Wallpaper magazine did a feature in their travel section a couple of years ago on the world's "10 Travel Gates of Hell". It was very amusing and instructive. Examples included:

- "Tranfers at LHR involving a change of terminal"
- A certain ferry crossing in winter

and

(Abit harsh.....) "Any American airline, anywhere, anytime..."

What are YOUR travel "Gates of Hell":

As a resident of Paris, I would add Air France lounges, and the fact that CDG is the one of the best designed, yet worst managed airports in the world.

I totally agree with the any American Airline anywhere, anytime. Possibly the only exception I would make would be for Aloha, Hawaiian or Jetblue.

My pics would be:

1. Heathrow Airport - anytime, anyflight. Has to be my number 1. Self explanatory.
2. Connecting at DeGaulle Airport - pax in Athens (if he can catch his plane), baggage in Joburg.
3. US Customs at any airport (esp. Miami, Los Angeles and JFK) - guilty until proven innocent.
4. Flying during the holidays, kids, kids and more kids. "no I won't hold your diaper"
5. Any flight between New York City and Southern Florida, whiny, nasty, needy pax.."hostess - do you know who I am?"
6. Alitalia, Iberia and Olympic Airways - great countries, shitty airlines
7. All airports in India - arrive to chaos, urine smell at 3am!
8. 17 hours on SAA's new Airbus A340-600's - where do I put my legs???
9. Any flight to Moscow - drunk before they board, crawling off the plane.
10. SVO Airport, nasty, nasty, nasty. Soviet service etiquette is alive and well.

cheers
Alek

transfering flights in BOM from an international city to other Indian Cities (then you will know what hell is like)

I have been to hell and back.

I connected through CDG once.

I don't really fly that often, but I can vouch that trying to make a connection at Charles De Gaulle would make the devil shake with fear.

Good day!  

Arrving at ORD for a flight and a few clouds appear on the horizon while the entire airport goes to sh!t... Now that is hell!

Oh, one more I forgot...

Any Dollar Rent-A-Car location in New England. Owned and operated by complete morons! And that's truly a "Gates of Hell" company.

1) Customs at MIA
2) T3 at LHR
3) CDG
4) Domestic connections at DFW
5) ORD in December (and January, February,...)
6) Atlanta during storm season
7) Southwest at BWI
8) Losing MRTC on AA
9) Any ATA connection at MDW
10) RJs!

-Trying to connect in Laguardia from west of PA to anywhere on a commuter plane, in july, with a line of thunderstorms sitting over NJ/NYC.
-Stuck in B1900 on the tarmac in PHL
-Connecting in CDG
-Middle seat in 777, three hours with no A/C in FCO in July. -Matt in KITH

Dante would approve!

I would have to agree with SVO! Standing in line for a couple hours in customs was a thrill for me. And, when the baggage carsouel gets full, the airport just takes your bags and puts them on the floor for you to look for them, at least thats how it was in 2000. Vknukovo wasn't much better. Karat Airlines let us put our bags into the plane (AN-26). I always thought LAX was a pain in the ass too!! Going from the Bradley terminal to Terminal or 2.

-LOS: complete chaos!
- Customs in MIA
-IB service on long haul
-Waiting at the gate of ACC (it's sooo hot and no a/c!)
-Having to wait for any reason at Belgrade airport (BEG?)
-Turbulence at the precise moment my coffee is being served!

Any of the following airports during a ground stop or ground delay program:

EWR
ATL
LGA
JFK
ORD
PHL
IAD
DCA
DEN
LAX

Nothing like being stuck on the ground in an airplane for 3-5 hours without being able to even get up to use the bathroom!!!

[Edited 2004-11-16 05:04:00]

For me, having to transfer between airports on the way home from an international trip like earlier this summer... LHR-JFK-LGA-DTW. It all worked out in the end but what a pain. So for me JFK-LGA.

10 Worst(All bad and in no particular order)
Any US customs facility (New DTW is almost ok but everything else is awful)
LOS
Connecting with ATA and Chicago Express at MDW (AKA standing or sitting at A10A??? during any storm, etc)
LOS
Being delayed at XNA and having to listen to a million account managers talk about their meetings with Wal-Mart.
LOS
EZE when the piqueteros are out.
LOS
LOS
LOS


Did I mention Lagos, Nigeria?

-Flying more than 7 hours in no PTV aircrafts!!  
-Customs when arriving USA.
-Thai airways IFEs and Bangkok airport
-All American's airlines...AA,UA,NW,DL,CO
-Flying low cost carriers..eww
-Knowing that many high-reputation airlines are leaving business
-Staffs travel on overbooked flight!  

If you're a venezuelan citizen, CCS during this Chavez' times!!!!!!

*******

usatoeze: I've been lucky to never have the piquetero problem when going to or coming from EZE but I'm sure it sucks! By the way, have you ever been in LOS?  

ps: I agree with your comment on boca vs River posted in your profile and for that I will put you in my RR list, but you should put River vs boca (we are better than them)  

Guys, gals, etc.
Not ALL American carriers suck. No argument that some of them do, but come on, you make us look like a bunch of paranoid rats looking for the terrorist cat....be in on an airplane, at an airport, etc. etc.

Also, what everyone says about LOS is true. A friend of mine used to be the AZ station manager in Lagos. What he did to get put there has remained a secret, but to this day, no AZ crew remain in Nigeria. Those of you who think AZ is shit should consider that when flying to/from Nigeria, that if your choice is AZ or Nigeria Airways, who are you going to fly? You will kiss the ground and bless the Pope for AZ taking you out of there, no matter how bad you might think they are. Yes the crews are really awful going there and back, but can you blame them? It is a bitch of a trip...MXP-ACC, then ACC-LOS-ACC, then ACC-MXP. A four day trip and armed guards around the plane when they get to LOS. Why they continue the flights are a mystery to me, but from what I understand, they are packed every day and they make a bucket of money.

Oh, and by the way, as an ex AZ manager, I take issue with those of you who think that AZ is shit. Noone, including me, is going to argue that they are near the best game in town and on a bad day or route, they can be a challenge. However, some of my best flights have been on AZ; on the days where the crew is friendly and things are working well...some of the best 12-13 hour flights I have had have been on AZ. Even in Economy!

I look forward to them coming back to the west coast. LAX...summer 2005 with a 777.

no particular order

- immigration in the US. makes you feel like a criminal
- CDG
- Varig MD-11
- arrival/dept. times of most European airlines to DEL and resulting difficulties with getting downtown
- taxi drivers in PRG (better to avoid them unless absolutely necessary)
- tansfers between LHR/STN/LGW

1. LHR. Heathrow is without doubt the Seventh Level of Hell, reserved for especially evil people like politicians. ESPECIALLY in transit.

2. CDG all terminals except 2F - ick ick ick. T1 was a lovely idea in the 70's, with all the Jetson-style people-tubes, but nowadays it's just not working any more - narrow, stupidly designed passenger access, oddly positioned passport and customs, its just a mess. T2 A through D are like Greyhound bus terminals, just ugly and badly organised.

3. BOS Terminal E Arrivals - what a total f*ck up. If your flight isn't the first on the ground, you have to wait ON BOARD, before being allowed off to QUEUE TO GET INTO THE FIS HALL, then you are allowed to join the queue for FIS, which can take up to an hour - all the while there are 4 booths open, and 20 idle useless FIS staff wandering around in the background studiously avoiding eye contact in case they get summoned to actually sit in a booth and DO THEIR DAMN JOB !

4. Which brings me to FIS - talk about the surly rabid Guardians of Hell ! SMILE dammit - it may never bloody happen ! We are visitors to your country, TRY and make it seem like you don't want us just to die on the spot and save you the trouble of having to lift that heavy rubber stamp.

5. Delta Airlines transatlantic - those 763's, time they were retired. Old, shabby, zero facilities plus the danger of severe brain injury from the giant yet invisible TV screens suspended from the ceiling. Old trouty crews, perfunctory customer service and $5 for a drink - HELLLOOO !!

6. Luton Airport - what a dump. Great tin shed for check-in, tatty rabbit warren through security, old vomit-stained carpeting, naf grimy tat-shops endless more bloody rabbit warren to get to the cattle-pen gates - no jetways (welcome to the bloody Stone Age !) - blow it up and start over.

7. Any rail journey in the UK. It's all just bollocks.

8. Any US/Caribbean/Mexican cruise - overdressed clueless idiot passengers, mindless unimaginative itineraries, crowded overcommercialised and indistinguishable ports with any local beauty spot destroyed by 1500 overweight blue-haired Bettys wandering around in pink t-shirts with kittens on taking thousands of photos of each other. Stay in Florida honey, leave the rest of the world alone !

9. MXP. Much as I love Italy, I will never travel through MXP again. Not just a lack of customer service, more an active resentment of customers as a tedious and regrettable interruption to their coffee time. That combined with Alitalia's legendary inability to find their own arse with both hands and a torch make this one to avoid !

10. BKK - install some travellators for God's sake ! Anyone who has arrived at the QF/BA lounge dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion following the 2km trek from the gate will agree with me.

"Why they continue the flights are a mystery to me, but from what I understand, they are packed every day and they make a bucket of money"

They are packed every day, it's amazing! Btw, what's your friends' name (Station manager at LOS)? I actually met the station manager there in April but I can't remember his name. He actually saved my a$$ cause I missed my flight back to Europe since I arrived late to the airport (got there only 3 hours before...) and he was able to find a place for me on the next flight, which was also packed, so I assume someone must have been very pissed that day at the airport!

JGPH1A
Hmmm...FIS in the USA. Yes, you are all criminals until you pass the horrific security screening when you enter the country. Oh, and by the way, you get to do it again when you leave. What I don't really understand is what all the bitching is about. US immigration and customs is a whole lot better than they USED to be, in which EVERYONE was subject to a body search for carrying an apple in your handbag.

Oh, and let's talk about MXP. It is a constant amazement to me how people can gripe and moan about that airport. I have traveled through that airport more times than I can count and I NEVER have had anyone treat me with disrepect or disdain. In fact, on my last trip, when I had trouble standing in line at the check in counter for my short flight to Rome, the check in agent saw me in trouble and had someone bring me over a wheelchair before my legs collapsed (too much back pain from flying). I got taken to the front of the line, wheeled through security and down to the aircraft and I didn't need to ask. Lastly, yes we know MXP is notorious for fog. I just go have an espresso, read the newspaper and check with the gate agent every once in a while and tell her/him I appreciate what they do...(which is true, by the way), when the irregular op comes, I usually don't have to wait too long before I am on my way.

I guess I just love the Italians....and they love me back. OK by me. We love them in America too!



I guess being nice to these people does pay, considering everyone else tends to treat them like crap. Makes me wonder why I get upgraded so much flying from Italy....

One BIG Gate To My Aviation Hell
-All of OAK.
-Ryan Air.
-AA757's.
-SFO-Milbrae BART System.
-UA 737's row 6, now window.
-The World of WN.
-UA744 Longhaul.
-That Damn Baby In The Back Of The A/c.
-CCR Tower on Fridays between 1p.m.-8p.m. (Controllers a bit of a @-bag)
-That Old, Overpaid TSA Guy At The Exit That Looks At You And Says "Welcome Home" To Try To Make You Feel Proud To Be An American
-The old Willy Brown Welcome To SF thing that would play over and over and over and over and over again at SFO Customs.
-Asking a taxi driver at SFO to take you 1.3 miles to your grandmother's house. (So s/he can get $5 and wait in a LONGGGGG line back at the airport)
-TXL
-AA Flight Attendants esp. Betty (yes that's her name) who was number one on ORD-SJU who told me that she was going to call the TSA if I didn't sit during meal service (I was allowing the passenger next to me to stand to get to the bathroom, I had a whole cabin to stand up for me)
-OAK Center, trying to tip toe it across the bay to Monterey while passing SFO airspace and dodging 744's that are trying to line up for the 28 runways.
-All UA "Express Check-In" Centers.

And yes PRG taxi drivers are scary.

Take Care,

UA777222

UAL777222
Damn straight! Especially about OAK Center. The 747s you are dodging are lining up for the queue for the single file approach when there is a cloud over the San Mateo bridge. You haven't got a prayer of getting across the Bay on those days. If you are flying to MRY from the east bay, better to go around, e.g. the grand tour, down to Hollister, then across to MRY. Its longer, but you have no altitude restrictions once you get past SJC.

About Willie...the airport is his baby. Some day that new international terminal will be named for him. Then when you come into SFO, you can really say that you've been welcome to Willie's place...that the taxpayers of SFO will be paying for the next twenty years....a great facility with no runways.

BAW176 - Re: "US immigration and customs is a whole lot better than they USED to be".

Really ? I've noticed very little change in the general attitude in the last 15 years of travelling to the US. It is a source of amazement to me that the service industry in the US has managed to perfect the not-quite-genuine "I-care-for-your-happiness-in-a-deep-and-personal-way" service ethic, to the extent that wherever you go and whatever type of business you interact with, you get it. Except the FIS. OK they are not a business, you don't pay them (maybe it would be better if you did), but would it kill them to be just a bit nicer ? Why do I have to feel intimidated by these people, I am not a criminal, I have a visa all nice and legal, see ! I am bringing business and tourist dollars to your country, I have 200 other countries to choose from, but I chose the USA - don't make me regret my buying decision.  

As for MXP - I love Italy (I live right next door and am a frequent visitor), I love the Italian people generally - but my experiences at MXP have been universally fraught with bad planning, lack of assistance and a general incompetence that is just offputting. I'm not surprised that AZ is in such poor shape. I'm glad you've had better experiences than I have, but they've had the benefit of the doubt once too many times in my book.

You are all WAY too picky - except for the guy who hates Boston. He is absolutely right.

JGPH1A-
A couple of points:
re: Service ethic in USA...I agree with you. Didn't used to be this way, but we haven't quite figured out that the customer pays our salaries...(well maybe not mine).
re: FIS: I pay for them alright. TAXES. Re: NICE...well, I haven't had too many problems, but then again, I've learned to keep my mouth shut. They equate nice with being weak. No one at Homeland Security (to whom they all now report) wants to let a terrorist into the country, lest they unleash the horror of a pissed off American electorate. So they are not going to be nice. If you want nice, go to Tahiti. Not happening here, at least in FIS.
re: MXP: Listen, this thing between the French and the Italians...why you guys don't like each other is kind of an odd question. Same with the Brits. Of course, if you say the wrong thing to an Italian in any position of authority you are dead meat, no matter where you are in Italy....and that has nothing to do with your nationality.

The problem with MXP is quite simple. Beautiful airport. Lovely architecture inside. Was too small for the amount of traffic from day one. Now they are trying to build the third satellite; but that is going to add maybe 12 more gates? So at 1 aircraft per hour, you are talking about a maximum capacity of 144 additional flights per day MAX... not even close to the daily traffic at MXP now.

If the people there are surly it is certainly because they get beat to hell every day by people who can't get from a to b. Those people piss off the staff, the staff gets revenge by f--king them over, and round and round it goes.

I'll stick to my strategy of being a nice guy. It has worked for me in many a nasty pickle (and I have been in quite a few in 26 years in airline travel). I am hoping to fly AF next time...haven't done it and I like to see what the new F class product is like. Since I am pretty much stuck due to my disabilities, I have to save my pennies and ride up front. I don't go as much anymore, but as long as I get there in one piece and the crews treat me OK...I'm pretty easy going about it.

Here's wishing you better luck!

7. Any rail journey in the UK. It's all just bollocks.

Except the Heathrow Express, which to the constant amazement of everyone, especially Britons, works as advertized  


My list:
1. LHR: British utilitarianism run rampant. Will T5 improve things?
2. ORD with one or more clouds in the sky.
3. JFK -The AA terminal. Where the frell is my frozen yogurt?
4. ARN - T5 Concourse F, also known as "F for Far Away"... Not that I mind walking, but I am sure some people are wishing for belts.
5. All those people who stare at me when I use my mini-binoculars at an airport. They're binoculars, not AA missiles dudes...
6. Those pizzas on AA. I can choose not to eat them but it's hard not to smell them. Yech.
7. US carriers charging for wine across the pond. Would it bankrupt you to serve 2 bottles for free? Come to think of it, maybe it would  

This one goes out to all the flight attendants.....       (number of faces equal minimum crew on the NW A319/A320)

My aviation hell is ... (in no particular order)

*Boarding without warning
*Frozen water lines on the DC9 in winter
*DC9 trips with 5 legs a day sitting in between the lavatories
*DING*... "Whats that little town down there ?"
*Calls from scheduling at 3am
*DING*... "Whats that little river down there ?"
*Stupid caterers that dont knock before opening the door
*DING*... "Whats constellation is that?"
*Agents that close the door without asking
*DING*... "What time is it in Cairo during daylight savings time in a leap year?"
*Moldy food forgotten in the top glide of the cart (catering missed)
*short flights that require full beverage selection with minimum staffing
*Missing crew meals
*People that dont get the idea that you cant just do whatever you feel like on board at any given phase of the flight
*People helping themselves to the cart
*ANYONE WHO ASKS IS THIS IS MY REGULAR ROUTE
*%@^$*# hotel room keys that dont work after trudging all the way up
*Parties in hotels that disrupt us
*Dirty hotel rooms or crummy location
*PUBER HAIR IN THE HOTEL ROOM COFFEE POT (only once)
*Mismatch of F or C entree requests (not enough of something)
*Cart drawers that dont open and close properly
*Slide girt bars that have all sorts of sticky crap on them
*Agents that want to board 40 minutes when theres 27 passengers
*People that think the aircraft is their private jet
*Catering when it shows up during boarding
*Broken aircraft after were all boarded and ready to go... get another aircraft and start all over again (i.e. preflight, boarding duties, announcements etc...)
*C-209 liquor paperwork arriving into the UK

I love my job almost as much as i love my family.... DOnt get me wrong, i love all of you on my flights as you are, but if we seem like we need a little space or its been a horrid flight, acknowledge that and be nice to your fellow passengers, and most importantly us. We want to get there just as much as you do  

- US Customs
- Flights with freeseating (and people RUNNING for their seat)
- Flight delays because of ATC
- Boarding the LX flight at BEN for ZRH at 0200 in the morning and asking my self, why all the people have to smoke ...
- CDG, running around like crazy while in transit
- LHR, having a sightseeing bus trip around the airport while chaning terminals
- Immigration at most of the airports worldwide

Something that didn't get mentioning yet, which I am surprised (maybe the BEY/Lebanon community on this forum forgets about the dark side of travelling to that wonderful country):

- flying to/from BEY during summer or Xmas vacation (regularly I had hoped for someone on the plane to have a heart attack, forcing the plane to make an unplanned stop in, say, Cyprus, rather than sit in that hell all the way back to Paris)
- checking in at BEY during summer or Xmas vacation
- checking in at CDG for BEY during summer or Xmas vacation
- trying to find at decently priced ticket to BEY
- weird departure times from BEY (why so many flights to Europe leave at 2am or 3am??? What am I expected to do in Paris at 6am??)

In addition to the BEY problem, other, not least unpleasant instances of hell:
- Lufthansa CRJs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!       Anytime, anywhere, any flight, just SUCKS, and makes LH loose my business
- Air France Business Class "catering" in Europe after a busy day with no chance for having had a decent meal
- boarding by bus in Munich during baking summer heat and waiting inside the bus on the tarmac for 20 minutes ("We don't need air condition")
- airline ground staff that take pax for idiots ("the flight shows to leave on time at 10:00" - "OK, could you please check at what time the plane actually comes in from its previous flight" - "It is expected to land at 10:15, but we're still leaving on time at 10:00"         )
- incorrect information on airport monitors (showing "On time" after scheduled departure time)
- complicated boarding procedures (like that for an Air France flight from CDG to LHR: boarding pass checked 5 times, passport 4 times)
- stupidly designed websites, like that of Air France
- exaggerated check-in deadlines, that entail wasted and useless waits at airports
- so called "lounges" whose buffet offers nothing more than 2 cans of Pepsi and some peanuts
- airlines in the US for their catering (always), worn out seats (mostly), cheap and uninteresting IFE (usually)
- the majority of US flights attendants in international F class ("What wines do you have" - "Red and white"       )
- seats that are marketed as the hottest thing around and don't work but make you fly for 12 hours in straight up position (=new LH business class)
- distant airports (Luton, Stansted)

More non-airline travel hell:
- trains in the UK (if I wanted to see engineering from the time of Queen Victoria, I'ld go to a museum), except Eurostar and Heathrow Express
- Car hiring in most places except Germany (love those Sixt machines)

AND OF COURSE:

Paris CDG, which offers most of these things in one place!

UGH . . . how about any airport in India!  

Not as good as the previous posts but here is my personal "Gate of Hell".

Immigration/passport control at Delta's T3 (old Worldport). Narrow corridors, low ceilings, bad lighting, harried agents yelling instructions to passengers who understand little or no English only to be met by CBP agents with the famous "New York attitude".

I'm not sure what the actual Gates of Hell look like but this is a close approximation.

Why do I have to feel intimidated by these people, I am not a criminal, I have a visa all nice and legal, see ! I am bringing business and tourist dollars to your country, I have 200 other countries to choose from, but I chose the USA - don't make me regret my buying decision.

Exaxtly!! They made me miss my connection once at EWR. I had a huge delay in Amsterdam with CO (only 5 hours or so) and arriving at EWR they found it very suspicious that a 20 year old (back in 2000) was travelling alone from AMS (XTC-capital in the world) to MIA (one of the USA's party-capitals)......

As I was way to late at EWR, I was booked on the last flight out to MIA and I had 1,5 hours to clear customs and get to the gate... I was taken apart and had to wait for 2 hours and during that time they were searching all of my luggage (and I had to repack my suitcase all over again) and ofcourse didn't find anything!

So I missed my flight to MIA and had to spend the night at EWR, but I did receive a nice $5 voucher for the McDonalds!

Didn't stopped me from visiting the US though......................................

Cheers!

1. Connecting at AMS and asking a KL employee a question knowing the answer will be "that is not possible".

2. The "old" gate C-27 at DTW.

3. ORD traffic in the Summer.

4. Any regional Jet.

5. Listening to Amatures at the gate, who later argue with the F/a's. (but I brought this kitchen sink on board the last time I flew)

7. Not getting consistant service on NW or KL.

8. 6 am departures for 9 am meetings with a return the same day.

9. The Wayne County Airport police at DTW. Can we take up a collection and send them to a Dale Carnegie course.

10. Any flight that leaves from the old terminal at DTW

LifelinerOne, my sister had the very same experience but because she had an Irish passport and was flying FRA-JFK with DL. She was hassled on arrival in JFK as above, but the service agents who give the 'mini-interview' before you check in were even worse, they made her supply her bosses personal phone number to vouch that she was indeed legally working in Germany (who was to say that the phone number was her boss anyways??), either way, my choice is thus;

1. Those nasty people who vex you before being even allowed to check in for any transatlantic US airline operated flight. It just puts me off ever flying CO, DL or anyone else despite the fact I actually like these companies.

2. Bored TSA guys (except ironically one guy in Terminal E in Boston who is super and makes it all a very comfortable and professional experience).

3. Any connection thru DUB - its truly hideous.

4. Any flight on an EI A330 except St.Keeva - the only one with PTVs.  

5. LHR - everything about it, but especially the transfer from T1 to T4 and the craggy domestic part for EI and BD in Terminal 1.

Regards
Ph

My only gripes are :

Jetstream J31/41's from hell - these planes have no business being 3 abreast.

Having to wait 2 minutes with the a/c off in GSO in August with the door closed because a warning light came on. Did everyone use their Right Gurard ?

The F Gates in ORD during the rush . People sitting on the floor because the terminal wasn't designed for multiple 50 seat CRJ's .

Car rental in Florida, especially from Alamo:

A case in point--when Mom and I travelled to Florida for a cruise vacation together, we arrived at MCO at 11:00 pm and went to the Alamo lot to pick up our reserved car. There, an (illegal?) alien who spoke mangled English forced me to buy expensive extra insurance (to the tune of $300), using up most of our spending money to buy the insurance. (Never mind that I have State Farm insurance, which also covers rental cars while travelling).

The moral of the story: Watch out for car-rental agents (expecially foreign-born ones) in Florida who force you to buy extra car insurance despite the fact your own car insurance covers rental cars! It's a big rip-off, I heard later after my trip.

SmithAir747

nwfltattendant, you think doing the C209s in to the United Kingdom is bad??? We have to do the same thing when we fly in to America. Count every single piece of alcohol to be imported. Takes forever, counting out those miniature Baileys, Scotch, Whiskeys, Vodkas, Vermouth, Canadian Club etc. Takes a dogs' age.

Do you have to count when arriving in the UK????

Only thing is that we (the crew) have to endure an hour and a half standing at immigration while the power-hungry, uneducated tosser on the desk looks at our paperwork over and over and over again without so much as a smile or any eye contact. Now I KNOW that US crews have a far easier time when arriving in the UK.

SmithAir747,

I wonder what I am more suspicious about: "foreign-born" car rental agents (I guess you try to suggest that it is the fact that they are foreign born that makes them near-criminals. Do you happen to work for the above mentioned Immigration Service in the US?)

- or -

people who don't even know what insurance they have.

If you know that your own insurance from State Farm covers rental cars, why do you spend 300$ on getting additional cover? How were you "forced" to take up that insurance? I think you only pay when you sign. But I am glad that you are sufficiently naive to think that a rental agent born on US soil would not have done such a terrible thing as to offer you more insurance - probably that domestic born agent would have even known which insurance you have back home.

But we thank you for pointing out to us that based on your one and only experience of renting a car in Florida - or do you have more and simply did not mention them? - you reach the conclusion that renting a car in Florida is bound to be an unpleasant exercise.

If someone else cares to suggest his post for deletion for latent racism, I would not object.

In no particular order:

MEM

Regional Jets

Middle seats

Middle management bottomfeeders whom insist they get upgraded, even though they are #47 on the list and have a priceline.com ticket

(This one is for you, CO, in particular the morons in EWR's terminal A): Baggage handlers that take their sweet time, then deliver the elite bags last. Guess what, you're the reason I am now elite on American... and I often fly last minute on full fare tickets.

Thousands Standing Around

Concessions in airports that don't take the three big credit cards

DL

Flight attendants that have no grasp of English pronunciation

MD80s

SmithAir747,

Couldn't you have said no to the insurance? Exactly how were you forced?

1. The *** T S A ***

2. International Arrivals at Cincinnati, Atlanta, or Cleveland: customs is in a secure concourse, so one has to wait in a lengthy TSA security line just to exit the building!

3. Southwest Airlines out of Baltimore. The security line goes on FOREVER. And it's very "Greyhound Crowd."

4. The Jetstream 31 and 41.

5. CDG Terminal 1 (I don't mind T2)

6. Waiting for the bus at JFK Terminal 3. It's a pit of exhaust fumes.

7. Change of terminal connections in Toronto. Confusing and complicated.

8. I've never had the pleasure of Sheremetyevo, but I've heard all about it.

UA 777222:

Some people dont have a sence of anything when they get up there. And if its bad for a pax. not to use their common sence, worse off for a F/A. Some are taking rules to extent. Sorry for the incident. But we´re not all alike.

Baw716, AZ operate MXP-LOS-ACC-MXP and NOT MXP-ACC-LOS-ACC-MXP


my list
1- Beirut airport----> Rude staff and Weird take off times
2- Lagos-----> Last place I want to be
3- Emirates ----> sorry guys I experienced hell with them, Missed connection and got stuck at airport for 24 hours, No accommodation nothing and was told no seats availability for the next 4 Weeks, they said I should find my way to get to my final destination
4- Ryanair-------> funny how everyone runs to the aircraft when they say its boarding time
5- KLM ----> looks like flying a low cost airline... Baggage never arrives
6- Ghana Airways----> Two edge sword
7- Cairo Immigration -----> Have to wait about 4 HOURS to get a TRANSIT VISA
8-Alitalia... Lovely country...... Shitty airline
9- MEA flight from LHR to BEY...in The summertime.. Looks like every passenger is carrying a crying baby
10- Syrianair..... Smells of rotten eggs when I flew on their 727

In Bobnwa's defence,I was charged for a full tank (return car empty) without being asked in FLL with Alamo. I didn't realize this until I read my contract - this was after I already filled it up. Now I have a Quick Silver Alamo card and I don't have to wait in line and listen to thier upsells!

My Top 10 worst all revolve around queueing

Atlanta international arrivals -queue for INS
Atlanta international arrivals -queue to re-check bags
Atlanta international arrivals -queue for arrivals security
Atlanta international arrivals -queue for train
Atlanta international arrivals -queue for bags

Ryanair - they hold you in pens before your flight that animals wouldnt be allowed queue like... Stansted and Dublin being the worst. You queue so you can sit beside the person you know, not between two smelly drunk pikies.

US airlines pre-checkin queue before you can queue for check-in... YES i packed it my self. If I didnt, im not going to tell you anyway, now am I?

Malpensa - lack of a queueing system! I love the Italian way of queueing.. it involves not queueing at all, and forming a big scrum... Chinese do the exact same!

Paris Beauvais - amazing how many twin brothers work in that airport. In the early days of FR, the person checking you in was the person on x-ray... and boarding and on dispatch! Low cost!

- CDG T1
- Transfering from T4 to T1/2/3 in LHR
- US security checks
- That ugly carpet in all UK airports (who won the contract ??)
- Reaching JFK from NYC and then finding your way in the terminals
- Long-haul without PTV.


FB.

nwfltattendant!

I nearly choked I was laughing so hard when I read what you wrote! thats awesome! i have a laundry list of my own! lol I guess it doesnt matter what airline youre at, things are basically the same  

 



*Boarding without warning
*Frozen water lines on the DC9 in winter
*DC9 trips with 5 legs a day sitting in between the lavatories
*DING*... "Whats that little town down there ?"
*Calls from scheduling at 3am
*DING*... "Whats that little river down there ?"
*Stupid caterers that dont knock before opening the door
*DING*... "Whats constellation is that?"
*Agents that close the door without asking
*DING*... "What time is it in Cairo during daylight savings time in a leap year?"
*Moldy food forgotten in the top glide of the cart (catering missed)
*short flights that require full beverage selection with minimum staffing
*Missing crew meals
*People that dont get the idea that you cant just do whatever you feel like on board at any given phase of the flight
*People helping themselves to the cart
*ANYONE WHO ASKS IS THIS IS MY REGULAR ROUTE
*%@^$*# hotel room keys that dont work after trudging all the way up
*Parties in hotels that disrupt us
*Dirty hotel rooms or crummy location
*PUBER HAIR IN THE HOTEL ROOM COFFEE POT (only once)
*Mismatch of F or C entree requests (not enough of something)
*Cart drawers that dont open and close properly
*Slide girt bars that have all sorts of sticky crap on them
*Agents that want to board 40 minutes when theres 27 passengers
*People that think the aircraft is their private jet
*Catering when it shows up during boarding
*Broken aircraft after were all boarded and ready to go... get another aircraft and start all over again (i.e. preflight, boarding duties, announcements etc...)
*C-209 liquor paperwork arriving into the UK

Some people don't have a sence of anything when they get up there. And if its bad for a pax. not to use their common sence, worse off for a F/A. Some are taking rules to extent. Sorry for the incident. But we%B4re not all alike.

I understand that completely. My great-aunt is a F/A for B6 now out of PHX and was formally with US and UA. I have the most respect for these men and women b/c each day they take on a task that is harder than most and you have to remeber they're not just there for serving you drinks and giving you blankets. I will never piss off a f/a EVER even if s/he is out of line towards me. I just take their call and go with it. EX: While on approach to Livermore the controller told us to go ahead and line up for runway X and to call our two mile. We called two mile and she approved. At about 100ft we were close to the piano keys and she told another traffic to go ahead and cross our runway.

Frantic, I called her up and told her to hold that a/c or that we would abort our landing. She told the traffic to sit and allowed us to land but once we were on the ground, man oh man did we get an ear full from this woman. I knew she was wrong, minstructorer knew she was wrong, the pilot in the a/c that held knew she was wrong (lets just say he got into the coversation as well). But not even once did I raise my voice, argue the call. Just took it. I really do love flight attendants and respect their line of work. Now people like "Queen Of The Skies" deserve to be Queen of unemployment.

If you are flying to MRY from the east bay, better to go around, e.g. the grand tour, down to Hollister, then across to MRY. Its longer, but you have no altitude restrictions once you get past SJC.

Well we were going KHAF as well and minstructorer thought it would be a good idea to take this route to get used to "larger traffic and bigger centers". We ended up going a more northern route over the bay and straight into Half Moon Bay.

Thanks again guys and Take Care!

UA777222

My list (in order, to boot!)

10) Having to run across the entire length of an airport to make the flight you're connecting to
9) That insufferably snooty business passenger who thinks his needs outweigh everyone else's
8) The middle seat
7) That flyer who attempts to stuff all his earthly belonging, including the kitchen sink, in the overhead compartment
6) Trash left in the seatback pocket in front of you
5) Overpriced food in terminals
4) Stubborn/broken e-ticket kiosks
3) Passengers with no clue how to use e-ticket kiosks
2) Limited concessions/dining in terminals (US/DL terminals at LGA spring to mind)
1) IAD