My flight from Barcelona to London was cancelled, so they had to book me on the next flight and the only seat available was a middle seat. I had a man on one side and a woman on the other side. Both of them were regular size people. After we all sat down, I said, “and we are not getting up again.” The guy by the window said, “I may need to pee at some point.” The woman and I gave him a look of “that ain’t happening.” It was a 2 hour flight and the guy didn’t have anything to drink.
I had to cancel my flight on TAP a week ago because of an unexpected business trip. The flight was from Barcelona to JFK, with a connection through Lison. I was surprised that Expedia would refund money back to my credit card, but they said TAP had 200 penalty for cancellation. Instead of charging me 200 they took out 400 because they said it was 2 flights. I said it was crazy because it was booked as one trip with a stopover.
I am not short (5’7" female) but I prefer aisle seats and have been slugged in the face by backpacks several times. I have seen people board with the backpack on front and it seems to prevent that from happening.
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Surely your employer will reimburse you.
No, they are paying for my trip back home. I had paid for a business class ticket and they are also paying for a business class ticket. I am still ahead, but I just thought it was strange that Expedia had me pay 2 penalties when I had purchased it as one trip.
I agree. Airlines should have a policy that backpacks should be worn in front especially once inside planes. This puts the responsibility of keeping others safe on the pack’s owners.
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@oldfort, I would complain if I were hit with 2 penalties for one flight as you were. That just doesn’t seem right.
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Just bought the Cotopaxi Allpa 28 L Del Dia- I’m 5 ft tall and traveling American domestic in a week. Found it of all places in a small mountain town store- they had 4 colors- so magenta. D is same size as me and has a 35 L she says fits her. But I know me- I need a smaller version.
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@rockymtnhigh2 — were you able to try out the backpack before purchasing? It’s a very nice bag but I’m a wimp and really rarely carry much on my back. Seems to have some nice features and pockets.
Wow, seems inappropriate. I’ve never had a stranger on an airplane tell me I wouldn’t be allowed to get up if I needed to. If I did I’m sure one of the flight attendants would ensure I could do it if necessary.
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I have the 50L now (to be returned). I ordered the 35 and 42, plus a Thule bag and a Patagonia bag. Hopefully husband and I will both find something we like from those choices.
100 percent agree with you I generally choose a window seat for my own reasons. I guarantee I get up to pee, usually at 30 minutes before landing, just prior to descent. This is because the one time I didn’t, we got stuck on the tarmac and no one was allowed to use the restroom. I was desperate and asked again. They said no. I told them they had two choices: let me get up to pee or they don’t let me and the would have an unusable seat on the next flight. They let me go.
Ever since that flight I go just before descent. And I’m sorry but, no, the person in the middle or aisle are not going to tell me I can’t get up!
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Yes I tried it on with fitting the buckles and pulls. Very light weight. D2 just used hers for a week trip to Spain. I am used to carrying a backpack on the plane but I carry my phone and credit cards on me in my pants pocket.
They sell Cotopaxi merchandise at REI and a lot of outback stores in addition to their own stores (the closest one is 4 hrs away).
This made me lol. I do the same but at 45mins before landing on every flight over 2 hours!
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And this is why I prefer the aisle seat! I can get up easily if needed.
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Just returned from the SW to the NE. Originally booked to fly in yesterday but after reviewing the weather and flight options, chose to come back on Saturday. Had a stopover in Denver and my flight to the east coast was cancelled due to mechanical difficulties. Got on another flight in a different terminal, which was first delayed by 45 minutes then by another 2 hours. Found another flight, back to the original terminal, and got on the standby list. Luckily, got on that flight and got home only 3 hours after my original arrival time.
My friends are still stuck. Not sure when they are getting back.
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That’s considerate of you.
I try not to unnecessarily impose on others too. I remember I always booked a seat on the aisle when I was pregnant.
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My daughter used the Osprey Fairview 55 for almost two weeks touring Italy by train, and never regretted her choice.
My strong suggestion is to spend two hours at an outdoor store that has a broad selection of brands and styles. The Osprey had not been on the radar, but after trying quite a few bags for fit (their height vs. width on her small/narrow frame, carrying comfort), how to access various features on the bag while test-carrying it on her back, opening up different bags on the floor to get sense of the compartment organization and what “liters” meant in practical terms - she slowly started to eliminate other candidates. In her case she decided that Osprey bag was well thought out, and that the detachable day pack was a great option (which she ended up using all the time while sightseeing).
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Depends upon the cost-benefit calculus and the tightness of my schedule. I will sometimes have to take an overnight flight to Europe and meet that day (though I’m never happy about that) but I do try to leave a few hours before meetings in case the flight is delayed. I will also fly in the morning from the East Coast to LAX or SFO for a late afternoon meeting or dinner (though I will usually have work the next day or two as well).
However, if I really can’t afford to miss the meeting or if it would be very costly to do so, I will fly in the day before. Plus, if I need a day to acclimatize (read adjust a bit for jet lag) before getting to work, I am tempted to come a day early. Even then, I can’t always do so.
Well, my DH and I just came back from London. We had quite an experience. We were flying American Airlines from Memphis to Charlotte to London Heathrow. Well, the flight from Memphis was delayed because of severe weather in Charlotte. It got to be so bad that we were going to miss the flight to London. (This was an overnight flight.) So, our wonderful AA gate agent booked us on a 5:45 AM flight to Chicago. He gave us confirmed seats on an evening flight to London, but put us on the standby list for an 8:45 AM flight to London. However, there was only one open seat on that flight at the time. Our luggage stayed on the flight to Charlotte.
We could not find a hotel anywhere in Memphis, so we slept in our car in the airport parking garage. My husband slept a bit, but I could not. Oh, there was some loud music blaring in the garage all night. We get up, check in and catch the flight to Chicago. It was a bit late and by the time we got off of the plane we had 50 minutes to catch the flight that we might be able to catch. We run. DH actually ran. I broke my ankle 15 years ago and really can’t do that very well. I sent him ahead. We were 2 concourses away. I get to the gate and we are first and second on the standby list, and there were others behind us, so we made the flight!! We didn’t get to sit together, but got close.
We actually got to London about 12 hours after our original flight would have. We had no luggage but our carry on, so we had to get that all straightened out with American. We were fortunately staying at an Air B&B so we had a washer and dryer available. We got to where we were staying about midnight. We received our luggage at 6 PM the next day. I never got mad, I just laughed.
Thank you American Airlines gate agent for getting us to London!! He was just great!!
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