Changed Mind
In the past, I used to think flying was a real luxury. It was something that only a few people did and a symbol of wealth. So, I dreamt about flying because I have tried all other means of transportation, except flying inside a plane, which I thought was expensive. My first time flying was back in 2017 and I documented it on the blockchain traveling Journey at Bali Island | wonderful experience. Since it was my first time flying, everything looked daunting but as time went by, I was so in love with the airport scene. Until this year, I changed my mind.
The airport scene is full of rules to follow and chaotic. Among the rules that I dreaded is that you can’t carry liquid more than 100ml, no knives, scissors in the cabin and many other rules. Interestingly, the rule is also subject to change such as these days, you can not carry more than 20000 Mah powerbank. And if you fly internationally, the immigration officers are another hassle to add. Thus far, I have no problem with them but I heard enough horror stories especially if you can't speak English. In the past, despite all the rules, after my first flight, I got addicted to flying. I ended up flying way more often than I should in 2018 to 2019 and from that, I am kind of seeing some of the worst of the worst from flying experience.
Maze-like Airport
I didn’t realize that flying is actually stressful when I flew again after a long halt of traveling. This year, I flew from an international airport in my province. It is a massive airport serving so many air plane services and also maze-like. To me, it seemed to be bigger than Changi but not too extremely exhausting such as KL airport. The first time I entered the departure area, there were about 3 checks before the actual cabin baggage check. All this, if you don’t wear comfortable clothing, is going to make you feel extremely exhausted. There’s a lot of walking inside and I swear, it’s equal to an hour workout at the gym just from departure to the waiting room. In short, I have no idea why they built the airport in such a way that we have to walk really far just to get to the waiting room.
Buggy Booking Experience
Even before that, we have to book a flight from a buggy airline website that somehow, they never upgrade it nor even try to optimize the experience. Perhaps that’s why third party providers are quite a thing because they provide a smoother booking experience than the airline's actual website. However, obviously, they come with extra costs. My recent experience with Air Asia is that they are now going mobile, so everything is done through a mobile app but again, extremely buggy.
You get what you pay service
There’s one lesson I learned, “ you get what you pay”. In Indonesia, we have one airline provider called Lion Air, my experience flying with them has never been pleasant. Sure, they have the lowest price in the market but I have experienced 8 hours delay in between transit, sudden delayed flights when I have waited for more than 2 hours in the waiting room and other experiences without proper compensation. In fact, when people think AirAsia is the cheapest, these days their service is way better than Lion Air. Air Asia is no longer the cheapest so I reckon that contributes as to why it’s more pleasant flying with them than Lion. I tried other services and if I were to rate them all, Lion is the lowest of them all.
More surprises
Did you ever experience flying with children inside a plane? Someone kicking your seat? Or just random people trying to talk to you? I’ve seen it all.
In the past, I was always on autopilot, some shots before flying and I’d be fine. But since I fly sober these days, it’s goddamn awful. I started noticing small things people do and sometimes it’s quite annoying. Not to mention, when the airplane got into the cloud and started being shaky, I started thinking about “ how can my mom access my crypto if I am gone.” If you are flying a short distance, the seat is going to be so tiny and if you’re tall, good luck thinking about having some comfort. Not to mention, some people aren’t patient enough and they are afraid they won’t get the space on the cabin baggage so they are always trying to get in first and leave first.
4 days ago when I flew back, I got a notification that my flight was delayed. I was using Air Asia which was pleasant because they told me a day prior unlike Lion which often notified on site and made me and other passengers wait inside the airport for hours. Because of my past experiences with Lion, I expect no compensation. But when I arrived at the airport, I got a meal and a snack as a form of compensation. I was quite surprised because I didn’t expect they would do that.
If I had more money, I definitely would fly a business class. Though I still can’t escape the maze-like experience, at least the other process would have been smoother. I recently found out there's a VIP lounge service across Indonesia which attempts to solve the stressful check-in experience. I probably should try them next time.
What do you think? Do you think flying is stressful or is it something pleasant? or both?
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| Mac is a jack of all trades. A typical introvert in love with literature, books, technology and philosophy. She is also so into nootropics, productivity, minimalist lifestyle, cybersecurity, and languages. Other than that, she is passionate about cooking and traveling. In her free time, she enjoys learning various things. If you like her content, don't hesitate to upvote, leave a comment or a feedback. A re-blog is also appreciated. |