Airline horror stories?

[Archae]

I don't have any, but I just read a few dandy ones at ABC news' web site.

Like a woman who was on an 8-hour flight next to a passed-out drunk guy who had puked in his own lap.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I was just on a flight that had to take a departure delay

because on the incoming flight an elderly woman had an "accident," and they had to replace the seat covers on that seat and the adjacent one. Even though the seats are leather, apparently the pee kind of soaks in and they can't get it off and it stinks, so they have to take the covers off and replace them before they could board the passengers in those seats. A minor thing, but weird. I really feel sorry for the old lady, though. I did notice that the airport looked a bit like the lobby of the Mayo Clinic, or maybe Lourdes -- a lot of people travel this time of year who normally don't, and it's not easy for old people. And now the weather is going into the toilet, so we can expect a lot of delays.

[pitohui]

2. i have a million of em

i was on a flight from AMS where the plane had barely got in the air before the dude in my row started puking, he puked for 10 solid hrs -- it really put ME off my drink, let me tell you

i was on another flight from AMS where the plane got by lightning and we were not allowed to land at our destination but were instead diverted to a small airport where i guess we wouldn't hit and kill anyone if we fell out of the sky -- only prob was there were no customs official at this small airport so even after we safely landed we were not allowed to leave the plane for an additional 3 hrs until finally u.s. customs found an official to process us -- worried pax grabbed all the remaining water and juice from the galley because they were panicked that we would run out of drink before we were allowed to enter america

there was no rep from our airline at that small airport and we were told to rent a car and drive home which i couldn't do after flying from AMS (impaired) but eventually somehow a person from the airline drove up from atlanta and finally put me on an airplane operated by a different airline (i didn't have to pay for the new ticket, which was nice)

well that's enough for starters and probably enough to convince any of you that if you must visit amsterdam, maybe just stay there and don't try to fly home, unless you've got very strong nerves!!!

[MrCoffee]

3. St. Louis to London

We were delayed for two hours before take-off due to mismatched luggage, which they found after they loaded the plane and shut the door, so we had to wait that out. After the nine-hour flight, almost as soon as we touched down, we came to a dead stop on the runway. The pilot apologized to those seated on the left hand side of the plane who could see the black smoke pouring from the engine on arrival. Then they shut everything down...electricity, air, water, all of it. We sat on the runway for four hours while firemen and mechanics checked out the engine with us on board. I guess they didn't want us at the gate in case the plane exploded or something, but why couldn't they wheel out some stairs or pop the emergency chute or something. We couldn't even go to the bathroom, and that plane was like an oven with the air off.

[pitohui]

4. oh that reminds me of one of my husband's stories

SAN to MSY, the plane is hardly in the air before it starts making a horrible screeching engine noise, they have to move people in his part of the plane to various seats they somehow scrounge up because the banging is so loud it's at the point of pain

"don't worry, there is no danger, this plane has four engines" is what i believe he said the pilot said

i don't doubt it, because on my flight struck by lightning AMS-ATL, then we got a similar announcement, "well, as you just saw, the plane was struck by lightning, but don't worry, there is no danger, however, we are being diverted..."

yeah whatever

they need to let people pack extra water bottles for times like these, or maybe extra bottles of duty free scotch