So…maybe humans are evolving away from traveling huge distances.
As much as I would mourn that, I sometimes think it makes sense. Long-haul flights for short-term vacations are terrible for the environment. I’m as guilty as anyone and, while I don’t know that it’s necessary to give up travel completely, I wonder if it would make sense for flights to cost even more than they do now.
I say this as I remember back to 2004, when I flew round-trip to London for $300 (against doctor’s orders–I had mono–because $300! I couldn’t lose that!). And I say it from a hotel in Toronto, where I’ve washed up after my flight from LGA was delayed (ON the runway, where there was no food and we weren’t allowed to use the bathroom for most of that time) more than 2.5 hours and I landed 10 minutes before my connecting flight departed for London.
(without me, obviously)
La Guardia is…inefficient, but this has been a pretty treacherous week for travel in general because of the weather. I was supposed to go to California last Saturday…but the flight was canceled because of the thunderstorms and the next available flight was on Monday–it would have gotten us to California Monday at 8 pm. And our flight back was Tuesday at 4 pm. So we just didn’t go. Today’s delay actually wasn’t due to thunderstorms, but about two hours after we were supposed to leave it DID start storming. We were able to take off anyway, and the very Canadian-stereotypical flight attendant announced, “I’ve come to the understanding that some of you might be frustrated. Glass half full perspective: we ARE going to get to Toronto!”
(at least, that sounded cliched-positive until I learned that most of the people on my flight were supposed to fly to Toronto LAST night, but…their flight was canceled because of the torrential rain and thunderstorms)
Unfortunately, it would have been better for me to have just gotten stuck in NYC, because then I could have gone home instead of to the airport hotel, and I probably could have gotten to London faster on a direct flight leaving tomorrow morning or afternoon. But because I made it to Toronto, my only option on this airline is 24 hours and 5 minutes (RANDOM) after my scheduled flight.
My dad worked in logistics for Proctor and Gamble. As a child, I didn’t fully understand what he actually did. Now I’m gleaning more insight. And while I understand the logistics of a particular airline only operating a particular flight once a day, and can reckon with that, I wish that other elements could be different–particularly, the way that everyone disavows all knowledge of ANYTHING (it would do away with a giant percentage of anxiety if the flight attendants could give you any info about your connecting flight and your chances of getting on it, where to go to make that happen most quickly, whether you and other passengers with possible connections (in spite of the delay) might be able to get off the plane first…). And I don’t have reason to doubt that the flight attendants DON’T have that info, but…why don’t they? They tell you, instead, that as soon as you get off the plane you’ll be able to speak to the airline’s customer service desk. That’s…about 0.6 miles and one GOING THROUGH CUSTOMS inaccurate.
Why do you have to go through customs if you’re just getting on a connecting flight? I know you don’t HAVE to, because not every airport makes you! LAX does, which is highly unpleasant, and apparently YYZ does too. It leads to awkward encounters like the customs agent asking, “And what will you be doing in Canada?” and the subsequent fight not to shout “I’M TRYING TO LEAVE” or “I AM NOT TRYING TO BE IN CANADA BUT NO ONE WILL TALK TO ME.”
My original train (HA) of thought–as much as it existed by 10 pm–was that it might be better if flights were more expensive but also more efficient and if airlines could use the additional funds to improve recourse for travelers when delays happen (like comping hotel rooms for passengers who are stranded). I don’t know that I actually want that–not trying to make it more financially difficult for people to fly–but it did seem like the whole industry was overburdened. Though maybe that’s mostly La Guardia.
I’m in London now but I’m still jet lagged. Hence my undigested thoughts!
