Flying in the US just keeps getting worse!!!

My wife and I have to make sacrifices so we can live out our dreams on a homestead. One of the sacrifices I make, is that I have to work on the road about 10 to 15 weeks a year depending on our workload. Today, I am off to northern Wisconsin for a week, to get a large project started, I will need to travel there two or three more times before the project is finished.

I hate working on the road! But we do what we have to do……More than that, I hate leaving my wife!

Working in the terminal...

United, the disorganized Airline.....

Now, I am not one for writing a negative post, but here I go! I can’t help it this time…..

To work on the road I need to fly, I have been flying 20 to 30 times a year for 7 years now, I believe I have seen it all, cranky passengers, cranky airline employees, people kicked off flights and so on. But what I want to talk about today is how bad the logistics of flying are these days. Of all the flights I take, 90% to 95% of those flights are delayed or outright canceled. In my last 10 flights I have not made any of my connecting flights.

That would include today! I was supposed to arrive in Green Bay by 1:00 this afternoon, but nope I will get in tonight after 11:00pm. Pretty much every flight is overbooked / oversold. I have been a 1st class passenger and bumped off the flight! It is unreal how bad it is! I do my best to be polite, you get a lot further that way, but most of the time you have to wait 24hrs to get on the next flight. Then, they don’t want to cover your hotel room for the night. The customer service is atrocious, I feel for them because they get the brunt of the complaints but, and I can tell you people get downright nasty when they have been screwed over!

What to do to try and better your odds of a good flight….

When you book your flight, try to book the first flight out of the airport for your destination, typically the first flight will take off on time and arrive at your connecting flight on time. With that said, if you can find a direct flight, even if it is $100 more book it. It will save you a lot of headaches, worth well more than $100.

If you have a layover, book the connecting flight at least two hours after you arrive in your connecting city. This will hedge your bets if the first flight is late, you still might make the connecting. The typical flight is 35 to 45 minutes late. I cannot tell you how many times I have landed just to watch my connecting flight take off without me. Talk about depressing!

OK I feel better now, I guess. Thanks for listening to me rant!

Until next time, will see ya'll!

Bob Browning the unhappy traveler