\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The truth is after 2,000,000-plus miles in the not-always-friendly skies, I still think air travel is amazing.\u00a0 It still blows my mind to think that I can get on an airplane in California, sit in a chair traveling 600 miles an hour 35,000 feet above the ground, eat, drink, sleep, completely ignore a person sitting inches from me and within a few hours I can be in Connecticut.\u00a0 I actually\u00a0flew to\u00a0Connecticut a couple of weeks ago attending a sorority meeting . . . don\u2019t ask, I\u2019m still trying to explain it to my wife.\u00a0 Anyway, I may be fairly alone on this one, but I think airlines get a bad rap.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m always amused by self-important business executives whose flight has been delayed \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Admittedly, I love to travel, so I don\u2019t see airplanes and airports a necessary evils \u2013 I see them as parts of the process \u2013 it\u2019s probably that \u2018life\u2019s a journey not a destination\u2019<\/i> thing that helps explains my lack of disdain for the airline industry.\u00a0 Yes, I know you\u2019ve read stories about passengers being held on tarmacs for hours without peanuts or vodka, or someone being violated during a pat down, but the reason you\u2019re reading about them is that they are news \u2013 they are very rare occasions given the fact that there are somewhere between 85,000 – 90,000 flights in the world PER DAY!<\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Of course when I was traveling a lot and was up- \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Additionally, I know when I\u2019m in my seat, I will not get a phone call, I will not be asked to take out the garbage or fix that leaky sink \u2013 in short, I will not be bothered.\u00a0 And instead of those dogged eared Sky Malls to leaf through and magazines where the crossword puzzle is already partly done (incorrectly), today we have \u2018Apple gadgets\u2019.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need to carry books or magazines with me, just my iPad, and of course, I have my computer for . . . computing, but the most important electronic accoutrement I carry is my iPod.\u00a0 Not just because it affords me a rare opportunity to just sit and listen to some of the 12,000 songs on it, but it allows me ignore my neighbor.\u00a0 I know that doesn\u2019t sound very . . .well, neighborly, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve all experienced the person who sits next to you and says, \u201cHow you doing?\u201d and before you could answer they\u2019re telling you how they\u2019re<\/i> doing, where they’ve been, where they’re going and who’s\u00a0supposed to meet them when we land. So when I sit down I put in my iPod earplug my neighbor assumes I\u2019m busy \u2013 sometimes the iPod isn\u2019t even on.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow \u00a0\u201cI wish we could go through security on our way out of the airport too\u201d \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how comfortable those middle seats were\u201d \u201cI just never seem to get tired of sitting on the tarmac\u201d \u201cI … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/airplane-movie.jpg\" "\\"airplane-movie\\"")
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most of the time I write about the destination, but this week it\u2019s about getting there.\u00a0 I\u2019ve done a fair amount of air travel, both business and pleasure and I must confess that I\u2019ve probably not uttered any of the above phrases.\u00a0 But there is one thing that I utter after every<\/i> flight \u2013 read on to find out.<\/p>\n<\/a> and they are demanding some answers.\u00a0 These are the same people who haven\u2019t started one of their own meetings on time \u2013 ever.\u00a0 The reality is that as a society our punctuality bar has drifted fairly low and actually I think the airlines do a better job than most at being on time.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I actually enjoy being in an airport, because if I\u2019m in an airport it means I\u2019m going somewhere, and I love to go somewhere; with the possible exceptions of the dentist and back to Home Depot for the fourth time to get the part that actually fits.\u00a0 Most airports today are full-service \u2013 you can get a haircut, practice your golf swing, and a \u2018friend of mine\u2019 told me that you can even get a massage with a happy . . . meal.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even heard of people who, if they have a few hours between flights and there is an International terminal, will go there just to eat something foreign and to listen to different foreign languages \u2013 OK, that was me\u00a0on my last trip.<\/p>\n<\/a>graded to first class most of the time that chair was a Bark-A-Lounger with a personal valet, but I ride in \u2018steerage\u2019 now and still enjoy the ride.\u00a0 I always get a window seat because:<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>So, what do I always<\/i> say after a flight?\u00a0 As I pass the cockpit on my way out . . . I always say \u201cThank you\u201d.\u00a0 Because if I\u2019m saying thank you it means that my perfect record of number of landings equaling the number of take offs is still intact, and I have the pilot to thank for that.\u00a0 I\u2019ll admit that flying isn\u2019t always peaches and peanuts, but even if I\u2019ve had a bad experience I\u2019m still amazed by that chair that goes 600 miles per hour 35,000 feet above the earth.<\/p>\n
![<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Of course when I was traveling a lot and was up-](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/view-from-a-plane-why-i-love-the-window-seat-300x225.jpg\"){kind=link}