So... I've read that Air Canada is now allowing pets (cats and dogs) on to passenger cabins during flights. I presume they'll arrange seats to accommodate anyone with allergies. While I accept having to sit beside crying babies and toddlers, as a non-pet person I'm much less willing to accept pets and potentially barking dogs.
There was a time when the mere thought of having to make trans-Atlantic or -Pacific flights twice a year would not have irritated me. That time is long gone, squeezed out of my system by cramped seats, security, and airport delays. Traveling by plane used to be an adventure... when I was eight. Since then it's been more something needing to be endured and suffered in order to get to my destination. The single best thing about moving back to North America? Not having to endure more than five hours per flight.
I could make a list of all the things that irritate and annoy me about flying but they all can be distilled in to the same issue, stress. Flying is stressful. I've posted before about some of my pitiful experiences with various airlines. The cost of a ticket, overbooking, missed transfers, long lines, security, immigration, cramped quarters and more, all contribute. I wish airlines would do more to alleviate that stress, in the name of humanitarianism if nothing else.
I've read that British Airways recently asked its employees to volunteer to work for a month without pay, and I gather many airlines are still having trouble staying out of the red after 9/11 and the more recent increase in fuel prices last (?) year. So... it's not easy for everyone involved, airlines included. I just wish that the airlines' solution to all their financial woes didn't feel so much like trying to stuff ever more sardines into a tin can.
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