I love traveling. Experiencing new cultures, meeting new people, trying local cuisine and partying in clubs the word over just never seems to get old. What does get old, and very fast I might add, is the actual process of traveling. I'm blogging to you, my lovely blogees, from the window seat of a plane which has been stagnant on the tarmac now at Newark airport for over an hour. The captain has just informed the already restless crowd that it will be probably be another hour before we take off. This has been the cherry on the sundae of what can only be described as a hell of a day. Why is that we've come so far in technology in general but can't seem to find a civil way to travel?
Being stuck on a plane for an hour on the tarmac may no seem like much a reason to complain, after all weather seems to be the issue here and is understandably an uncontrollable aspect. However, after the ridiculousness I've been through today, I'm so frustrated at Continental Airlines as a whole I doubt I'll ever fly with them again. My two girlfriends and I were set to leave our beloved Toronto on a flight to Cleveland, where we would connect onto another flight to our ultimate destination: Las Vegas for Memorial Day weekend. But, our flight to Cleveland never took off (they said technical error, I say a whole ton of bullshit. Planes are your commodity -- their hydraulic pumps and navigational lights should be working before you pack them with passengers.) and so we missed our connecting flight to Vegas. Stranded at Pearson for eight hours (and functioning on two hours of sleep to boot) we finally flew to Newark with a new itinerary of spending the night there and leaving for Vegas in the morning. Ideal? No. But my girls and I relished the fact that we could hit up the New York Topshop, relax in hotel rooms and maybe even stop by a club or two. On the advice of a Continental Airlines employee who I will henceforth refer to as "that wretched little man", we managed to book a flight to Vegas today and so canceled our hotel rooms and next day flight. And now, here I sit on the tarmac, infuriated and sleep deprived, desperately hoping our captain pages the crew to prepare for take-off.
I wish I could say this was first such horrid flying experience I've had, but sadly there have been several occasions where I've been stranded, delayed and frustrated beyond repair. I have to point out that this seems to be a factor in Canadian and American airlines only! I've flown to Asia quite extensively and have never, ever, experienced anything but sleek efficiency and courteous service. The demeanor of North American airports, the States in particular, appears to be one of brash rudeness and little sympathy in some sort of attempt to remain rigidly suffice. While I understand that ever since the country was shaken by 9/11, air security has been of utmost concern, the overtly rude and at often times uneducated way employees dole out "help" puts me, and other travelers I'm sure, in rotten moods and ends up slowing things down instead of speeding them up.
Take, for example the security check point where passengers must put their shoes, coats, and bags in trays to be scanned and walk through a metal detector. In every single America airport I've passed through security at (including Chicago, Miami, Washington and Newark to name a few) the brash officers and steely glares have made me more anxious and nervous than I have any reason to be and often make perfectly innocent travelers seem suspicious. Raising unnecessary flags only takes away attention from true problems and is poorly inefficient. In Tokyo, on the other hand, while going through the security check, officials were pleasant and courteous and slippers were every provided for passengers as we walked through while our shoes were x-rayed. Simple and efficient in comparison to the barefoot walk of suspicion we're subjected to in the States.
Obviously crappy airport service isn't going to be enough to derail me from traveling any time soon, but it sure does put a damper on an adventurous spirit. I'm finally in the air now and still have three more hours until we land and the search for my missing luggage begins. (Did I forget to mention that? Yes, on top of being an unpleasant zombie in transit for almost twenty hours, seems they've somehow lost my luggage. There are no words to describe my exasperation at this point.) Right now, all I want is a shower, a bed, and to be treated like a human while traveling though the States in the future.
x
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