Planes

Tip: Carefully read flight notifications!

a pair of black framed glasses

A few weeks ago I booked a trip to New York, through Charlotte. I was very careful to make sure that I had plenty of time in Charlotte to make my connection, since it is a sprawling airport and I am a slow pregnant lady. Naturally I requested upgrades once the ticket was confirmed, plus…

Continue Reading »

Southwest boarding passes

If you check in as early as possible, why do you still not get a good boarding pass on Southwest? Reader M asks…. Last week I flew Southwest for the first time in years. My company bought the ticket for me, but I knew I had to check in 24 hours in advance to get…

Continue Reading »

Sometimes it’s okay to use the seat in front of you

looking out of an airplane window at a frozen land

Monday I flew to New York’s JFK airport. Before we took off the pilot told us that we needed to leave as quickly as possible to make sure we got a slot at landing. Evidently the snow that swept the city that day was wreaking havoc on the runways. Our flight went very smoothly, and…

Continue Reading »

Let’s talk about flying small planes

a plane on the runway

For the past several years, I have been lucky in that I haven’t had to fly on the small planes very often. Last week, I flew three straight flights on small planes. Not the tiniest planes I’ve ever been on—these were the 2-2 configuration—but still quite a bit smaller than a Super 80 or 737.…

Continue Reading »

Airplane plugs

a white usb cable with a green light

A couple of years ago, the Home Warrior and I took a fabulous vacation to Puerto Rico. On the way home we were re-routed, so that instead of flying through Dallas we flew through JFK. As we live in Texas, this made for a much longer trip. On the flight to JFK I started reading…

Continue Reading »

FAA to relax ban on use of electronic devices

a water bottle next to a blue wallet

Good news? Bad news? Depends. The FAA (according to Fox News) is going to relax the restrictions on using some personal electronic devices on runways and at low altitudes. Examples given were eReaders, cell phones (in airplane mode), and tablets. Frequent fliers get very frustrated with the ridiculous rules and varying degrees of strictness, so…

Continue Reading »

Apparently books and water bottles are dangerous now, too.

a water bottle next to a blue wallet

If you fly often, you know that all flights are different. Some are on time, some are late. Some are full, some are empty. Some have a happy flight crew, some have a pissed off flight crew. You get the idea. Well, on a recent flight I had such a bizarre experience that I have…

Continue Reading »

Don’t gate check your coat!

a woman in a red coat

This week, I traveled to Chicago. It was a very productive visit, where I got a lot of work done and I was able to hang out with my sisters. But there was one thing that wasn’t awesome. All of my flights were all on time, which was nice, but they were on small planes.…

Continue Reading »

Flying the Kid-Free Zone

The Home Warrior hates making a scene. He could go to a restaurant, have the worst food he’s ever eaten, and when the server asks, “How is everything?” he would say, “Great!” just to avoid making a scene. We have recently been planning our first trip with the Mini Warrior, and one of Home Warrior’s…

Continue Reading »

Danger: Exploding coffee?

a white teapot with brown designs

From a CNN article this week: According to a safety alert published on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website, the prepackaged coffee filters many airlines use are susceptible to pressure buildup and can explode when an unsuspecting attendant lifts the coffee pot to pour a cup. Okay seriously? The coffee filters are dangerous? Yeah right. Several…

Continue Reading »