50 Hours on Airplanes

It’s that time in my family - where people start getting married and move on to the next stage of their lives. 

In March, one of my cousins was getting married in India. She lives in Singapore and flew there a week before the wedding. Her younger sister, was flying from Singapore on the same day that I was scheduled to land from New York. 

In the interest of making the week as memorable as possible, I decided to do something crazy - swap my tickets that took me from New York to Abu Dhabi to Mumbai - a mere 16 hours on a plane to a ticket that had me flying from New York to San Fransisco to Tokyo to Hong Kong to Singapore and then finally to India - a trip that kept me in transit for nearly 50 hours, just so that I could surprise her on board. 

Here’s the thing - I loved every second of it. 

I’ve been flying for well over 25 years. Flights between New York to Los Angeles are second nature and 14 hour flights feel extremely familiar. 

It helps to know the ins and outs of airline operations. It helps flying in first-class. It helps being comfortable in unknown surroundings. 

Commercial aviation has become incredibly comfortable and for someone who still glares out the window for every take off and landing, it remains one of the very few places that is awe inspiring. 

Climb on. 

Making Miracles Ordinary: The Decline of Aviation

It’s 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon and my brother and I are arguing with an American Airlines agent about transit policies for the United Kingdom. Despite being a very frequent traveler with the airline ad this route, the agent at JFK is dismissive. I eventually end up calling the executive desk at American Airlines who then summons the airport manager to resolve the issue. 

This entire process – and frustration that goes along with it takes nearly 2 hours and completely turns me off. What was supposed to start off as an amazing trip to India for a family wedding ends up starting off with extreme frustration. 

As sad as this is – American Airlines is probably the best US airline in regards to dealing with these types of disputes, especially if you are a premium passenger. Overall, most commercial airlines in the United States suffer from the same problem. 

Aviation is magical. Someone plans a trip with the intention of enjoying their destination. And while they’re thinking about the destination, the excitement starts far before that – when they are planning the trip, when they’re working out the logistics and when the arrive at the airport. 

But, today, when you get to an airport, you’re almost guaranteed to be ripped off. Many casual travelers have no choice but to put up with the frustrating policies of airlines. It starts off with the baggage policies, then it’s the TSA in the United States and then it’s the $4 bottles of water – if you are lucky. 

And that’s how most people end their vacation – dealing with the antiquated policies of airlines that are struggling to remain profitable. 

Here’s the thing – airlines and aviation in general are perhaps one of the largest drivers of innovation of our generation. 

I’ve had the great pleasure of going to bed in New York and waking up in Sydney. 

I’ve had the distinct honor of judging technology contests at 35,000 feet. 

I’ve flown in aircraft that define and then redefine luxury. 

I’m just wrapping up a 34 hour trip – door to door – and I’m writing this on a seat that becomes a bed while wearing PJs and being pampered with cologne and other premium products by the world’s best designers. 

But, I’m also fortunate that I’ve figured out how to make this all happen for me. For me, regardless of the destination, travel is still something so amazingly beautiful. The folks that I know who work in aviation are genuinely happy about how aviation connects the world. These people are friends, some are family. They want to see innovation. They still get excited when they get to visit a new country, whether it’s once a year or once a month. 

Airlines – especially in the United States – have made the process of flying such a drag that I really wish we could hit the reset button and start all over again. 

There isn’t a single person I know who wouldn’t like to be treated like a human being again on an aircraft. Aviation connects families. It reunites people. It fosters new relationships and has done more for commerce than many other forms of innovation the past few decades. 

So, to all the legacy United States carriers – let’s keep the bigger picture in mind. Let’s reinvent and redefine commercial aviation. For our sake. And especially for yours.