Squished for 12 Hours
May. 24th, 2025 06:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerItaly Travelog #2
Flying SFO-FCO - Saturday, 24 May 2025, ??am
One of the least exciting things about overseas travel is flying to and from. I mean, it's novel the first time. And an occasional upgrade to international first class sure can feel special. But the rest of the time, riding in the back of the plane, it's just drudgery.
Now, United Airlines isn't the worst carrier to fly, at least for us. One benefit of my lifetime status is free access to Economy Plus seating. It's like regular economy but with a few extra inches of legroom. That sure helps, though what would also help was if United hadn't refitted their 777 aircraft several years ago to cram in 10 seats across instead of just 9. Now hip- and shoulder room are tight.
This trip I couldn't even score an aisle seat. I was in a middle. When we booked 6 weeks ahead, middles were all that was available. And not even two middles together, just scattered middles. This is similar to when I chose not to fly United to New York City a few months ago. When only middles are left at booking time, I'll consider another airline. Alas, my other favorite airline doesn't fly to Europe, so here I am on United. And Hawk is here, too, but a few rows away.
My row of 4 seats across is like a who's-who of people you don't want to share a row with on an airplane. I'm kind of tall, 6'1", and definitely overweight. I am the shortest person in my row. And the 6'5" guy next to me is holding a baby. A baby that spent the entire boarding process crying for his mama. By the time he was done crying his face was literally half covered in snot. At least his mama, in another row, is holding him most of the time. Because the kid sure hates daddy.
Oh, and my TV screen doesn't work. ...No problem; I was planning to watch movies through the app on my iPad. Except the United app is crashing every 3 minutes. And when I restart it, it totally forgets where I was in my movie. Actually, it doesn't totally forget... it somehow remembers where I was in a movie I watched two months ago and helpfully cues that one up for me. 🙄
It's going to be a long flight.
Flying SFO-FCO - Saturday, 24 May 2025, ??am
One of the least exciting things about overseas travel is flying to and from. I mean, it's novel the first time. And an occasional upgrade to international first class sure can feel special. But the rest of the time, riding in the back of the plane, it's just drudgery.
Now, United Airlines isn't the worst carrier to fly, at least for us. One benefit of my lifetime status is free access to Economy Plus seating. It's like regular economy but with a few extra inches of legroom. That sure helps, though what would also help was if United hadn't refitted their 777 aircraft several years ago to cram in 10 seats across instead of just 9. Now hip- and shoulder room are tight.
This trip I couldn't even score an aisle seat. I was in a middle. When we booked 6 weeks ahead, middles were all that was available. And not even two middles together, just scattered middles. This is similar to when I chose not to fly United to New York City a few months ago. When only middles are left at booking time, I'll consider another airline. Alas, my other favorite airline doesn't fly to Europe, so here I am on United. And Hawk is here, too, but a few rows away.
My row of 4 seats across is like a who's-who of people you don't want to share a row with on an airplane. I'm kind of tall, 6'1", and definitely overweight. I am the shortest person in my row. And the 6'5" guy next to me is holding a baby. A baby that spent the entire boarding process crying for his mama. By the time he was done crying his face was literally half covered in snot. At least his mama, in another row, is holding him most of the time. Because the kid sure hates daddy.
Oh, and my TV screen doesn't work. ...No problem; I was planning to watch movies through the app on my iPad. Except the United app is crashing every 3 minutes. And when I restart it, it totally forgets where I was in my movie. Actually, it doesn't totally forget... it somehow remembers where I was in a movie I watched two months ago and helpfully cues that one up for me. 🙄
It's going to be a long flight.
