Preferred Seating

A few weekends ago I went to visit my mom in Florida. She is the quintessential snowbird. Happy to be in Florida in the winter and happy to be back home in New York in the summer. Her Florida residence is in a remote little town in the middle of the state. Orange groves as far as the eye can see. Her little neighborhood is lovely, but for me, boring. She has her friends, her clubs and her projects. I always try to plan a day trip to somewhere cool or exciting when I visit. One time we went to the Everglades. That was cool AND exciting.

I used to fly into Orlando, rent a car and drive the 2+ hours to Mom. I have since changed my tune. Here’s the story:

Orlando. Great airport. Beautiful really. Lots of lovely shops, restaurants and places to sit. But it’s Orlando. Who flies into Orlando? Think about it. What’s in Orlando. Oh yes. Disney. I hate Disney (see older post). Disney is actually outside of Orlando but no matter. At any given time the Orlando airport is filled with families. And kids. Lots of kids. Happy kids. Unhappy kids. SCREAMING kids. And thus, flights going to and from Orlando are filled with families and kids. Lots of kids….

Don’t get me wrong. I love kids. I was an elementary/middle school music teacher for over 30 years. Kids are the best. Just not on a flight.

I understand families need to fly. That’s a given. I would love a flight that’s restricted to kids 10 years old and older or no kids at all. I suppose that’s what first and business classes are all about. Man, there’s nothing worse than a child screaming because their ears are in a panic due to the plane descending. I know. It happens to me too. But when you are flying at an extremely high altitude, coming down takes a while (trans-Atlantic especially). I’ve been on migraine induced flights due to screaming children.

So I took a chance and booked my flight into Ft. Myers. I figured that this is not Disney and therefore limited children on board. Boy was I ever wrong. On both descents-Ft. Myers and Boston, there were screaming kids galore. Fortunately for me, my ears were so clogged I barely heard them. Unfortunately for me, it was the beginning of a weeklong cold.

So, until I can save up enough points to upgrade, I guess I’m stuck. Time to invest in some really good earplugs.

By the way, Fort Myers is a lovely little airport. I had a nice salad in a tropical restaurant. Stayed completely to plan. Go me!

Feb. 15, 2012