The long, arduous process of a plane flight

Originally published October 8, 2019

Commercial air travel is the fastest way a civilian can get from one city to another.  Thousands and thousands of flights take off every day.  But there is a process.  Sure, the flights themselves are very quick for getting you from one city to another (quicker than driving, at least), but they require so much preparation and waiting and adhering to rules.  

After you buy your plane ticket, which generally are pretty expensive compared to other things you might purchase, you eventually get to the day of your flight.  Packing is fairly routine, but you must accommodate TSA regulations and requirements.  No bringing liquids over 3 oz. on a plane.  No bringing sharp objects, weapons, blades, chemicals.  Those have to be in checked luggage.  Most people can abide by these rules just fine.

Then there comes the part of travelling to the airport.  Some people have to drive a long ways to get to the nearest airport.  Myself, it's a fairly quick drive, depending on traffic (30-45 minutes).  Then after you get there, unless you got a ride, you have to park.  Then after getting there is checking in (if you haven't already) and possibly checking luggage.  The wait in those lines can be long, depending on the airline and the time of day.  

Then comes everyone's most favorite part: Security checkpoint!  Not only is security a bit of a hassle, there's almost always a long wait for it.  I'd say out of all the times I've flown, I've had a short or no wait time for security just a couple times.  Both were at smaller airports.  After the waiting, you get your boarding pass and ID checked by the TSA agent, then off to the actual security checkpoint.  I won't get into the details because it varies by airport, but so far by my experience you either go through a metal detector type gate or go to a station where you have to lift your arms up.  My favorite part is when someone ahead of me struggles with abiding by the rules and holds up the line.  Even more waiting, yay!

After security, you're still not done!  Then comes the waiting at the gate.  Depending on how early you arrived and how quickly you got through security, you may have some time to kill, especially if your flight gets delayed.  Then the time finally comes to board the plane.  You board the plane at a speed in which you would get passed by nearby slugs.  You finally actually get on the plane and take a seat.  But guess what?  Even more waiting!  This time you have to wait for the plane to fully board, and then pull away from the tarmac.  At last, long last, your plane hits the runway and gathers speed and takes off.  Then comes the longest wait (usually)--the waiting to get there.  

So you finally land, great!  Now you must wait to get off the plane.  If you're towards the back and/or in a window seat, this can take a while.  Then you get off the plane and sometimes (and in my case--usually) have a bit of a walk to get to either the arriving zone or baggage claim.  Some airports (Sacramento for one) have you board a tram to get to certain areas.  Then, if you checked any luggage, comes the waiting for your luggage to come down the belt.  And it never seems to be one of the first pieces of luggage down the belt, no sir.  I once waited almost half an hour for my luggage and was starting to get worried before I finally saw it.

Then after getting picked up or getting a taxi, you still have a car ride to get to your final destination.  So if you start at waiting in line to check in/check luggage, you've waited a total of six separate times now.  Waiting and not doing much is actually pretty exhausting; no wonder flights tire people out so much.  

But it beats the alternative (if there even is one), yeah?  Driving, if it is an option, takes much longer and adds so much wear and tear to your car, mostly the odometer.  Even if you rent a car to drive, the time you'd need the car and the gas you'd have to pay for wouldn't save that much money.  

Is flying a plane worth it?  Right now it's the most efficient way for travelling distances of over 300 miles.  You certainly have to plan around flights.  If you have a week off and are spending it flying somewhere for a week, you really only get 5 days there thanks to the flights in and out (depending on the length of the flights).  It's not very worthwhile to fly someplace one day and leave the next, although I'm sure some people do that (mainly for their occupations).  The longer the flight the more worthwhile and long the stay should be.  Until we can develop some alternate form of transportation like suction tubes seen in Logan's Run, air travel and the long arduous process that goes along with it will be a part of our lives.