I was 25 and it was first time flying. I know, I’m
slightly sheltered. If you could only comprehend how sick my dad gets when he
flies. Or drives. Or rides on a bus. Honestly, it’s a miracle we went anywhere.
But I digress.
I was more concerned about saving money because I didn't
know what else to plan for. Now I know that I’m willing to pay extra for a
non-stop flight via Delta Airlines, rather than another company with stops. The
issue, I’ve found, with American Airlines, is that even though you are able to “request”
seats on the plane, it is most definitely not set in stone. If we were willing
to pay an extra $30-ish each, we could have changed seats to sit by each other,
but we decided we didn't want to waste the money. I had picked two seats
together in the middle of the plane with one seat next to the window. Instead,
for my first flight ever, I sat next to two complete strangers (who ended up
being really nice), in an aisle seat, with my husband 4 rows ahead (also in an
aisle seat). Not only was my seat in the aisle, it was also one of “those”
seats. You know, if the plane has problems and you have to evacuate, because
you’re sitting in that particular seat, you are assigned to open your emergency
exit and get everyone to safety?! Oh boy. I was not expecting that. I didn't
want that responsibly, and even though it’s possible to switch if you don’t
want to or can’t do the job, I figured it would be much too embarrassing to
make a fuss.
As for the actual flight… it is so much louder than I
expected. So loud. I told my seat-mates this and they explained that it was
because our seats were right above the engine. Apparently I got the worst seat
ever (for a first-time flyer). Guh. I also discovered that while I love take-off,
I hate landing. By the time I found
Travis when we dropped down in Texas, I figured I was done with flying for
forever.
We flew out of Salt Lake International in the late
afternoon. I had heard – and still constantly hear—o f the nightmare of not
having a long enough layover. I chose the cheaper American Airlines tickets
with one stop at the Dallas Fort Worth airport. I heard it was a large airport
so I planned a decent layover so we wouldn't have to rush. I may have overshot
the amount of time we would need, but we didn't mind. There are tons of shops and restaurants at DFW to
keep one entertained. We walked around. I bought a belt buckle (because it’s
Texas and because I’m cool like that). We ate at TGI Fridays for the first
time. By the time we were done, we only had to wait 20 or so minutes before we
had to board.
Right when we landed at DFW, we found our gate for the
flight to Baltimore. We talked to the lady at the counter to see if she knew if
we were actually sitting together for the second half of our trip. She,
apparently, was having a bad day and was more than annoyed about us asking.
After apologizing for bugging her, she softened and said she would get the
seating arrangement as soon as possible. Bless her, because she not only put us
together, but she put me by a window so I could actually see. One thing to note
though - our gate # had changed by the time we got back from eating, so it was
good that we weren’t rushed to find our new boarding location.
(A seemingly stupid side note – but just in case you didn't
know either: When you have a flight with stops, the airline automatically moves
your luggage to your next plane. You don’t need to find the luggage carousel
until you reach your final destination.)
We arrived at Baltimore Washington International that
night. I actually liked that flight. And I liked landing at night (it’s
slightly less terrifying for me when I can’t see if I’m about to die). We found
our luggage pretty easily because of our cool duct tape handle trick. We called
our friend Della when we waiting for our luggage, told her what terminal we
flew into, and she was there waiting by the time we walked out. She lives about
10 minutes from the airport, so it was an easy pickup.
Even though the 5 ½ hour non-stop flight home was longer,
it was so much better. Delta Airlines is fantastic, and when you pick seats
online, you’re picking them officially. We missed our first flight home and had
to wait another day, but that’s not Delta’s fault. That’s a story and with some
much needed advice that’s coming up another day.
Other thoughts:
- I took tons of stuff to entertain myself on the plane. The only thing I ended up using was my iPad. Don’t over pack.
- (Another stupid one): The drinks on the flight are free. I chose a Sprite. I got it and then decided it would be a bad idea to drink the whole thing because I did NOT want to have to use the bathroom on the plane (I know, I’m weird). The flight attendant didn't ever ask to take my drink since it was only half gone, and I didn't want to have to track anyone down to take my garbage. There are no cup holders. I ended up holding it for the whole flight to Texas. If you hate peeing and/or hate bugging people, just keep that in mind.
- We got an even better deal on tickets by purchasing them through Priceline instead of the actual airlines. The downside to this is that if you purchase tickets from sites like Expedia, Priceline, etc., if you miss your flight you lose the money you put into the ticket. If you buy from the airline company directly, they can just put you on another flight for free or for a small charge. Trust me when I say that it is so worth it to buy directly from the airline.
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