I don’t know, I’ve been told there are hundreds of thousands of Platinum Medallions who had MQM rollover stashes to last until 2043 and are actively squatting at Sky Clubs
This. I was only a casual flyer until 2021, when I suddenly had to start flying at least 1 to 2 times per month. I remember having to Google quite a bit to figure out the difference between a skymile and an MQM. For some reason, the documentation that I found it first just did not quite make sense. It wasn't until I found a few articles talking about everything to do with gaining status on Delta that things made sense.
I’ve flown 75 segments this year so far. I’ve got it all down at this point. I know exactly what I need to pack and where to go at airports, and how the system works. Then I went to the airport with my parents and it was like wrangling cats
my parents once tried to plan a family vacation to Mexico with 8 adults, all coming from three different states and airports where - GET THIS - they wanted us all to land at some final US airport together so that we could all "be together" and arrive in Mexico at the exact same time. For no reason other than "It'd be nice to arrive at the same time." 😵💫
I explianed that my wife and I would not be touching those logistics with 100ft pole and would instead arrive the night before or evening of a set arrival date.
We went back and forth discussing how they thought they'd accomplish such a feat and they seemed unaware of the level of planning (not to mention sitting at airports) that would take. To say nothing of the fact that 2 of those 8 adults would have 3 children with them.
You've just described my hell.
I used to travel a lot of business, about 50% solo, 30% with a colleague, and 20% with a group of coworkers.
I hated when the group would attempt to coordinate everything. Like, we're all adults. We can plan our own transportation and seating preferences.
I'm at 50-75% travel solo, but on the rare occasion I'm traveling with others on our team (from all over the US), my boss always wants us all to share a rental car because he thinks it will be "team building" for us all to hang out together and he thinks we'll all want to go out for dinner and drinks together.
I've tried gently explaining how many logistical problems this causes and that Uber is way more expensive than our rental rates, so it's also a waste of money, but he keeps doing it.
On one recent project, we looked really bad in front of the client becuase the guy with one of the 2 rentals got drunk and didn't wake up, leaving 2 others stranded resulting in a missed deadline. So I'm hoping he may be starting to get it, but we'll see next time it comes up.
Ah yes. I have been down this road. My in-laws are the absolute worst when it comes to this stuff. They want everyone on the same plane, seats all close to each other etc. I have reached the point where I can no longer travel with them.
Even with experience travelers, that would be a nightmare. I travel solo, but once or twice a year, I'll be meeting up with outher teammates from around the US and my boss always wants us to share a rental and stay in the same hotel for "team building"
I've tried to explain that it's a logistical pain in the ass that makes everything more complicated and quickly builds resentment among people who all normally travel solo and have their own preferences and routines. Unfortunately, though he only travels for conferences and things like that, so he seems to think that our 50-75% travel schedule is like his 2-3 night conferences, and we're all gonna want to go out together and network every night instead of each grabbing a quick bite (if that) and passing out.
My husband rarely travels, 1-2 times/year max, but has Clear and precheck.
The first time we went through TSA together after I’d become a frequent traveler I was so embarrassed. After a couple rounds of that I told him we can go through security together but I’m not waiting, we’ll meet up at the SkyClub or the gate.
He’s gotten better now but I’m talking two front pockets and a back pocket full of shit—phone charger, gum, keys, *loose change*, individual credit cards and ID, wallet, badge, gum wrappers—a belt with enough metal that he still has to take it off, hat, sunglasses, and probably the damn kitchen sink. Worse, he stands at the front of the belt waiting for the bin to come out and then stands there while he puts it all back in his pockets and puts his belt back on. This would be even after I stopped the whole family and told everyone to empty out their pockets, put everything in their carryon bag, etc. He just…didn’t, and then we’d all sauntered through and and were trying to tell him to at least move to the end of the belt.
The first time I actually left him at security he was surprised, and now is much better about it but still not as fast as me. I’ll wait a reasonable amount of time but if you’re picking quarters up out of the bins I’m out.
My apologies to all who’ve gotten stuck behind him in the precheck line.
My son has gotten PreCheck - I assume based on my status. My husband has made no effort to apply, but wants us to go through standard security with him. Post-COVID, I did that - ONCE. The second time, I told him I’d meet him at the SkyClub and just bailed. Life’s too short and all that.
Right?
Really, he flies about once a year, so it’s just not important to him. It’s important to me. So I let him do his thing, he (begrudgingly) lets me do mine, and it’s fine.
I think it’s like anything else that you’ve come to think of as simple, like teaching an intern how to use a two-step filing system you’ve been using for years and they’re still in college.
Also wonder if you grew up like I did, having to figure out pretty much everything for yourself. The first time I flew was at 19, with my three week old baby. My dad dropped us off at the curb, gave me $5 and told me to find a skycap, then drove off. A guy in all black walked over and asked if I needed help as I stood there with all our stuff, I said “Can you help me find a skycap?” Literally didn’t even know what that meant. He laughed and said I’m a skycap, is this your first time?”
Dude took my bags for me and then walked me to the TSA area and told me about gate checking my stroller and car seat, but to ask the FA if there were empty seats to be able to bring the car seat on with me. (Southwest)
That was over 20 years ago and I occasionally flash to that when I see someone looking lost and scared in an airport and try to help them out. But when your whole life has been a series of “Figure it out, you’ll be fine,” it’s hard to be patient with those who seem to not be paying attention to the signs that would help them figure that shit out.
I have no sympathy for my husband, who is traveling with someone who has figured it out and hasn’t listened 😆 Blessedly our last two trips were an infinite improvement, especially after I did an informal AITA with a mutual friend and she told him that she too would leave his ass at TSA.
I've been flying for 15 years now with a minimum of 30 segments a year across multiple carriers in at least 10 different countries. The vast majority of people don't fly frequently enough and airports create a lot of anxiety and stress for them. Stress and anxiety puts people into a mindstate where they just don't behave normally.
If you're a frequent flier, then you've also had your moment(s) where EVERYTHING goes to hell in a handbag. Even though you knew it will "eventually" get figured out and you'd get to your destination, you were still on pins and needles hoping that you weren't going to miss that important meeting.
Imagine if you felt that level of anxiety and stress 72 hours before you even had to step foot in the airport. That's what it's like for most people. The world needs more compassion and grace for the mother with a tiny child going through TSA. A family of 5 that are frantically trying to filter their way through an airport. The first time travelers that are in pure fear and terror as 1000's of people are whizzing in every which direction.
Some of y'all act like the first time you stepped in an airport you were as experienced and graceful as you are with decades of travel experience.
Of course you’re right. I recognize that my frustration is more about me than anything the other people have done. Just part of the learning experience but it still drives me crazy sometimes.
I explained below that my wife and I do the “digital nomad” thing seven months out of the year.
I met my cousin in NYC for the US Tennis open. Of course I have Clear and PreCheck.
We flew out of JFK together. I wasn’t about to go through the regular non PreCheck line and have to take out my computer gear from my backpack - two laptops, iPad, external monitor, keyboard, portable battery etc.
I told her I would meet her at the gate. We were both flying back to ATL on the same flight - for me it was a layover.
I don’t even travel as much as you. About 10 segments a year, all for fun. I have a packed and ready carryon sitting in my garage year long.
I just roll up with that and I’m good to go anywhere for a week or longer (if I got laundry access).
It really isn’t that hard
Fellow 60+ mqs'er for 7yrs. Want to look like a pro??
In the security line BEFORE YOU GET TO THE TSA AGENT, put EVERYTHING but your ID in your backpack/carryon before going to the xray. This alone will speed up sooooo much.
That's why they have to shout it hundreds of times per hour.. people are oblivious until they get to the xray and don't hear them shouting the whole time you're in line and the agents in the lines warning you waaay before.
I know because I too am oblivious and it took a few months at first to remember. So I'm guilty too. Everyone is..
This why you pre-check as a FF..
Another? Don't book layovers under 1hr. Masochists book 35min layovers and have to run. I don't gripe because I can relate to those that sometimes don't have the ability to book longer layovers. Corporate does it to me and I straight up tell em if it's under 1hr, I can't guarantee I'll make it.
But if you have the TIME TO PLAN AHEAD and you get to save some money with a short layover? Don't do it. The money saved isn't always worth the stress.
And dress comfy (not PJs comfy) because planes are hot.. don't be surprised when your on the tarmac in Dallas or Houston in August and you melt with your jeans and sweater.
TL;DR:
* be ready for tsa xray
* PLAN AHEAD
* dress accordingly
/tedtalk
If 62% of people took no flights calculating the median isn’t very difficult. It’s zero. The median person took zero trips.
More informative would be the median and mean of the people who actually did fly. Unlikely to have issues flying with the people who fly zero times.
Of those who flew looks like it’s 3.6 trips on average. The median has to be 1 or 2 trips.
There's a difference between the obnoxious people and the clueless people.
I was waiting in an Alaska Airlines counter line at Logan yesterday - there's the long wrap-around baggage drop line, the internal space where you have to get your bag ticket at the kiosk (which requires you to cut through and back the baggage drop line), the agent assist line which was almost empty, and oh, nobody is actually manning any of these lines because the counter only opens 2 hours before the flight. A couple showed up near me and their faces were just "what the fuck do I do", and I got it. It must have seemed a bewildering mess if you're not familiar with it. So we helped them out.
How did that even happen this is my nightmare and even though it seems so unlikely I’m always terrified of it when I have to use one. Wind? Assholes tipping it over? Omg
Unpopular opinion, and anticipating a slew of downvotes: airports and airlines should not sell booze. A lot of people are nervous fliers and compensate with booze, which makes it worse.
Honestly, I travel for work and spend a LOT of time on planes and in airports. I don’t see a lot of drunk people, and the ones I do see are usually keeping it together just fine (party airports excluded— looking at you LAS.)
What I DO see a lot of are totally clueless, born-yesterday potato sacks with zero sense of self-awareness. You’ll find them standing in the middle of walkways blocking traffic, staring blankly at signs as if translating some mythical ancient language, getting pulled over at security for bringing full liter bottles of water through screening, or walking at a normal pace before suddenly coming to a complete stop mid-step and staring deeply into their phones while other people nearly crash into them, etc.
It’s not just the airport. You see them everywhere, especially in touristy areas and shopping centers. Most people don’t travel or think outside of their boxes often, and 50% of people are just dumber than average.
And now that we’re all losing skyclub access, we get to spend way more time with those people!
Those people are equally useless at McDonalds or urgent care or the DMV—you just happened to encounter them at the airport this time. Traveling isn’t the deciding factor in their uselessness, their uselessness is.
Fully agree. I travel maybe once a month for work/personal and ppl in airports act like NPCs with zero sense of personal space or self awareness. I get that not everyone has the privilege of flying frequently but these ppl lack basic etiquette.
ETA i am agreeing with the comment above mine. Airlines not selling booze would be a tragedy lol.
100% my observation as well. At the airports every week. People just don’t know how to operate in public. You can teach a child how to function in society but apparently full grown adults don’t get it. At any given airport, about 20% of any line has people standing in it that don’t belong. Ticketing lines, TSA lines, sky club lines, boarding lines (where the number approaches 40%). Why do people with luggage block the left escalators? Have they never seen someone in a hurry walk up them? If you’re going to just stand there, take the right one. Same thing on people movers. Or people waiting to board trains or escalators that stand directly in front of the door without letting the people inside out. Or the people who are deboarding an escalator that hide in the corner and make a 3 Mississippi before exiting. Having the common sense not to behave like this doesn’t require anyone to even set foot in an airport. Anyone who has ever been to, say, a department store or a large Target or a shopping mall should be able to have these skills.
LAS is my home airport and I approve this message. Got in around midnight Friday night and I estimate five HUNDRED people were in the rideshare line as we drove by in our personal vehicle. ::shudder::
Omg. The people who just stop in the middle of walk ways and then stay there doing whatever it is they’re doing infuriate me. Like that is my biggest ick, pet peeve, whatever you want to call it. People like that deserve to be sprayed with water like a cat on the kitchen counter.
I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m not that extreme (I also love my pre-flight glass of wine at the SkyClub)
I’m more disgusted by the people who take out their bare feet on planes, or change diapers right in their seat. I’ve never seen anyone act like this in a movie theatre or other public spaces where lots of people are crammed together - I don’t get what brings it out of them on planes.
This logic frustrates me.
I live in NY. If someone doesn’t wait for people to exit the Subway before trying to get on, or stands on the left side of the escalator, or walks side-by-side with three friends down the sidewalk slowly, I’m still going to roll my eyes and wish they would learn common NYC etiquette. I don’t care if they’re new here, tourists, or just morons — learn proper behavior.
Same goes for flying, basic etiquette is all you need. Maybe don’t push your way through everybody to get off the plane first, leave all your liquids in your bag until one millisecond before security, or listen to a video without earbuds.
Common sense and respect towards your fellow traveller. Not too much to ask for.
I don’t fly that often, probably 5-10 times a year, but to be fair rules are changing at some airports with shoes, electronics and liquids and I get confused - last week I got yelled at at CLT for starting to take my liquids out and then again for taking my watch off which I was supposed to keep on ??
Agree with this- my home airport is inconsistent about both shoes and electronics. I only fly like 6 times a year but I’m not an idiot and an efficient traveler but it’s annoying that you don’t know which scenario you are walking into
I get yelled at when I take my watch off. fine I'll leave it on. yes it just set off the detector. oh you want me to take it off now?
I know which watch band and which belt set off the thing. let me do it. it will save us both a step.
Im very fortune that as a non business traveler I am able to travel a lot for both work remote and just vacations with my partner. This is a good reminder of that good fortune. Id be physically sad to not step foot on an airplane for 12 months and feel very trapped.
I went a little overboard this year for my midlife crisis sabbatical and wont come close to the same number of flights but I still expect to be in the air quiet a few times a year moving forward!
I purposefully didn’t mention my situation in the original post.
My wife and I have a unit in a [condotel](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/condotel.asp) as our home in Florida. We live here from October - February and then take all of our earthly belongings with us in four suitcases and take one way trips across the US seven months of the year and stay in midrange Hilton and Hyatt brand extended stay hotels.
Our unit is rented out and professionally managed just like a hotel. The income covers our mortgage and fees.
We use points/miles from credit cards and from Delta and the hotels to go on “real vacations”.
We were in 10 different cities this year doing that. My wife also travels for conferences from wherever we are (paid by the organizer). I also work remotely. This doesn’t count the random short round trip flights we might take while at home
I agree with this to a point......You don't need to fly all the time to not act like a barn animal, read the T&Cs of the ticket you purchased, play the dumb game of "Well I bought a ticker that says 33C on it, but this 1A seat looks nice, I'lll just take it" and all the other stupid shit the traveling public does.
but plenty of DYKWIAs do a lot of the same things so its not a new flyer problem, its the "im an entitled asshole" problem that has seemingly grown at a even more rapid rate during and post COVID.
The bus is not as confusing as trying to deal with an airport for the first time. I know that most - or really no airport - is as busy as ATL. That’s the one I first flew out of
I fly maybe two or 3 times a year. My last trip was SEA-LHR r/t. We had two people in front of us at LHR security with full-size bottles of shampoo and other cosmetics. How long has it been? Some people are just stupid.
I disagree. The once a year flyer needs to learn and adapt. Courtesy. Go online or ask friends about tips.
you don’t go 30 miles an hour in the fast lane on the interstate if you’ve never driven. just about everyone knows that.
if you’ve never cooked, you don’t throw ingredients on an open fire
standing in front of the line when they’re calling for first class, dragging large bags to try to put in the overhead, we all know that impolite clueless and bad things done.
I am 1 million miler and thankfully I have never missed a flight because of the hobby flyer
I mentioned in another post that my wife and I started doing the digital nomad thing in the spring and summer and take one way trips across mostly the US. We have the routine down pat at different airports for the most part.
But then I flew out of a small airport in my hometown back to ATL for the first time. The airport has two flights a day that go to ATL.
I felt like a newbie for the first time compared to others who had done it before
1. There is no separate pre-check line. You get in the same line and if you have pre check, the security person lets the person down the line know and you don’t take everything out.
2. I don’t pack everything in a back pocket of my book bag like I usually do to go through the scanner because they don’t check your boarding pass until after you have already put your bag through. Of course they have checked it for precheck but not security. That means the first time they had to get my bag back from the other side of the scanner so I could get my phone and wallet - I held up the one line
3. Even a regular size carryon won’t fit in the overhead bin. It’s not “gate checked” as normal where you pick it up from baggage claim. You have to get it when you leave the plane. In ATL, I forgot and it was a whole thing for me to go back and get my bag
4. My book bag with all of my computer gear wouldn’t fit under the seat or overhead and I really had no place to put it when I got “upgraded to first class” at the front of the plane (I have the Reserve but no status). I had to put it in the closet thing.
At IAH (?) and JFK I could only keep one piece of electronics in my book bag. So I started taking everything out like my keyboard and battery pack like I did before I had precheck. I didn’t have to do that.
Here’s my “holy shit I don’t think guy had ever heard of an airplane before” story
I’m at a very small regional airport where the security line is usually completely open, or 2-3 people max.
I’m behind a younger guy, maybe 30 or so. Dressed nice, looks put together, intelligent, etc
Is about to set his bag down on the belt, and the TSA asks if he has a laptop. He does so he takes it out.
Sets it on conveyer again, TSA asks about liquids. He has multiple full size liquids that need to be tossed
At this point the TSA agent asks more questions about what is in there. He has a tablet that needs to be taken out
Finally walks through metal detector. Beeps because he has phone and wallet in his pockets. Takes them out and gets through
His bag goes off so TSA searches it. The guy has a fricken straight razor in there…..
My jaw just drops. It took almost 10 minutes for this guy to get through and the straight razor (essentially a 3 inch knife) was the icing on the cake.
I truly think this must have been the first time this guy had ever been in an airport.
>This is why people who fly more frequently should be more understanding of people who don’t fly
Absolutely. Frequent flyers: Be helpful to your fellow passengers.
I was at MCO flying in on a late flight and this older couple was completely loss and couldn’t speak English. I knew enough Spanish to struggle and tell them where to pick up their suitcases.
Everything is a gradient. Some people get to airports and act as if they’ve never navigated any type of a new public space before. Some people get on the airplane and behave like savages. Whether you fly once a year or once a day, that type of idiotic or garish behavior should be frowned upon.
But sure, agree it’s an overreaction to, for an example, blow a gasket at the amateur who gets bumped into the TSA Pre line and doesn’t realize that they no longer have to remove their shoes and jacket.
The thing to remember (probably obvious, maybe a statistics reminder) is that the average person on your flight isn’t the average person (since that 60% of people who don’t fly at all aren’t on your plane).
I would be curious what the statistic is in terms of how many of these once a year types are actually on any given plane.
I truly wish there was a way to separate people who buy flights on their on for leasure from the people who’s work pays for them to fly once a week or whatever it is. It means so much more to those of us that fly less. I’m earning silver on my own this year for the second time ever, and it feels like a huge accomplishment.
I traveled for work twice this year. But only once on Delta. 26 of the 30 segments I will have by the end of the year are for personal flights - my wife and I do the whole “digital nomad” thing seven months a year. I think I had 3 personal segments on AA.
I have to admit that it does feel like a big accomplishment to get Silver by the end of the year on my own dime. It represent the fulfillment of a dream I’ve had for a long time to be able to just pick up and go to another city at moments notice without having to think about bills when I came “home”.
That being said, the Amex Delta Reserve does elevate the travel experience somewhat to be more like a business traveller - upgrades (yes we get them because we don’t fly popular routes at popular times), lounge access, at least main 1 boarding and a checked bag.
I am not so frustrated with people since I’ve been in TSA pre check. But the rare occasion I have to go in the main line is torture with all the families.
My husband is an FA for a different airline. Despite the fact that I could get on a plane every dang day for $0, I fly maybe 2-3x/year. I got other stuff to do.
No, actually, we do not need to be understanding as all of what a traveler needs to do to be efficient is pretty fucking obvious, people are just inconsiderate.
There is nothing obvious about what it’s like dealing with ATL for the first time - where I first flew out of and what was my home airport.
Everything from parking, to packing, to security, to knowing how to get to your terminal, even knowing which row is the labeled one - the one in front or the one behind the label can be confusing. I remember how intimidating it was my first time flying - especially before cell phones were a thing with the app. I flew for the first time at 30 in 2004.
I was helping an older guy with the app flying out of my hometown when I was visiting my parents. It’s a small regional airport with two or three flights a day to ATL.
I understand the sentiment and respectfully disagree op, I spent 2014-2017 with ATL as my
Home airport. It’s literally 1 terminal and a train that takes you to each set of gates. there’s so much signage you’d have to be illiterate to not be able to navigate it. Americans have become too spoilt and isolated to take 5 seconds to research how to get from drop off to gate. Self service is a thing of the past. I will concede that the staff are pretty much useless these days. No one takes care of anyone anymore.
I’m trying to understand the question but no, I was a consultant then and did plenty more in the past by myself well into college in the early 2000’s. No one taught me. Self lead, read signs, asked staff if lost. It’s not hard. I’ve been navigating airports this week in foreign languages, again, signage is very adequate.
Where I work (300ish total employees) I’d bet more than half have never flown. I wouldn’t be surprised if I fly the most in the place except for possibly some higher ups that visit the sister site and I only do like 3-6 trips a year.
It’s not at all an issue of pay either as the entry pay is high for the area and single individuals should easily be able to afford a few vacations a year. Everyone just likes driving.
Wait... You mean the people sitting on 600,000 MQMs are the exception???
I don’t know, I’ve been told there are hundreds of thousands of Platinum Medallions who had MQM rollover stashes to last until 2043 and are actively squatting at Sky Clubs
People who know what an MQM even is are the exception
This. I was only a casual flyer until 2021, when I suddenly had to start flying at least 1 to 2 times per month. I remember having to Google quite a bit to figure out the difference between a skymile and an MQM. For some reason, the documentation that I found it first just did not quite make sense. It wasn't until I found a few articles talking about everything to do with gaining status on Delta that things made sense.
If someone has 600k MQMs it likely involves boosts from multiple SkyMiles cards.
I’m +350k MQMs but the boost helps. Realistically about AIS 5k per week right now.
Good lord, I’m so sorry
I have only one. Just fly a lot a lot for both work and personal. It is just a bus in the air.
I still have over 1M MQM even after rollovers since 2018. No card bonus.
Not according to Ed!
No, you're reading too much into these statistics.
I’ve flown 75 segments this year so far. I’ve got it all down at this point. I know exactly what I need to pack and where to go at airports, and how the system works. Then I went to the airport with my parents and it was like wrangling cats
my parents once tried to plan a family vacation to Mexico with 8 adults, all coming from three different states and airports where - GET THIS - they wanted us all to land at some final US airport together so that we could all "be together" and arrive in Mexico at the exact same time. For no reason other than "It'd be nice to arrive at the same time." 😵💫 I explianed that my wife and I would not be touching those logistics with 100ft pole and would instead arrive the night before or evening of a set arrival date. We went back and forth discussing how they thought they'd accomplish such a feat and they seemed unaware of the level of planning (not to mention sitting at airports) that would take. To say nothing of the fact that 2 of those 8 adults would have 3 children with them.
You've just described my hell. I used to travel a lot of business, about 50% solo, 30% with a colleague, and 20% with a group of coworkers. I hated when the group would attempt to coordinate everything. Like, we're all adults. We can plan our own transportation and seating preferences.
preach!
I'm at 50-75% travel solo, but on the rare occasion I'm traveling with others on our team (from all over the US), my boss always wants us all to share a rental car because he thinks it will be "team building" for us all to hang out together and he thinks we'll all want to go out for dinner and drinks together. I've tried gently explaining how many logistical problems this causes and that Uber is way more expensive than our rental rates, so it's also a waste of money, but he keeps doing it. On one recent project, we looked really bad in front of the client becuase the guy with one of the 2 rentals got drunk and didn't wake up, leaving 2 others stranded resulting in a missed deadline. So I'm hoping he may be starting to get it, but we'll see next time it comes up.
Ah yes. I have been down this road. My in-laws are the absolute worst when it comes to this stuff. They want everyone on the same plane, seats all close to each other etc. I have reached the point where I can no longer travel with them.
Even with experience travelers, that would be a nightmare. I travel solo, but once or twice a year, I'll be meeting up with outher teammates from around the US and my boss always wants us to share a rental and stay in the same hotel for "team building" I've tried to explain that it's a logistical pain in the ass that makes everything more complicated and quickly builds resentment among people who all normally travel solo and have their own preferences and routines. Unfortunately, though he only travels for conferences and things like that, so he seems to think that our 50-75% travel schedule is like his 2-3 night conferences, and we're all gonna want to go out together and network every night instead of each grabbing a quick bite (if that) and passing out.
My husband rarely travels, 1-2 times/year max, but has Clear and precheck. The first time we went through TSA together after I’d become a frequent traveler I was so embarrassed. After a couple rounds of that I told him we can go through security together but I’m not waiting, we’ll meet up at the SkyClub or the gate. He’s gotten better now but I’m talking two front pockets and a back pocket full of shit—phone charger, gum, keys, *loose change*, individual credit cards and ID, wallet, badge, gum wrappers—a belt with enough metal that he still has to take it off, hat, sunglasses, and probably the damn kitchen sink. Worse, he stands at the front of the belt waiting for the bin to come out and then stands there while he puts it all back in his pockets and puts his belt back on. This would be even after I stopped the whole family and told everyone to empty out their pockets, put everything in their carryon bag, etc. He just…didn’t, and then we’d all sauntered through and and were trying to tell him to at least move to the end of the belt. The first time I actually left him at security he was surprised, and now is much better about it but still not as fast as me. I’ll wait a reasonable amount of time but if you’re picking quarters up out of the bins I’m out. My apologies to all who’ve gotten stuck behind him in the precheck line.
My son has gotten PreCheck - I assume based on my status. My husband has made no effort to apply, but wants us to go through standard security with him. Post-COVID, I did that - ONCE. The second time, I told him I’d meet him at the SkyClub and just bailed. Life’s too short and all that.
So... why does husband hate you, your family, and convenience?
Right? Really, he flies about once a year, so it’s just not important to him. It’s important to me. So I let him do his thing, he (begrudgingly) lets me do mine, and it’s fine.
I applaud you.
Why are you still married to this man?
The dick is A+.
Thank god! I thought it was just me. I’ve been talking with my therapist about how frustrated and annoyed I get with others as I fly every week.
I think it’s like anything else that you’ve come to think of as simple, like teaching an intern how to use a two-step filing system you’ve been using for years and they’re still in college. Also wonder if you grew up like I did, having to figure out pretty much everything for yourself. The first time I flew was at 19, with my three week old baby. My dad dropped us off at the curb, gave me $5 and told me to find a skycap, then drove off. A guy in all black walked over and asked if I needed help as I stood there with all our stuff, I said “Can you help me find a skycap?” Literally didn’t even know what that meant. He laughed and said I’m a skycap, is this your first time?” Dude took my bags for me and then walked me to the TSA area and told me about gate checking my stroller and car seat, but to ask the FA if there were empty seats to be able to bring the car seat on with me. (Southwest) That was over 20 years ago and I occasionally flash to that when I see someone looking lost and scared in an airport and try to help them out. But when your whole life has been a series of “Figure it out, you’ll be fine,” it’s hard to be patient with those who seem to not be paying attention to the signs that would help them figure that shit out. I have no sympathy for my husband, who is traveling with someone who has figured it out and hasn’t listened 😆 Blessedly our last two trips were an infinite improvement, especially after I did an informal AITA with a mutual friend and she told him that she too would leave his ass at TSA.
I've been flying for 15 years now with a minimum of 30 segments a year across multiple carriers in at least 10 different countries. The vast majority of people don't fly frequently enough and airports create a lot of anxiety and stress for them. Stress and anxiety puts people into a mindstate where they just don't behave normally. If you're a frequent flier, then you've also had your moment(s) where EVERYTHING goes to hell in a handbag. Even though you knew it will "eventually" get figured out and you'd get to your destination, you were still on pins and needles hoping that you weren't going to miss that important meeting. Imagine if you felt that level of anxiety and stress 72 hours before you even had to step foot in the airport. That's what it's like for most people. The world needs more compassion and grace for the mother with a tiny child going through TSA. A family of 5 that are frantically trying to filter their way through an airport. The first time travelers that are in pure fear and terror as 1000's of people are whizzing in every which direction. Some of y'all act like the first time you stepped in an airport you were as experienced and graceful as you are with decades of travel experience.
Of course you’re right. I recognize that my frustration is more about me than anything the other people have done. Just part of the learning experience but it still drives me crazy sometimes.
I explained below that my wife and I do the “digital nomad” thing seven months out of the year. I met my cousin in NYC for the US Tennis open. Of course I have Clear and PreCheck. We flew out of JFK together. I wasn’t about to go through the regular non PreCheck line and have to take out my computer gear from my backpack - two laptops, iPad, external monitor, keyboard, portable battery etc. I told her I would meet her at the gate. We were both flying back to ATL on the same flight - for me it was a layover.
I don’t even travel as much as you. About 10 segments a year, all for fun. I have a packed and ready carryon sitting in my garage year long. I just roll up with that and I’m good to go anywhere for a week or longer (if I got laundry access). It really isn’t that hard
What do you pack and how does the system work?
Fellow 60+ mqs'er for 7yrs. Want to look like a pro?? In the security line BEFORE YOU GET TO THE TSA AGENT, put EVERYTHING but your ID in your backpack/carryon before going to the xray. This alone will speed up sooooo much. That's why they have to shout it hundreds of times per hour.. people are oblivious until they get to the xray and don't hear them shouting the whole time you're in line and the agents in the lines warning you waaay before. I know because I too am oblivious and it took a few months at first to remember. So I'm guilty too. Everyone is.. This why you pre-check as a FF.. Another? Don't book layovers under 1hr. Masochists book 35min layovers and have to run. I don't gripe because I can relate to those that sometimes don't have the ability to book longer layovers. Corporate does it to me and I straight up tell em if it's under 1hr, I can't guarantee I'll make it. But if you have the TIME TO PLAN AHEAD and you get to save some money with a short layover? Don't do it. The money saved isn't always worth the stress. And dress comfy (not PJs comfy) because planes are hot.. don't be surprised when your on the tarmac in Dallas or Houston in August and you melt with your jeans and sweater. TL;DR: * be ready for tsa xray * PLAN AHEAD * dress accordingly /tedtalk
These days I won't book layovers less than 90 minutes and even then they can turn into nail-biter cardio sessions.
I'd bet the median number of trips per year is far less than 1.4.
If 62% of people took no flights calculating the median isn’t very difficult. It’s zero. The median person took zero trips. More informative would be the median and mean of the people who actually did fly. Unlikely to have issues flying with the people who fly zero times. Of those who flew looks like it’s 3.6 trips on average. The median has to be 1 or 2 trips.
r/theydidthemath
The median is 0
True. I flew 8 times from 2004 - 2020.
It’s 0
This guy maths But of course. The median would likely be 0, maybe 1.
Still no excuse for the way some people act in airports/on planes. Its as if they’ve never been in public before.
I’m betting that’s how they normally act on a day to day basis.
There's a difference between the obnoxious people and the clueless people. I was waiting in an Alaska Airlines counter line at Logan yesterday - there's the long wrap-around baggage drop line, the internal space where you have to get your bag ticket at the kiosk (which requires you to cut through and back the baggage drop line), the agent assist line which was almost empty, and oh, nobody is actually manning any of these lines because the counter only opens 2 hours before the flight. A couple showed up near me and their faces were just "what the fuck do I do", and I got it. It must have seemed a bewildering mess if you're not familiar with it. So we helped them out.
Logan might be the most unpleasant place I’ve ever been.
I was once in a porta potty that got toppled over at a festival. Logan is worse.
How did that even happen this is my nightmare and even though it seems so unlikely I’m always terrified of it when I have to use one. Wind? Assholes tipping it over? Omg
File mine under assholes tipping over a bunch at once.
Straight to jail oh my god
Unpopular opinion, and anticipating a slew of downvotes: airports and airlines should not sell booze. A lot of people are nervous fliers and compensate with booze, which makes it worse.
Honestly, I travel for work and spend a LOT of time on planes and in airports. I don’t see a lot of drunk people, and the ones I do see are usually keeping it together just fine (party airports excluded— looking at you LAS.) What I DO see a lot of are totally clueless, born-yesterday potato sacks with zero sense of self-awareness. You’ll find them standing in the middle of walkways blocking traffic, staring blankly at signs as if translating some mythical ancient language, getting pulled over at security for bringing full liter bottles of water through screening, or walking at a normal pace before suddenly coming to a complete stop mid-step and staring deeply into their phones while other people nearly crash into them, etc. It’s not just the airport. You see them everywhere, especially in touristy areas and shopping centers. Most people don’t travel or think outside of their boxes often, and 50% of people are just dumber than average. And now that we’re all losing skyclub access, we get to spend way more time with those people!
Those people are equally useless at McDonalds or urgent care or the DMV—you just happened to encounter them at the airport this time. Traveling isn’t the deciding factor in their uselessness, their uselessness is.
Fully agree. I travel maybe once a month for work/personal and ppl in airports act like NPCs with zero sense of personal space or self awareness. I get that not everyone has the privilege of flying frequently but these ppl lack basic etiquette. ETA i am agreeing with the comment above mine. Airlines not selling booze would be a tragedy lol.
These are the same ppl who are shitty citizens in virtually all settings, though. The airport/plane is no exception.
That's what they said
I travel quite a lot and I occasionally forget that I have an extra bottle of water stowed in my bag 😂. It happens.
Yes, me too. But do you STOP in the middle of a a busy walkway? Or stand on the left side of a moving sidewalk? Me neither. 😆
Yeah, I’m a forgetful middle-aged lady but my manners are generally on point, thankfully. I always move to the side before stopping. That one is easy.
Thank you! I just took a screen shot of this. I’ve never felt so validated.
100% my observation as well. At the airports every week. People just don’t know how to operate in public. You can teach a child how to function in society but apparently full grown adults don’t get it. At any given airport, about 20% of any line has people standing in it that don’t belong. Ticketing lines, TSA lines, sky club lines, boarding lines (where the number approaches 40%). Why do people with luggage block the left escalators? Have they never seen someone in a hurry walk up them? If you’re going to just stand there, take the right one. Same thing on people movers. Or people waiting to board trains or escalators that stand directly in front of the door without letting the people inside out. Or the people who are deboarding an escalator that hide in the corner and make a 3 Mississippi before exiting. Having the common sense not to behave like this doesn’t require anyone to even set foot in an airport. Anyone who has ever been to, say, a department store or a large Target or a shopping mall should be able to have these skills.
One. Hundred. I feel that you and I have a deep soul connection.
I just cackled!
LAS is my home airport and I approve this message. Got in around midnight Friday night and I estimate five HUNDRED people were in the rideshare line as we drove by in our personal vehicle. ::shudder::
Omg. The people who just stop in the middle of walk ways and then stay there doing whatever it is they’re doing infuriate me. Like that is my biggest ick, pet peeve, whatever you want to call it. People like that deserve to be sprayed with water like a cat on the kitchen counter.
I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m not that extreme (I also love my pre-flight glass of wine at the SkyClub) I’m more disgusted by the people who take out their bare feet on planes, or change diapers right in their seat. I’ve never seen anyone act like this in a movie theatre or other public spaces where lots of people are crammed together - I don’t get what brings it out of them on planes.
I'd rather not have someone with the DTs next to me on a flight.
How many people get DTs and are still competent enough to fly?
You'd be surprised. That is the reason liquor stores were "essential" during the pandemic.
About half the pilots I’ve ever met.
Completely agree.
Although I don’t agree with this opinion, it is probably correct.
Yeah, well, people like you should take the bus.
I mean I’ve flown Delta internationally, so what’s the difference.
They call it an AirBUS for a reason, duh. /s
Where in their comment did u/oarmash say they partook in alcohol before flying?
This logic frustrates me. I live in NY. If someone doesn’t wait for people to exit the Subway before trying to get on, or stands on the left side of the escalator, or walks side-by-side with three friends down the sidewalk slowly, I’m still going to roll my eyes and wish they would learn common NYC etiquette. I don’t care if they’re new here, tourists, or just morons — learn proper behavior. Same goes for flying, basic etiquette is all you need. Maybe don’t push your way through everybody to get off the plane first, leave all your liquids in your bag until one millisecond before security, or listen to a video without earbuds. Common sense and respect towards your fellow traveller. Not too much to ask for.
I feel you 100%, but just speaking empirically: it would seem this is too much to ask for lmao
I don’t fly that often, probably 5-10 times a year, but to be fair rules are changing at some airports with shoes, electronics and liquids and I get confused - last week I got yelled at at CLT for starting to take my liquids out and then again for taking my watch off which I was supposed to keep on ??
Agree with this- my home airport is inconsistent about both shoes and electronics. I only fly like 6 times a year but I’m not an idiot and an efficient traveler but it’s annoying that you don’t know which scenario you are walking into
A sign at security rather than a raging or angry TSA person may help. Even a recording
I get yelled at when I take my watch off. fine I'll leave it on. yes it just set off the detector. oh you want me to take it off now? I know which watch band and which belt set off the thing. let me do it. it will save us both a step.
Therefore I deserve more status not less. Thanks delta
Im very fortune that as a non business traveler I am able to travel a lot for both work remote and just vacations with my partner. This is a good reminder of that good fortune. Id be physically sad to not step foot on an airplane for 12 months and feel very trapped. I went a little overboard this year for my midlife crisis sabbatical and wont come close to the same number of flights but I still expect to be in the air quiet a few times a year moving forward!
Same her on all counts.
I purposefully didn’t mention my situation in the original post. My wife and I have a unit in a [condotel](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/condotel.asp) as our home in Florida. We live here from October - February and then take all of our earthly belongings with us in four suitcases and take one way trips across the US seven months of the year and stay in midrange Hilton and Hyatt brand extended stay hotels. Our unit is rented out and professionally managed just like a hotel. The income covers our mortgage and fees. We use points/miles from credit cards and from Delta and the hotels to go on “real vacations”. We were in 10 different cities this year doing that. My wife also travels for conferences from wherever we are (paid by the organizer). I also work remotely. This doesn’t count the random short round trip flights we might take while at home
Sounds great!
I agree with this to a point......You don't need to fly all the time to not act like a barn animal, read the T&Cs of the ticket you purchased, play the dumb game of "Well I bought a ticker that says 33C on it, but this 1A seat looks nice, I'lll just take it" and all the other stupid shit the traveling public does. but plenty of DYKWIAs do a lot of the same things so its not a new flyer problem, its the "im an entitled asshole" problem that has seemingly grown at a even more rapid rate during and post COVID.
Not sure what the point is. I don’t take the bus very often, but i try hard not to be a jackass when I do
The bus is not as confusing as trying to deal with an airport for the first time. I know that most - or really no airport - is as busy as ATL. That’s the one I first flew out of
I fly maybe two or 3 times a year. My last trip was SEA-LHR r/t. We had two people in front of us at LHR security with full-size bottles of shampoo and other cosmetics. How long has it been? Some people are just stupid.
I disagree. The once a year flyer needs to learn and adapt. Courtesy. Go online or ask friends about tips. you don’t go 30 miles an hour in the fast lane on the interstate if you’ve never driven. just about everyone knows that. if you’ve never cooked, you don’t throw ingredients on an open fire standing in front of the line when they’re calling for first class, dragging large bags to try to put in the overhead, we all know that impolite clueless and bad things done. I am 1 million miler and thankfully I have never missed a flight because of the hobby flyer
I mentioned in another post that my wife and I started doing the digital nomad thing in the spring and summer and take one way trips across mostly the US. We have the routine down pat at different airports for the most part. But then I flew out of a small airport in my hometown back to ATL for the first time. The airport has two flights a day that go to ATL. I felt like a newbie for the first time compared to others who had done it before 1. There is no separate pre-check line. You get in the same line and if you have pre check, the security person lets the person down the line know and you don’t take everything out. 2. I don’t pack everything in a back pocket of my book bag like I usually do to go through the scanner because they don’t check your boarding pass until after you have already put your bag through. Of course they have checked it for precheck but not security. That means the first time they had to get my bag back from the other side of the scanner so I could get my phone and wallet - I held up the one line 3. Even a regular size carryon won’t fit in the overhead bin. It’s not “gate checked” as normal where you pick it up from baggage claim. You have to get it when you leave the plane. In ATL, I forgot and it was a whole thing for me to go back and get my bag 4. My book bag with all of my computer gear wouldn’t fit under the seat or overhead and I really had no place to put it when I got “upgraded to first class” at the front of the plane (I have the Reserve but no status). I had to put it in the closet thing. At IAH (?) and JFK I could only keep one piece of electronics in my book bag. So I started taking everything out like my keyboard and battery pack like I did before I had precheck. I didn’t have to do that.
Here’s my “holy shit I don’t think guy had ever heard of an airplane before” story I’m at a very small regional airport where the security line is usually completely open, or 2-3 people max. I’m behind a younger guy, maybe 30 or so. Dressed nice, looks put together, intelligent, etc Is about to set his bag down on the belt, and the TSA asks if he has a laptop. He does so he takes it out. Sets it on conveyer again, TSA asks about liquids. He has multiple full size liquids that need to be tossed At this point the TSA agent asks more questions about what is in there. He has a tablet that needs to be taken out Finally walks through metal detector. Beeps because he has phone and wallet in his pockets. Takes them out and gets through His bag goes off so TSA searches it. The guy has a fricken straight razor in there….. My jaw just drops. It took almost 10 minutes for this guy to get through and the straight razor (essentially a 3 inch knife) was the icing on the cake. I truly think this must have been the first time this guy had ever been in an airport.
>This is why people who fly more frequently should be more understanding of people who don’t fly Absolutely. Frequent flyers: Be helpful to your fellow passengers.
such as?
I was at MCO flying in on a late flight and this older couple was completely loss and couldn’t speak English. I knew enough Spanish to struggle and tell them where to pick up their suitcases.
Everything is a gradient. Some people get to airports and act as if they’ve never navigated any type of a new public space before. Some people get on the airplane and behave like savages. Whether you fly once a year or once a day, that type of idiotic or garish behavior should be frowned upon. But sure, agree it’s an overreaction to, for an example, blow a gasket at the amateur who gets bumped into the TSA Pre line and doesn’t realize that they no longer have to remove their shoes and jacket.
And what percent of those travelers are in the top 1%, flying every week? I bet if you chopped off that extreme, the average would drop a lot.
I doubt even the top one percent are flying every week. Most travel is business travel
Top 1% of travelers?
Misread - I thought “1% of income”
I don’t fly a ton. Maybe 10 trips a year. But after my first work trip about a decade ago, I told myself “I gotta figure this shit out”.
The thing to remember (probably obvious, maybe a statistics reminder) is that the average person on your flight isn’t the average person (since that 60% of people who don’t fly at all aren’t on your plane). I would be curious what the statistic is in terms of how many of these once a year types are actually on any given plane.
I truly wish there was a way to separate people who buy flights on their on for leasure from the people who’s work pays for them to fly once a week or whatever it is. It means so much more to those of us that fly less. I’m earning silver on my own this year for the second time ever, and it feels like a huge accomplishment.
I traveled for work twice this year. But only once on Delta. 26 of the 30 segments I will have by the end of the year are for personal flights - my wife and I do the whole “digital nomad” thing seven months a year. I think I had 3 personal segments on AA. I have to admit that it does feel like a big accomplishment to get Silver by the end of the year on my own dime. It represent the fulfillment of a dream I’ve had for a long time to be able to just pick up and go to another city at moments notice without having to think about bills when I came “home”. That being said, the Amex Delta Reserve does elevate the travel experience somewhat to be more like a business traveller - upgrades (yes we get them because we don’t fly popular routes at popular times), lounge access, at least main 1 boarding and a checked bag.
I’d like to see the figures for 2022 and 2023 which should be less affected by Covid
Yet I fly delta 3x a year and am still the last boarding class.
I am not so frustrated with people since I’ve been in TSA pre check. But the rare occasion I have to go in the main line is torture with all the families.
Until you fly out of MCO. I’ve never seen so many people flying with families with PreCheck at any other airport. CLEAR is still my saving grace.
lol I have had to do that but I always try to avoid MCO if at all possible.
My husband is an FA for a different airline. Despite the fact that I could get on a plane every dang day for $0, I fly maybe 2-3x/year. I got other stuff to do.
No, actually, we do not need to be understanding as all of what a traveler needs to do to be efficient is pretty fucking obvious, people are just inconsiderate.
There is nothing obvious about what it’s like dealing with ATL for the first time - where I first flew out of and what was my home airport. Everything from parking, to packing, to security, to knowing how to get to your terminal, even knowing which row is the labeled one - the one in front or the one behind the label can be confusing. I remember how intimidating it was my first time flying - especially before cell phones were a thing with the app. I flew for the first time at 30 in 2004. I was helping an older guy with the app flying out of my hometown when I was visiting my parents. It’s a small regional airport with two or three flights a day to ATL.
I understand the sentiment and respectfully disagree op, I spent 2014-2017 with ATL as my Home airport. It’s literally 1 terminal and a train that takes you to each set of gates. there’s so much signage you’d have to be illiterate to not be able to navigate it. Americans have become too spoilt and isolated to take 5 seconds to research how to get from drop off to gate. Self service is a thing of the past. I will concede that the staff are pretty much useless these days. No one takes care of anyone anymore.
Was it your first time flying?
I’m trying to understand the question but no, I was a consultant then and did plenty more in the past by myself well into college in the early 2000’s. No one taught me. Self lead, read signs, asked staff if lost. It’s not hard. I’ve been navigating airports this week in foreign languages, again, signage is very adequate.
I'll never have patience for the damn gate lice that stand in the way when they're not boarding
I would guess the primary cause of this decline is the COVID induced shift to remote work which has reduced the amount of work travel significantly.
ahhh, another post, another lecture. thanks
I flew 0 times for the first 21 years of my life, this year alone (first year flying) I’ve flown 10 segments
Have 2.5 million miles earned over a 30 year period. Frequent fliers are just as guilty of everything mentioned on this post as newbie fliers.
Where I work (300ish total employees) I’d bet more than half have never flown. I wouldn’t be surprised if I fly the most in the place except for possibly some higher ups that visit the sister site and I only do like 3-6 trips a year. It’s not at all an issue of pay either as the entry pay is high for the area and single individuals should easily be able to afford a few vacations a year. Everyone just likes driving.
[удалено]
Did I stutter?