Tuesday’s travel.

Air travel is fun… if you really enjoy standing in line with a bunch of clueless aggravated people who can’t understand basic instruction. But it is not the travelers that are ruining air travel, that honor goes to the airlines. I fly out of Providence through U.S. Air, now that American has pulled out of T.F. Green, thanks for nothing American Airlines. U.S. Air is terrible! They have small planes, and inefficient check in system and pretty much anyone working at airline check in is on a power trip. Honestly you give someone with a crappy job a little bit of power and they squeeze every bit of power possible. Not to mention the tons of flights I have been on this year haven’t amounted to squat in terms of any status. I think I need 5 more segments to get to the 1st tier of their status structure. That is 30 segments, 5 more than you need for status from American. I know I can get equal status across airlines but I’ll already be at the Silver status by the time the paperwork goes through.

Air Travel is fun.

Wednesday’s travel.

I’m in the G terminal of Washington Dulles airport and if you have ever been here then you may appreciate what a fuster cluck this place is. One of the most messed up things is the gate attendants who make announcements barely speak English.

Well, I was just interrupted by the call for my flight to Buffalo just to walk down the jet way to find that there was no jet for us. So we were sent back into the terminal to wait, absolutely a mess.

Air Travel is fun.

Back to my earlier point: English as a second language should really not be an on the job training exercise when your main function is to TALK to people, especially if the people listening to you need to have the information that you are providing. It is bad enough trying to hear over the din of the other travelers, but trying to decipher the Gibber-English is too much to contend with.

Air Travel is fun.

While waiting for the actual jet to arrive I listened to some woman lose her mind. She exploded in rage about taking a voluntary bump and then realizing she wasn’t going to get where she wanted to on time. Chalk that one up to “Open your ears.” If you don’t understand what comes with taking a voluntary bump then it probably isn’t for you. Leave that to the folks who have a clue.

Air Travel is fun.

Friday’s Travel.

Before I got to the airport I stopped at Wing City Grille for lunch. I got a Mexican sampler that had Cajun wings, mini tacos, chicken quesadilla and tortilla chips with guacamole. But I was torn between that and some wings; I mean the place is called Wing City. I did also order some mini chicken tenders called chicken lips and they let me try a few of the wing sauces. I choose Key Lime, Spicy Peanut Butter and Raspberry inferno. They have a sauce that you have to sign a waiver to eat. I wasn’t about to inflict that on myself or the folks on the plane.

The verdict, I could have skipped the Mexican plate, which was not good. However the chicken lips and sauces were excellent. Key Lime was pretty much lime and frank’s red hot sauce; it was such an unexpected good taste. The Cajun wings were probably my favorite. They had a perfectly balanced flavor. The Spicy Peanut Butter was very good and had a sweet and slightly fruity bite. Raspberry inferno was very much a shock. It started of sweet and fruity and then the heat totally kicked in. I asked the waitress what other sauces I had to try, she brought me Buffalo Ranch, predictable taste and no great and special experience there. What was a good experience was the Lasagna Ice Cream. It has a chocolate cookie base and then a layer of vanilla and a layer of chocolate then whipped cream and cookie crumbs and chocolate sauce, it was so good.

Well, I am at the airport now. I’m in buffalo awaiting my first flight of the day which is Buffalo to Pittsburgh. Getting through security here was no sweat, a long line but it kept moving, they had someone directing people to the rows of screeners and were not letting people mash right on top of each other which was nice. I did not feel rushed or annoyed that the person in front of me was taking too long because they hadn’t been to an airport in the past 10 years. However the person behind me had no sense of personal space. Each time we stopped in line she would bump into me. Not a big bump, just enough to let me know she was still there. Thanks but I could sense that you were there without the confirmation. Then when we got to the screener she went around me and got a grey bucket to put her stuff in. What the heck! I am in no way a slow person at the screener. I have a very efficient system. Roll-aboard down on the table. A quick zip and out comes the laptop and into a grey bucket in one smooth motion, down goes the backpack on the table, right leg comes up and I slip of the right shoe, then I do the same with the left, sometimes in mid stride. Nothing comes out of my pockets because in the parking lot I stash my wallet, keys, phone and belt in the backpack. I take out my credit card for the self check in and my license for identification. Bing bang boom and I am out of there. I am like the NASCAR pit crew of security lines. I should be giving lessons on this to frequent travelers; I see many who need my help.

Air Travel is fun.

Things all seem to work out in the end. I was at the Buffalo airport and was paged over the loudspeaker. Apparently my flight to Pittsburgh was delayed and they rerouted me through Philly. I got home a half hour early. So sometimes air travel actually works in your favor.