This story is so bad I don’t want to read it again to edit it….. so here it is in its entirety. A horrible travel experience from one of my friends. <<shudder>>

So I was flying home from Durham and was on the short portion (DFW to AUS) when they moved my seat at the very last minute.  No problem.  In fact, it seemed I had the whole row to myself. But when I sat down, I did notice a funny smell.  I looked around, sniffed some more, wasn’t sure as it wasn’t that bad and sort just smelled like “late night plane.”  Then throughout the trip I kept having something rolling around at my heels.  But I thought it was the luggage of the person behind me.  So I would sort of kick it back.  Until, I saw that the bottoms of my jeans were wet–up from the hem for about 4 inches.   I was puzzled, finally looked directly under my seat, and saw that what had been at my heels the whole time was a now degrading used airsickness bag.  So it was someone else’s vomit on my heels.  awesome.

I freaked (i have kind of a phobia about vomit, so while no one “likes” it…i REALLY don’t), told the attendant, who barely looked up from her texting to ask the person behind me if the airsickness bag she had found on her seat was used too.  It wasn’t.  She never apologized, just said she would have to call someone to clean it up.

I was pissed at this point and in an uncharacteristic fashion went directly to the gate attendant (it was by now 11 PM so no time to wash my hands first–or rip off my disgusting clothes, lest she disappear too.)  She freaked.  And I quote: “Oh yes, that is deeply disgusting.  Plus those are bodily fluids so you don’t know what blood and fluid born illnesses you were exposed to.”  Well exactly.

So she said I had to contact the website to complain.  I did.  And I got a big 3,000 bonus miles for my trouble along with a condescending letter about how the planes are white glove clean in the morning and it isn’t their fault if things get messed up along the way.  Right.

Readers, any awful stories you want to share?