This image from the web site FlightAware.com represents all of the FAA tracked flights in the air over the United States on the date and time on the graphic. It is a pretty impressive image. I put it here, because we will be on one of those dots in the not too distant future. Yes, it is just a mere 3 months until our trip to Paris. We will be flying from El Paso, via Atlanta, to CDG Charles De Gaulle Int’l Airport in Paris. While I am excited to be going back to Europe, and to Paris, one of the worlds most beautiful cities, I am worried about the trip getting there.
I took my first airplane flight in 1964. It was a Braniff flight from Chicago to San Antonio, Texas, and it took me to Air Force basic training. In the years since then, I’ve flown a bit. I certainly don’t qualify as a frequent flyer, but I know my way around an airport. Over the years I’ve flown on most of the major US airlines, and quite a few that don’t exist anymore. That first trip was my only experience on Braniff. Sadly, they went out of business in 1982 after 64 years of flying, including being the only US airline to operate the Concorde SST. I flew cross country on Pan Am before their 1992 demise. While in the service, I flew TWA because they were the primary carrier out of Albuquerque. They disappeared into American Airlines in 2001. AA also acquired Air Cal, a California regional carrier. I also remember Western Airlines. Their ‘gimmick’ was free champagne(well, sparkling wine) even in coach. Delta acquired them in 1987. Oh, and of course, let’s not forget PSA, another California regional before US Air bought them and ran them into the ground (literally).
Our flight to Paris is on Delta/Air France. Delta has a ‘code share’ arrangement with Air France. So, although we bought the ticket on Delta, the leg from Atlanta to Paris is on Air France. It will be a long day! Three hours from El Paso to Atlanta, and another 8 or so to Paris, plus a lengthy lay-over in Atlanta. In 1964, people dressed up to fly. And flights weren’t cheap. Most of my early flying was on the company’s money, whoever I worked for. Today though, flying is a commodity. Airlines have cut service to bare bones, pack more people onto the planes, and generally treat their customers as though they are a nuisance to be barely tolerated. And, to my thinking, the tickets aren’t all that cheap! Add to that the humiliation of being treated as potential criminal at the airport and you can understand my reluctance to fly.
But, since I don’t have the time, or strength to row across the Atlantic, flying is the primary option. I have been anxiously scanning the various airline rating and tracking sites. There are a couple of sites I used. Flightstats provides statistics and tracking of airlines and individual flights. From this site, I learned that my flights have a 60% on time rate, and only a 3% cancellation rate. Skytrax (airinequality.com) rates airlines and airports, and is a good place to vent about either. On Skytrax, I learned that no one has any real complaints about any of my scheduled flights, and the airports I am using are rated average. They also have a seat rating system, but I found the seating charts on seatguru.com to be more helpful. Finally, while I am on the topic of recommending travel sites, be sure to look at Smartertravel.com. Their site allows you to search for fares from multiple sources, Expedia, Orbitz, travelocity, hotwire, priceline many others and even the airlines all from the same page. It is a great time saver when searching online for fares. I subscribe to their newsletter, and use their rss feed. I also read their web columns, particularly Ed Perkins. He is very interesting and informative. I’ll probably set up a links page with all of my recommended travel links. And, I’ll add Travel Smarter to my links on my home page.
As the old saying goes, ‘I’ll hope for the best, and expect the worst’.
