Flying Hits Bottom

A flight on Turkish Airlines is somewhat reminiscent of the good old days of airline travel. I took the long and cheapest way to Berlin, where a dear old friend I have been promising to visit for years lives. . .

Somewhat. The stewardesses are slim, wear white, starched blouses, skirts below the knee and hair pulled back in buns. They pass out Turkish Delight after you board; they give you an intriguing-looking tin box in which you find a pair socks, earplugs, blinders, a toothbrush and paste. They serve dinner, breakfast and free wine on the 10-hour flight to Istanbul.

However, since both Airbus and Boeing build the planes they are no more humane than any other flight to any other destination. The seats are uncomfortably narrow for anyone average height and weight. Once I sat with an obese woman’s arm in my seat from Chicago to Denver. A 6-ft-6-in. friend paid $119 for a seat in the bulkhead with extra leg room on a flight to China, but if you haven’t the money, tough luck.

This is, of course, the reason companies should not have person status. They are categorically unable to make humane decisions when they cost. More seats=more fares. Decency must be forced on most companies.

Other travelers do their fair share to make a flight miserable—bringing young children who whine and fuss all night long. The passenger in the seat next to mine drank too much free wine and threw up in my lap and all over my journal.

Of course, it doesn’t take a Critical Eye to realize that even tons of Turkish Delight, dinners and tin boxes don’t compensate for what is basically as inhumane as airline flight has become.