# Will you ever fly again?



## Sunny (May 9, 2020)

Until we have a very effective vaccine, there is no way most people will get on a plane now, not for anything that is optional.  Planes have long been known as "petri dishes" for germs, and it's very commonplace for people to get colds, digestive illnesses, the flu, etc. from other people on a flight. It's happened to me and my family, and I suspect to pretty much everyone else.

So how many of us will be willing to take a chance and get ourselves sealed into an aluminum tube with several hundred strangers, many of them coughing and sneezing, with no idea of who is carrying this virus? Will masks be enough to make us feel safe?

Horrifying thought, to me, anyway. My family is pretty scattered all over the country, with only a few of them within easy driving distance. So, outside of Zoom, will I ever see any of them again?


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## StarSong (May 9, 2020)

Ever is (hopefully) a very long time.  

I can't see myself getting on a plane for at least the next year. 

Eventually this crisis will pass because of a safe vaccine, effective treatment, herd immunity, evolution of the virus into a less lethal form, or some combination of the these. At that point, I will be comfortable flying again, though perhaps with a mask.


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## jujube (May 9, 2020)

Yes, eventually.   Some drives are just too long.


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## C'est Moi (May 9, 2020)

Ugh, I absolutely HATE flying so I avoided it before the pandemic.  So I probably still won't fly unless it can't be avoided.


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## win231 (May 9, 2020)

Do I sense an uncertainty about the protection of masks & flu shots?  If they work, why the concern about flying?


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## Floridatennisplayer (May 9, 2020)

I’m flying to Florida next Sunday.  Staying for a week or so and flying back.  Take some precautions and don’t live in fear.  I’m not going to hide in my basement like so many others, reducing their immune system to next to nothing.  I’ve been outside here in Ohio as much as the weather has permitted.  Playing tennis, taking walks.  Fresh air, ultraviolet light, natural vitamin d.

 If I get it, which is a very slim chance, Ill still have a 97% chance of survival.  I have a much greater chance of dying from so many other things.  I take the CV19 seriously but I also have common sense.

My brother and his wife are only in their early 50’s.  Great health.  Haven’t gone outside their front door in 7 weeks.  They live like it’s doomsday every day.  Get a grip.


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## hollydolly (May 9, 2020)

I don't relish the idea of flying now since this pandemic has hit, or mixing with the crowds when I get to my destination abroad , either... all scary, but I do have to travel by plane, because my daughter is overseas... and I have a 2nd home abroad, so I will have to go, but for the first time in decades, we will not be going THIS year


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## Aunt Bea (May 9, 2020)

I used to fly on a routine basis for work and haven't flown since I stopped working in 2005.







I doubt that I will have a need to fly but if I do I will.


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## Buckeye (May 9, 2020)

It's been ages since flying was anything but a chore.  But I'd like to take my SO to Europe and to Hawaii in a couple of years, so if we are physically able, away we go.  Wild blue yonder, and all that.


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## Ken N Tx (May 9, 2020)

Will you ever fly again?..Until we have a very effective vaccine..


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## Liberty (May 9, 2020)

Floridatennisplayer said:


> I’m flying to Florida next Sunday.  Staying for a week or so and flying back.  Take some precautions and don’t live in fear.  I’m not going to hide in my basement like so many others, reducing their immune system to next to nothing.  I’ve been outside here in Ohio as much as the weather has permitted.  Playing tennis, taking walks.  Fresh air, ultraviolet light, natural vitamin d.
> 
> If I get it, which is a very slim chance, Ill still have a 97% chance of survival.  I have a much greater chance of dying from so many other things.  I take the CV19 seriously but I also have common sense.
> 
> My brother and his wife are only in their early 50’s.  Great health.  Haven’t gone outside their front door in 7 weeks.  They live like it’s doomsday every day.  Get a grip.


We flew all over the world for many years.  Personally when the seats got "scrunched together" and even in what passed for first class was a joke we were so happy we'd flown when times were good...now we don't have to anymore and really enjoy that option. Living in fear isn't what its about "value received" is what counts now for us...lol.


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## Manatee (May 9, 2020)

We decided a year ago that our flying days are over.  Not worth the hassle.

Our kids and grandkids will still fly to come see us (check on the old folks).


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## IrisSenior (May 9, 2020)

Sure I will fly again but only when it is safe to do so and no new cases in the province I am staying in and the place I am going to.


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## CarolfromTX (May 9, 2020)

Geez, I hope so. They're gonna get a vaccine for this s**t, sooner or later. And I'm guessing that folks will be so sick of sheltering at home that they go out, and soon a herd immunity will develop. I just hope it's safe to fly soon.


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## Sunny (May 9, 2020)

The trouble is, we don't know if there is any such thing as immunity against this disease. No one seems to be sure whether having had it, or having testing positive, gives a person any future immunity.

And if that's the case, how would a vaccine work?


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## CarolfromTX (May 9, 2020)

Sigh. If they can put out a different vaccine every year for whatever flu strains they see are a problem, why do you think this is different? Sunny, you strike me as the glass is half empty kind of person. Me? The glass is half full, and the waiter has a pitcher just waiting to fill me up. The first couple of years I was teaching, I caught every bug that came down the pike. And then I didn't. Did I get sick a time or two? Yes. But nothing serious.  I caught something a couple years ago that was unpleasant for about a week.  I recovered. Even with the corona virus, your odds are pretty good. But go on, spread the doom and gloom. I don't much enjoy gloom and doom, myself.


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## asp3 (May 9, 2020)

I'm reasonably sure I will although when and where are big unknowns now.  We're supposed to fly to Hawaii next March with our son, his wife and our grandson (who was born this March) because they want to celebrate his first birthday in Hawaii because it's a big event in my son's wife's family.

There are lots of places I still want to go where it isn't practical to get there any other way than flying so once I'm comfortable with the risks of flying I probably will do so to get to where I want to go.

I'm concerned however that flying will become much more expensive in the future and I might not be able to travel as much as I have in the past even though that isn't a lot in my mind.


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## Gardenlover (May 9, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> I used to fly on a routine basis for work and haven't flown since I stopped working in 2005.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Love this clip!


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## SeaBreeze (May 9, 2020)

I've always hated flying, won't be flying anywhere again unless it's absolutely necessary....which I doubt.  Was early 2000 last time, haven't been since.


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## Gardenlover (May 9, 2020)

I foresee myself flying, eating in restaurants, going to festivals, etc. again.

It's either that or slowly, painfully, fade away.


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## win231 (May 9, 2020)

CarolfromTX said:


> Sigh. If they can put out a different vaccine every year for whatever flu strains they see are a problem, why do you think this is different? Sunny, you strike me as the glass is half empty kind of person. Me? The glass is half full, and the waiter has a pitcher just waiting to fill me up. The first couple of years I was teaching, I caught every bug that came down the pike. And then I didn't. Did I get sick a time or two? Yes. But nothing serious.  I caught something a couple years ago that was unpleasant for about a week.  I recovered. Even with the corona virus, your odds are pretty good. But go on, spread the doom and gloom. I don't much enjoy gloom and doom, myself.


Aw....you're no fun at all.


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## treeguy64 (May 9, 2020)

Haven't flown for about ten years. Have to trust the equipment, the flight crew, your fellow passengers, the ground crew. I trust none of the preceding, ergo no more flying, for me. 

Yeah, add in the always sickening smell of cabin air, now possibly featuring deadly diseases, and it's probably never happening for me, ever again. 

I really like driving, and I flew all over the place in my younger days, so no big deal.


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## MarciKS (May 9, 2020)

I've only flown once. Decided after that I didn't need to get back on a plane. So, this won't affect my flying habits.

Unless I can figure out how to use my broom...*looks toward the kitchen*


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## Liberty (May 10, 2020)

CarolfromTX said:


> Geez, I hope so. They're gonna get a vaccine for this s**t, sooner or later. And I'm guessing that folks will be so sick of sheltering at home that they go out, and soon a herd immunity will develop. I just hope it's safe to fly soon.


It probably depends on your living quarters at present and your chosen lifestyle.  If you have a lot of space at home, and enjoy your daily lifestyle there, as we do and many others we know, then you probably won't care to travel by air unless you're forced to.
Actually the current  demands have made very little difference to us - other than wanting to see other family and friends, of course.  Guessing road trips will be popular.


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## 911 (May 10, 2020)

Absolutely. Take away the bad experiences of going through the airport, I really enjoy flying. It really amazes me how something so heavy and so big can fly. Those things weigh tons.


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## moviequeen1 (May 10, 2020)

I don't drive,I've been flying for yrs.Its my only way to visit my brother&family at holidays.I don't know if I'll go this yr
My eldest nephew,Jay is getting married next Sept,I wouldn't want to miss that for anything


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## Sunny (May 10, 2020)

> Sunny, you strike me as the glass is half empty kind of person.



Ye gads, Carol, you couldn't be more wrong!  I am usually very much in the "glass half full" camp, and at times I sound like a Pollyanna.  

But there's a difference between normal optimism and seeing the world with blinders on.  The situation we are in is truly horrific, there's no way to paint it as being any rosier than that. This is not "spreading gloom and doom," it is telling it like it is.

But go ahead, keep repeating that we should pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.  

Liberty, the decision to fly usually has little to do with how much anyone likes their living quarters, and has a lot to do with special events, where the family lives (mine is spread out all over the country), business necessities, etc.


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## StarSong (May 10, 2020)

Sunny said:


> Liberty, the decision to fly usually has little to do with how much anyone likes their living quarters, and has a lot to do with special events, where the family lives (mine is spread out all over the country), business necessities, etc.


Most of my travel is also for special events, not to escape my daily lifestyle or living space (which are quite enjoyable).  Like Sunny, my family and friends are spread widely across this continent so I travel to see them.  

I do love a good party, and weddings are my favorite kind of party - even when I have to fly 3000 miles to get there!


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## oldman (May 10, 2020)

I’ll fly anytime, anywhere. Even if I have to wear a scuba tank. I think I have an old one here or did I sell it...hmmmm?


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## Don M. (May 10, 2020)

We like to fly, but with this virus, we have no plans to go anywhere for the foreseeable future.  My remaining Aunt will have her 95th birthday in October, in Denver, and the family will probably have a nice party for her...which we would like to join.  However, it will all depend upon how things look by that time, and what precautions the airlines are taking.  That, and our annual Fall trip to Las Vegas, are on hold, for now.


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## oldman (May 10, 2020)

StarSong said:


> Most of my travel is also for special events, not to escape my daily lifestyle or living space (which are quite enjoyable).  Like Sunny, my family and friends are spread widely across this continent so I travel to see them.
> 
> I do love a good party, and weddings are my favorite kind of party - even when I have to fly 3000 miles to get there!


I always liked flying out of a John Wayne (OC). They have a noise abatement in place, unless they got rid of it. Fun taking off.


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## Floridatennisplayer (May 11, 2020)

JW airport runway!!!!!!!!!!!  So short!  Land, hit the brakes.....  I traveled back and forth from Ohio to LA and San Diego a zillion times for work since 1982.  JW was more convenient.  San Diego landing always creeped me out.  Tight quarters, over the buildings and plop!


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## fuzzybuddy (May 11, 2020)

I used to fly, and loved it. Then 9-11 happened. Now, I'm not sure I could get through the TSA precautions without decking some one. The last time I flew , it was 50/50.  As far as germs are concerned, I don't know which is worse- a crowded plane, or my family reunions.


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## In The Sticks (May 11, 2020)

911 said:


> Absolutely. Take away the bad experiences of going through the airport, I really enjoy flying. It really amazes me how something so heavy and so big can fly. Those things weigh tons.


I've flown a number of time with my career and a few times for pleasure.

I have never lost my awe of flying.  Not only the magic of the science that gets it aloft, but the fact that so many of we middle class folks can afford such a luxury (and I don't care how many of us they stuff inside, it's still a phenonemal luxury.)  The only part I dislike is the lack of gratitude my fellow passengers sometimes exhibit.


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## In The Sticks (May 11, 2020)

Floridatennisplayer said:


> I’m flying to Florida next Sunday.  Staying for a week or so and flying back.  Take some precautions and don’t live in fear.  I’m not going to hide in my basement like so many others, reducing their immune system to next to nothing.  I’ve been outside here in Ohio as much as the weather has permitted.  Playing tennis, taking walks.  Fresh air, ultraviolet light, natural vitamin d.
> 
> If I get it, which is a very slim chance, Ill still have a 97% chance of survival.  I have a much greater chance of dying from so many other things.  I take the CV19 seriously but I also have common sense.
> 
> My brother and his wife are only in their early 50’s.  Great health.  Haven’t gone outside their front door in 7 weeks.  They live like it’s doomsday every day.  Get a grip.


Good for you!!

My vaccine is to not watch the news or read articles full of hyperbole (so there's damned little I read.)

Flu viruses kill tens of thousands of people every single year.  As you said, there are (and have been) bigger boogeymen.  You take reasonable precautions and live your friggin' life.


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## In The Sticks (May 11, 2020)

win231 said:


> Do I sense an uncertainty about the protection of masks & flu shots?  If they work, why the concern about flying?


Haven't you heard?

The masks keep _your_ germs inside, even under the extreme pressure of exhaling, while allowing in the free-floating germs of the unmasked guy standing next to you, who is obviously trying to kill everyone.

I'm not sure exactly how that works.  I'm not sure you could actually _design_ a mask to do that.


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## Butterfly (May 11, 2020)

I used to enjoy flying when it wasn't such an incredibly frustrating hassle to get on a plane.  I understand and appreciate the need for said hassle after 911, but it takes all the pleasure out of the experience and turns it into just a big fat unpleasant chore.

I won't be flying again unless I absolutely have to, covid or no.


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## In The Sticks (May 11, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> I used to enjoy flying when it wasn't such an incredibly frustrating hassle to get on a plane.  I understand and appreciate the need for said hassle after 911, but it takes all the pleasure out of the experience and turns it into just a big fat unpleasant chore.
> 
> I won't be flying again unless I absolutely have to, covid or no.


Back in the 80s I was flying from DC to the west coast with a coworker, flying out of Dulles International Airport.  I was running REALLY late and had a hard time finding a place to park.

So I dash to the airport and I'm running through the airport to my gate, and I get there just in time to see the "People Mover" pulling away (there's a central terminal at Dulles and then there are these weird transport vehicles that take you to other terminals scattered around.)  My coworker was peering out the back of the thing and he saw me standing there.  So he gets the driver to back up, they open the doors to the transporter and to the gate, and I climbed aboard to be taken to my remote terminal and eventually my flight!!!  There was no security, no detectors to go through, no inspection process.  Just some idiot running unimpeded through the parking lot through the airport and right into the middle of everybody and everything, luggage in hand...as we used to do back then.

It won't be long before younger people here that story and respond the same way they do today when I tell them that you used to be able to smoke in your office: "You're lying!!"


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## StarSong (May 12, 2020)

In The Sticks said:


> Back in the 80s I was flying from DC to the west coast with a coworker, flying out of Dulles International Airport.  I was running REALLY late and had a hard time finding a place to park.
> 
> So I dash to the airport and I'm running through the airport to my gate, and I get there just in time to see the "People Mover" pulling away (there's a central terminal at Dulles and then there are these weird transport vehicles that take you to other terminals scattered around.)  My coworker was peering out the back of the thing and he saw me standing there.  So he gets the driver to back up, they open the doors to the transporter and to the gate, and I climbed aboard to be taken to my remote terminal and eventually my flight!!!  There was no security, no detectors to go through, no inspection process.  Just some idiot running unimpeded through the parking lot through the airport and right into the middle of everybody and everything, luggage in hand...as we used to do back then.
> 
> It won't be long before younger people here that story and respond the same way they do today when I tell them that you used to be able to smoke in your office: "You're lying!!"


Old movies (including Home Alone 2) will bear out what you're saying as regards airports.  Same with smoking in the office.


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## In The Sticks (May 12, 2020)

StarSong said:


> Old movies (including Home Alone 2) will bear out what you're saying as regards airports.  Same with smoking in the office.


I managed a staff of maybe 15 people when the No Smoking regs hit.  Half were smokers, half were not.

The smokers were taking regular breaks, and the non-smokers were whining about it.
I have never been through such garbage with other adults in my entire life.

To further your movie referencing, Kindergarten Cop was pretty emblematic of those days.


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## oldman (May 12, 2020)

Floridatennisplayer said:


> JW airport runway!!!!!!!!!!!  So short!  Land, hit the brakes.....  I traveled back and forth from Ohio to LA and San Diego a zillion times for work since 1982.  JW was more convenient.  San Diego landing always creeped me out.  Tight quarters, over the buildings and plop!


That's what makes it fun for the pilot, it's challenging. And with the noise abatement in place, the pilot must climb to a given flight level in whatever time period is allowed according to the ordinance in place, which is given to the pilots on a card by the Dispatcher. 

I have also flown many times into San Diego (SAN) and yes, it is also a bit challenging due to having to fly over the tops of the buildings at a low altitude, but again, challenging for a pilot. It's what allows us to keep our skills in tact. They keep talking about building a new airport, but when? I think they had a terrible accident at San Diego when a jet hit a Cessna causing both planes to crash killing everyone onboard. I watched that episode of the crash a few times and every time I hear the Captain say, "Ma, I love ya," just before the crash, I get a terrible feeling in my gut.  

Here is a recreation: 




My favorite airport was always Las Vegas, or McCarran Airport (LAS). Very easy in and out, but flying over those beautiful mountains was always a site to behold.


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## Ronni (May 12, 2020)

Floridatennisplayer said:


> I’m flying to Florida next Sunday.  Staying for a week or so and flying back.  Take some precautions and don’t live in fear.  I’m not going to hide in my basement like so many others, reducing their immune system to next to nothing.  I’ve been outside here in Ohio as much as the weather has permitted.  Playing tennis, taking walks.  Fresh air, ultraviolet light, natural vitamin d.
> 
> If I get it, which is a very slim chance,* Ill still have a 97% chance of survival.*  I have a much greater chance of dying from so many other things.  I take the CV19 seriously but I also have common sense.
> 
> My brother and his wife are only in their early 50’s.  Great health.  Haven’t gone outside their front door in 7 weeks.  They live like it’s doomsday every day.  Get a grip.



Do you mind telling me where you got this statistic from @Floridatennisplayer?


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## oldman (May 12, 2020)

In The Sticks said:


> Back in the 80s I was flying from DC to the west coast with a coworker, flying out of Dulles International Airport.  I was running REALLY late and had a hard time finding a place to park.
> 
> So I dash to the airport and I'm running through the airport to my gate, and I get there just in time to see the "People Mover" pulling away (there's a central terminal at Dulles and then there are these weird transport vehicles that take you to other terminals scattered around.)  My coworker was peering out the back of the thing and he saw me standing there.  So he gets the driver to back up, they open the doors to the transporter and to the gate, and I climbed aboard to be taken to my remote terminal and eventually my flight!!!  There was no security, no detectors to go through, no inspection process.  Just some idiot running unimpeded through the parking lot through the airport and right into the middle of everybody and everything, luggage in hand...as we used to do back then.
> 
> It won't be long before younger people here that story and respond the same way they do today when I tell them that you used to be able to smoke in your office: "You're lying!!"


Dulles was my home airport. Not very easy to navigate through and the parking is still screwed up and will never change. I flew a lot of government people on my planes. Most of them flew in and out of National, but I still had quite a few. The guy I liked most was George Stephanopoulous. His wife is about 5 inches taller than he is.


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## StarSong (May 12, 2020)

I use Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport whenever possible, and it's another short runway airport.  

Was coming home on a Southwest flight when the pilot hit the brakes hard. As he did, he gave a long, gentle "Whoa -ooa-ooa-ooa" over the speaker, like a cowboy talking to his horse. 

It got a lot of laughs and also eased the passengers' minds to know that he realized we were probably anxious at the heavy braking.


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## In The Sticks (May 12, 2020)

oldman said:


> Dulles was my home airport. Not very easy to navigate through and the parking is still screwed up and will never change. I flew a lot of government people on my planes. Most of them flew in and out of National, but I still had quite a few. The guy I liked most was George Stephanopoulous. His wife is about 5 inches taller than he is.


Back in the 70s I used to fly to Connecticut out of National pretty often.

New Haven Airways, baby.  No puddle too small...

My very first flight every was on a chartered puddle jumper.  I was managing a Hess gas station in Richmond VA during the Odd/Even days of the gas crisis (heck of a job for a 20 year old kid.)  Before that mess hit, they had a manager's meeting at the Playboy Club in Great Gorge, NJ (yeh, the good ol' days.  Godfrey Cambrigde was GREAT in person.)  The puddle jumper picked a bunch of us up at various airports in central and southeast coastal Virginia, then we flew north.  This was the middle of winter in the middle of a snow storm.

You could see the cockpit and the snow pelting the windshield.  It was a real roller coaster ride...we would get swept way upwards then BOOM!! the bottom would fall out, over and over and over again.  Some of the guys got drunk beforehand and brought bottles with them.  Needless to say, that didn't end well, either on the plane or in the limos that picked us up in Jersey.

Every commercial flight I've had throughout my career was uneventful by comparison, regardless of what storm we flew through.


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## oldman (May 12, 2020)

Southwest flight crews are noted for their jokes and such for the reason that you stated. It was nice prior to 9-11 when we (the pilots, one at a time, of course) could walk out into the aisles and speak with the passengers momentarily. Unfortunately, those days are gone forever.

I just did a quick workup for landing a Boeing 737-8 or 737-800 if you want to be specific. The longest runway at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA is 6886 feet. If the plane is fully loaded with passengers and with everything else, including the weight of the aircraft and has :45 minutes of reserve fuel remaining, the plane will need approximately 5000 feet of that 6886 feet for landing. That's 5000 feet from touchdown to completely stopped. Compare that to a Boeing 757-200, which would need 6500 feet and the next size up for a Boeing plane would be the 767-400, which would need 8800 feet. These are only approximations because I don't have the exact weights and amount of fuel and of course wind speed and direction also come into play. Thank God for computers. Also, keep in mind that the plane needs more runway for takeoff than it does for landing because it is heavier on takeoff.


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## oldman (May 12, 2020)

In The Sticks said:


> Back in the 70s I used to fly to Connecticut out of National pretty often.
> 
> New Haven Airways, baby.  No puddle too small...
> 
> ...


As a pilot, I avoided flying through storms like the plague. In the summertime, thunderstorms can have tops on them as high as 55,000 (some higher) feet, so instead of flying through them, (we couldn't fly over them), we would divert around the storm. My Dispatcher knew that if I was flying in or out of Dallas on a late summer afternoon and a storm was brewing, I would probably be changing the flight plan. As for flying through a snowstorm, no problem. Let it snow. I would fly right through it.


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## In The Sticks (May 12, 2020)

oldman said:


> As a pilot, I avoided flying through storms like the plague. In the summertime, thunderstorms can have tops on them as high as 55,000 (some higher) feet, so instead of flying through them, (we couldn't fly over them), we would divert around the storm. My Dispatcher knew that if I was flying in or out of Dallas on a late summer afternoon and a storm was brewing, I would probably be changing the flight plan. As for flying through a snowstorm, no problem. Let it snow. I would fly right through it.


That's funny you should mention Dallas.  It's the only time I've been in a plane and seen horizontal lightening.  

That flight (headed for DC) got grounded en route in St. Louis, I believe.  What a nightmare.  I didn't know that Dallas was a hotspot for that stuff...I was doing a lot of business in Richardson at the time, and was always leaving at the end of the business day.


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## debbie in seattle (May 12, 2020)

My daughter flew up for Mother’s Day.    There was zero spacing between people and very, very few had face masks nor gloves on. The plane was packed.      An elderly woman behind my daughter asked about how full the plane was and was told by a flight attendant, I don’t make the rules, if uncomfortable, you can get off the plane.”


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## Butterfly (May 12, 2020)

oldman said:


> Dulles was my home airport. Not very easy to navigate through and the parking is still screwed up and will never change. I flew a lot of government people on my planes. Most of them flew in and out of National, but I still had quite a few. The guy I liked most was George Stephanopoulous. His wife is about 5 inches taller than he is.



I never liked taking off from National.  It always made me nervous.


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## Sunny (May 12, 2020)

Most of us who live here in the DC area use BWI more than the other two airports.


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## 911 (May 12, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> I never liked taking off from National.  It always made me nervous.


I never liked National, even though I never flew as a pilot in or out of there. It is situated poorly and is mainly used as a convenience.


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## 911 (May 12, 2020)

debbie in seattle said:


> My daughter flew up for Mother’s Day.    There was zero spacing between people and very, very few had face masks nor gloves on. The plane was packed.      An elderly woman behind my daughter asked about how full the plane was and was told by a flight attendant, I don’t make the rules, if uncomfortable, you can get off the plane.”


Exactly right. There will be new rules in place come June 1st by most of the major airlines. I read about these changes in the paper and also on CBS news.


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## 911 (May 12, 2020)

Sunny said:


> Most of us who live here in the DC area use BWI more than the other two airports.


I have flown in and out of BWI. Very busy during peak hours. They definitely need to expand their terminal. They should also update their ground radar. They are still using stuff from the ‘80’s.


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## 911 (May 12, 2020)

I have a fixed wing, single and double engine license. I used to enjoy flying into BWI, but they locked us out. I owned my own Cessna at one time, but maintenance and storage costs got out of hand. I don’t miss it and I let my license lapse.


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## Em in Ohio (May 12, 2020)

The absolute only reason that I would ever fly again is if something terrible befell my granddaughter in California.  My last trip was coming back from Italy, just prior to 9-11.  Hopefully, I won't ever need to be airborne again!


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## Lakeland living (May 12, 2020)

Not for some time I don't think. Also thinking of how much pollution they dump into the air.


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## AnnieA (May 12, 2020)

Yes, but not anytime soon.  I was supposed to flown home from Scotland last week had Covid19 not turned the world catawampus.


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## Floridatennisplayer (May 12, 2020)

I was a regular flyer CMH to LAX or SAN.  Only advantages was getting to know the flight crew. “Oh, it’s you again”. SAN is a dangerous airport to land. Ugh, mountains East and north..Winds off the ocean, the city landscape right there!!!!  And John Wayne with the short runways and noise abatements.  I always opted for LAX and would drive to SD if necessary.  

Its been 3 years.  I miss Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Santa Monica......but no desire to fly there anymore.  I’m happy with my quick, same time zone, 2 hour direct Southwest to Fort Myers.


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## In The Sticks (May 13, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> I never liked taking off from National.  It always made me nervous.


But the landing following the Potomac River was pretty.

I was working in Rosslyn when they lifted the building height restrictions (they had it low so as to keep the skyline view from the DC side uncluttered.)  The USA Today building was the first tall one built (8-10 stories, as I recall.)  Workers said they could look out their office windows and see the faces of the plane passengers as they flew down the river to the airport!!!


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## In The Sticks (May 13, 2020)

911 said:


> I never liked National, even though I never flew as a pilot in or out of there. It is situated poorly and is mainly used as a convenience.


National only remains open for the convenience of Congress (maybe that's what you were alluding to.)
Were it not for them, it would have been shut down a long time ago.


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## In The Sticks (May 13, 2020)

Sunny said:


> Most of us who live here in the DC area use BWI more than the other two airports.


I liked BWI.  Very well laid out.  Isn't that one of Southwest's hubs?

Living in Vienna for most of my life, in the early days I would opt for National.  Later on (because of traffic) I preferred Dulles.  BWI was for those deals I just couldn't refuse.


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## Sunny (May 13, 2020)

Yes, it is a Southwest hub, and I only use Southwest anyway.  Their fares are lower than the other two airports, also.


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