OH Lord will my aches and pains go away?

Just got back from a road trip to AZ and CA, drove a family car out and then flew back to OKC on American.

I miss the 737 and DC 9 (?) that American has flown for many years. American has retired all of the DC 9 jets and apparently replaced them with regional jets.

I flew from Palm Springs to Phoenix to OKC on that dinky thing.

Seats are so narrow in the hips and two men can't sit comfortably side by side because shoulders don't just touch, they mash together, you have to sit with a sideways twist so your shoulders don't mash together. That'll give you a back ache!

The lavatory? Bwahahahha fuhgeddaboudit!!!! It has to be designed for a midget. I'm just a smidgen short of 6 feet tall, it's impossible to stand up straight in the lav. So there you are, all hunched over, knees bent, back bent, trying to urinate and not wizz all over the place. The curvature of the fuselage is just too much there.

OK, now done with the toilet visit, try getting out. It's a struggle to turn around, find the sink to wash hands, then get the dang door open to exit, because it folds in, and I'm in the way. If you're a 5'3" 112 pound female, or a midget, I suppose you'll manage with grace and dignity.

I've flown from OKC to Palm Springs for many years on 737 and DC 9 aircraft. ALWAYS there was some food available for purchase, a sandwich, cheese snack platter, etc. Apparently this is no longer available on the dinky regional jets. Coffee was not available, would you like water or juice? NO I want a cup of coffee. No Sir, no coffee, would you like water or juice? How about a Diet Dr Pepper? NO Sir, none on the plane, water or juice? I'll take the water, and a couple of Advils please.

One day...

Air travel these days is essentially an over priced, over crowded flying bus.
A regional jet is a flying short bus.

^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^^

I dont mine the United Express CRJs, which are 2-2.
The UE ERJs (ERJ145?) that are 1-2 are the worst.

A retried American Airline CEO once gave the following advice for becoming a millionaire.

Step 1. Start with $100 million dollars
Step 2. Buy an airline
Step 3. Wait five years

Voila, you now have only $1M and need to sell for a $99M loss.

United Express has a new CRJ-550 with first class seats, not something I'd pay for but I'd gladly accept an upgrade. Coach appears to provide more room, scroll down for lots of photos.

https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/united-crj-550-cabin/

I've been flying in a CRJ for the past 6 months. TBH, I don't mind them compared to the cattle cars you can get put on. I just make sure I make my plans far enough in advance to get the exit row.

However, there's been a few times where the person next to me has overflowed into my 'safe space'.

Being 6'3 and flying fairly often and on these types of planes sometimes, I feel your pain. I've found some airlines are far worse than others in how close each row is. Spirit has got to be the absolute worst.

What's not to love? You're in a tube slightly bigger than a beer can with overhead storage the size of a shoe box traveling at three quarters the speed of sound, being flown by a 22 year old with a balogna sandwich in a cooler behind his seat, and whose only other experience was going in circles at Dead Cow International with Chinese students while he texted his girlfriend and dreamed of that shiny regional jet. You're flying behind a kid who not so long ago would have been making wages below the poverty line, whose navigational acumen stops at the ability to follow a magenta line on a video screen, and for whom "dude" is still a noun, verb, and adjective.

And the airplane has seats that don't fit a barbie or ken doll.

Dead Cow International, Wichita, KS

Dead Cow International

Interview on how it got its name:
Wichita Eagle Interview

quote:

Originally posted by Sailor1911:
Dead Cow International, Wichita, KS

Dead Cow International

Interview on how it got its name:
Wichita Eagle Interview

Many years ago when I was a teen, spraying (crop dusting) in Kansas, I had to fly to dead cow to pick up the boss, who was dropping an airplane for an inspection. Back then, navigation was reading town names off water towers and road and high way signs, a compass heading, and following roads. The boss tossed me a chart and said "when you get down there, keep the highway on your right and you'll be fine."

When I landed, someone at the FBO (fuel counter) told me to call the tower.

"There's a tower?" I asked. Not at dead cow...but there is at Wichita International...across the street.

The tower wasn't amused. There wasn't much of anything on the chart, which after closer exmination, I noted was dated prior to 1944. It may have been a bit out of date. I was told that I was the second guy to fly through their final approach that day, and that while I'd be let off with a warning, the next airplane that did it was getting violated (FAA). Okay, then.

A short while later, the boss landed and taxied in. Someone came out from the FBO and told him to call the tower.

"There's a tower?" He asked. #3.

On the flight home in his little Cessna 150, he said he'd sleep, and put it on autopilot.

"We have an autopilot?" I asked.

He reached into the map box and took out a large, heavy rubber band, and snapped it between the control yokes. Trimmed up, it didn't vary in altitude or heading for a long time. It's the simple things.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

quote:

Originally posted by Sailor1911:
Dead Cow International, Wichita, KS

Dead Cow International

Interview on how it got its name:
Wichita Eagle Interview

Many years ago when I was a teen, spraying (crop dusting) in Kansas, I had to fly to dead cow to pick up the boss, who was dropping an airplane for an inspection. Back then, navigation was reading town names off water towers and road and high way signs, a compass heading, and following roads. The boss tossed me a chart and said "when you get down there, keep the highway on your right and you'll be fine."

When I landed, someone at the FBO (fuel counter) told me to call the tower.

"There's a tower?" I asked. Not at dead cow...but there is at Wichita International...across the street.

The tower wasn't amused. There wasn't much of anything on the chart, which after closer exmination, I noted was dated prior to 1944. It may have been a bit out of date. I was told that I was the second guy to fly through their final approach that day, and that while I'd be let off with a warning, the next airplane that did it was getting violated (FAA). Okay, then.

A short while later, the boss landed and taxied in. Someone came out from the FBO and told him to call the tower.

"There's a tower?" He asked. #3.

On the flight home in his little Cessna 150, he said he'd sleep, and put it on autopilot.

"We have an autopilot?" I asked.

He reached into the map box and took out a large, heavy rubber band, and snapped it between the control yokes. Trimmed up, it didn't vary in altitude or heading for a long time. It's the simple things.

Great story! Love it.

Mid-Continent (Now Eisenhower) airport opened to GA in 1953 then commercial in 1954. So I supposed your chart was a little dated.

quote:

Originally posted by Sailor1911:
So I supposed your chart was a little dated.

Just a little.

Thankfully I have the ability to plan my travel and won't take a regional or anything other than the exit row.

Preferably the one with no seat in front of it.

And I'm only 5'9", so I don't know how tall people do it.

Cigar tube with wings.

I am 6'6". It is increasingly becoming more obvious that First Class may be my only reasonable option.

To me, the worst part is the airlines are flying them further and further.

When I lived in Calgary, I had to fly back to Houston approx every 6 weeks. Flew United 737s the first few times and just assumed 737s or Airbus equivalent was the smallest international jet. United's code share partner was Air Canada and their departure time worked better. Fuck me to tears! Bastards fly a regional jet on a 4.5 hour flight. It took 3 chiropractor visits to unfuck my back.

Never made that mistake again by making sure I was booked on 737s every time.