Air travel

Coming home to see the salmon!

On the flight from Athens to Frankfurt, they were the last to board, a family of five with overstuffed bags that wouldn't fit. Their seats were spaced apart. The father demonstrated a fierce determination. At the expense of anything that was already stowed in the overhead compartments, he was determined to make their baggage fit. He finally managed to cram one of the bags on top of our stuff, including my computer. I reached out and grabbed him, yelling at him to be careful! He didn't stop cramming the bag, just muttered "sorry" and carried on. The flight attendants were frustrated, telling him that the bags wouldn't fit. He refused to listen, moving other people's things to accommodate his determination. He finally managed to jam, cram and stuff everything after removing some items in order to flatten the luggage. Our flight departure was delayed by this idiot's oversized luggage!!

Meanwhile the family was all standing in the aisle, refusing to sit in the designated seats, expecting that other passengers would juggle their seat assignments in order that the family could sit together. After several requests from the flight attendants, the family finally got their wish with 3 of the 5 seated together. These three were seated in the row in front of us. The children continued for the first two hours of the flight to jump on the seats, slam the window shade up and down and yank on the seats in front of them while their mother slept! On arrival in Frankfurt, the father blocked the aisle and waited expectantly, while other passengers removed his luggage from the overhead bins and passed it overhead along the aisle to him.

On the flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver we were treated to another raucous family with two young boys across the aisle from us. The boys performed acrobatics accompanied with shrieking vocals for most of the trip. The only exceptions were when meals arrived to distract them from athletic activities! The parents put on their headsets and quietly watched movies while everyone within ten rows on either side shook their heads in disbelief!

Air travel has lost a lot of its charm for me. Surrounded by undisciplined children, screaming babies, snoring travellers and farting seniors in a contained capsule is not my idea of fun! Speaking of farting seniors, who had the bright idea to include overcooked broccoli in the hot dinner?!