Comments on: The Plane Truth

By: Paula Berger

Paula Berger — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:13:08 +0000

Yes, I do remember that the flight was freezing and I was buried in many layers before emerging midway through the flight to start a long conversation with you. I think it was BA though. You make me sound quite unappealing, so it's probably best that we've maintained all contact electronically ever since. I do have to add to this (in response to Peter Smith) that a month after this flight I met someone at the bookstore in Heathrow and he proposed to me 5 years later based on an almost exclusively electronic relationship. I didn't accept, but I seem to meet interesting people on my way to and from Heathrow.

By: paulrutherford

paulrutherford — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:48:23 +0000

Yes…thank you Jeremy. As pithy as ever.

By: Mail

Mail — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:45:07 +0000

This is my comment. My comment is my friend. It is like many other comments, but this is my comment.

By: paulrutherford

paulrutherford — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:15:17 +0000

Actually, we didn't even meet in the departure lounge. I think it was a Virgin flight, that used to have pairs of facing seats with a not-very-convincing, fan-shaped screen between them. And this woman – in a hoody with a streaming cold was sat facing me. How could I resist?

By: paulrutherford

paulrutherford — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:13:27 +0000

An entire relationship based upon a 6-hour plane ride and sundry emails and postings. Sign of the times, eh? Great to hear from you Paula

By: Peter smith

Peter smith — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:51:45 +0000

Paul / Paula “As someone who has only met you on an international airplane trip…”

Maybe you should write a whole new book on the role of the departure lounge in facilitating social media interaction in the non-virtual world?

By: Paula Berger

Paula Berger — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:12:32 +0000

As someone who has only met you on an international airplane trip, and having arrived back in the US last night from Copenhagen, I feel exceptionally well qualified to add a few tidbits here:

- If there is no line at immigration, your bags will take at least 45 minutes to arrive at baggage claim. The corollary is that if there is a long wait at immigration, your bags will have made it to the carousel in recordbreaking time and are now stored somewhere else in baggage claim so the carousel can be used for another flight.

- Never fly through CDG if you have checked bags. It is the black hole of luggage. Bags that go in virtually never come out the same day (or even week) as they went in.

- Related to the law of law of inexplicable security mentioned here, if you have to reclaim bags on arrival in the US and recheck them for a connecting flight, at least one bag (if you're traveling with colleagues or family) will not make it on the next flight.

I could probably write 100 more since I still travel internationally from the US every month, but I just got home and I'd prefer to forget...

By: Paddy Fawcett

Paddy Fawcett — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:46:03 +0000

Great Post Paul

There are probably some Gems of wisdom the frequent flyers can give. Rather than jump to your feet the minute the plane has landed reach impossibly backwards into the overhead locker and attempt to extract your luggage without dragging some invisible (and no doubt hard and pointy) ajacent luggage onto the person below, then proceed to stand in off balance weighed down by your laptop for 10 minutes – just stay seated, compose another email wait for tthe plane to clear and stroll off.

By: paulrutherford

paulrutherford — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:47:13 +0000

“The Law of Inexplicable Security” – has a certain poetry, doesn't it?

By: paulrutherford

paulrutherford — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:45:58 +0000

That's certainly added to the list – although I'll give you full credit if we're accused of being sizist