As I mentioned earlier, I have flown many times, mostly to see my (then) long-distance girlfriend. We flew to see each other every 2-3 months (usually for holidays and birthdays). Also as I mentioned earlier, I usually flew Southwest Airlines. They almost always had the cheapest rate to get me from Seattle to either Sacramento (usually) or Oakland. Sometimes I'd get a round trip flight for between $150-$175!
I usually flew on a Boeing 737, I believe, so on the smaller end of commercial passenger aircraft. Just one aisle and six seats in each row, three on either side of the aisle. I would always prefer to get a window seat, but aisle seats were all right with me too, since you get out of those sooner and don't have to bother anyone if you need to use the restroom. Oddly enough, I almost always chose to sit on the left side of the plane for some reason. I just felt most comfortable there.
The worst thing about the way Southwest boards is being a late boarder and having to sit in a middle seat because all of the aisle and window seats are taken. Fortunately, that only happened to me once or twice. Pretty quickly I learned that with Southwest, they board you on the plane in the order you checked in to your flight (but business class first of course). I usually did a pretty good job about checking in as soon as I could, which was 24 hours before my flight time. I would time it to the very second and minute, and sometimes even then I wouldn't get that good of a boarding number.
On the planes themselves, I did a lot of different things to pass the time. I sometimes brought a book or magazine to read. I would use my phone (in airplane mode of course) and play an offline game. I sometimes would bring a crossword or word search to do. I would also enjoy perusing the magazines/catalogs in the seat front pocket. Of course my favorite was the SkyMall, but I also enjoyed the magazines that showed what restaurants/doctors were rated best in different cities. I even would read through the safety information and inspect the barf bags. If nothing was entertaining me, I would just rest my eyes or stare out the window if I had a window seat.
These flights to California would last only about 2 hours each time, if that. No meals would be served, but they would give us a drink and a snack; the snack being either peanuts or pretzels (they eventually would stop handing out peanuts altogether because of allergy concerns). I always liked to get something different for a drink, but my favorites were Coke Zero (for afternoon flights) and orange juice (for morning flights). I even once got sent a voucher in the mail for a free serving of liquor on a Southwest flight, and I used that on a Jack and Coke.
I have used the lavatories on planes before, but one time me and a group of friends flew to Las Vegas. On that flight, I had the urge to urinate a little over halfway through the flight. I wasn't familiar with this flight so I wasn't sure how soon we were going to get there, so I made the mistake of trying to hold it. I was also worried I would be in the bathroom when the captain turned on the "fasten seat belt" sign and didn't want a flight attendant to lecture me for being out of my seat at that time. I also thought I could perhaps hold it until we landed. I certainly underestimated the amount of time it takes to get to your destination and land and get off the plane. After the captain turned on the fasten seat belt sign I knew I had made a mistake, and by the time we were close to landing I felt like I might give myself a UTI because I was in so much discomfort and even pain. I vowed to myself never to make the same mistake again.
The longest flights I have ever taken were a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu and a flight from Kona back to Los Angeles. Both were a bit over five hours. Again, no meals were really served, but drinks and snacks were. I guess you generally only get meals on international flights, then. But I remember from both of those flights that I had to stretch my legs a couple times so they wouldn't get too stiff.
To be honest, nothing that interesting has happened on one of my flights. I've dealt with flight delays, of course. I believe one time flying back home in December, our plane arrived to a snow-covered tarmac. That was fun to see the entire airport just covered in a blanket of snow. I have only experienced mild turbulence. I once had a flight attendant that was very funny while reading out the safety instructions, making jokes like how the life preservers are "very stylish". Made me wish I had recorded him and uploaded it to YouTube to get the views because he was quite entertaining.
Since I started flying (around when I was 20), right now is the longest I have gone without flying. I don't think I've flown for 2 or 3 years now. I have mainly been trying to save up money because unfortunately, traveling isn't cheap. I want to fly again when I can, and hopefully go somewhere I haven't been before, such as the east coast or even midwest. The furthest east I have ever been is that flight I took to Las Vegas. Furthest west would be Hawaii, and furthest south would be Los Angeles.
All in all I really enjoy flying, especially the part in being on the plane. The worst part is the waiting. The waiting to get through security. The waiting to board. The waiting to land. The waiting to get off. But it's so much quicker and easier than driving. Here's hoping I get some more flight experiences to share with the world.
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