday music coming through the airport’s sound system.
I wasn’t hungry but the terminal smelled of toast and people were lined up at all the places to eat had me thinking about it. I hoped that no one around me would bring smelly McDonald’s or any other fast food onto the plane.
Total time from drop-off to gate: 20 minutes
The Flight: Los Angeles To Dallas Fort-Worth
I was part of boarding group 6 and settled into seat 32A. Despite an earlier gate agent warning that “we have a full flight and will be checking some of your carry-on luggage,” there was plenty of room in the overhead bins for my suitcase.
After we took off, I snapped a few photos of the Southern California coastline, then turned on the entertainment system to see what it offered us flyers. I opted for the TV shows and noticed with great interest one of the options was the “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Making The Team.” Hmmm! I settled instead, tho for “Beer Women of Charlotte. “ Then I took a nap.
I also watched a few of the American Airlines-produced travel videos on cities around the world. While the camerawork was excellent, the shows were boring. They put too much emphasis on art rather than the things most people – and by most people I mean myself and people I know, of course – want to know more about the fun stuff, such as where to eat and drink! All the food places were sponsored, so the videos hardly provided much of a true look at places.
Some of the videos also featured those clueless hosts that made me wonder “how the heck did they choose THIS person. I could – and would – do much better!” For example, the girl hosting the show on Toronto kept pronouncing it “Tor-on-TO” when any local will tell you that you don’t pronounce the other “t.” It’s simply “Tor-an-o.”
An hour into the three-hour flight, the snack service arrived; there were no peanuts. The LA-based flight attendants were very friendly.
We arrived on time in Dallas. It took 10 minutes before I could leave my seat and exit the plane.
Dallas-Fort Worth Airport 1:53 p.m.
I took an accidental joy ride on the Skylink. I either got on the wrong train – the signage was not very good – or it’s a long way between Terminals C and B. Good thing I was not in a hurry.
After paying $2.83 for a diet soda – airports in America are expensive folks; a simple sandwich at the same place cost $13 – I found a nice work station to work some on PubClub.com and make social media posts. DFW has complimentary WiFi and with 2 1/2 hours to kill before my connection, I took my time and for lunch, ate the turkey and cheese sandwich that I had made at home.
The Flight, Dallas Fort-Worth To Knoxville
This was an American Eagle flight. Knoxville, tho being a decent-sized city, has a rather small airport. This means it usually only handles the smaller planes and you must connect to go in and out of TYS. Unlike my flight on the larger plane with the longer flight, I chose an aisle rather than a window seat.
Let me just say that this was not the newest plan in the fleet. The seats looked as if they were installed in 1970 and the frames of them showed their age. When we took off, the plane made groaning noises as if was struggling to get off the ground and as we made our approach, there was some kind of alarm sound coming from the rear of the aircraft. It sounded like when you drive your car without fastening the seatbelt. I mentioned this to the crew and the flight attendant said basically it was the communication system from the cockpit.
Anyway, we arrived safe and on time. This was actually a nice flight. I was in the emergency exit aisle over the wing and had first-class legroom. The plane was only about half full and that was nice after cramming onto completely full flights most of the time in my travels.
Arrival In Knoxville, 7:15 p.m.
My sister (not my parents this time) were there to greet me. I immediately grabbed a sweater out of my carry-on and we were on our way home.
Happy Holidays from PubClub.com!
Leave a Reply