theres nothing more lonely than a airport...

[Taverner]

...on a multi leg business trip. you're not going home, and you're not leaving home - just going from one anonymous american city to another

[gkhouston]

1. my husband has an old T-shirt: "Somewhere in America I'm flying

and I don't remember where."

Sorry if you're in transit, and hope you get "home" soon. :hug:

[NewWaveChick1981]

2. You need some exciting people to talk to.

Like DUers. ;) :hi: I know what you mean, though.

[trof]

3. But a GREAT people watching place.

[LaraMN]

4. Sure there is.

There are lots of things that are even more lonely. Speedy travels to you, nonetheless.

[soleft]

5. think of the air miles!

[Parche]

6. AIRPORT

Airports are awesome places, I could be there all day watching the planes land and take off
what a beautiful sight to see!!!!

[cobalt1999]

7. I don't agree with that.

I'm on the road constantly for work (in a hotel right now). Airports have become almost a second home over the years and I still find them interesting.

I laugh seeing the people yelling at the agents whenever there is a delay or a problem (like THAT is going to work).

I enjoy the novice travelers who are always confused by security, boarding, stowing bags, when to use electronic devices...I just smile and shake my head...they're sooo lost sometimes (Why can't I bring my 3 gallon jug of bargain shampoo through security!?!).

I enjoy giving compliments to the agents/attendants especially on those bad weather days when everyone has been yelling at them for hours...some just light up like they needed it and I hope I've made their day a little easier.

There are the old people that ALWAYS want to talk during the entire flight and tell great stories (sat next to an original Flying Tigers pilot a few weeks ago).

There are the nervous & "scared to fly ones" that need distracting (one woman handed me her baby during the takeoff roll so she could "hold on").

There are other the road warriors that you nod acknowledgment to and never say anything to as if there is some unwritten mutual understanding of your experiences.

Watching other passengers during bad weather flights and turbulence is very entertaining. I always tell my wife that if my plane ever craters in, don't worry about my last moments because I'll be too entertained watching the reactions around me.

[Blue-Jay]

9. Fellow road warrior checking in.

I enjoy airports. For some reason, many people in airports like to talk (even when I'm trying to enjoy a book!) It could be because they're scared of flying, or maybe they're empowered by the anonymity of chatting with a stranger (much like the internet, eh?).

[cobalt1999]

10. Oh yes, the talkers...

Excitement, fear, anonymity, whatever it is, but you can spot them a mile away. Headphones are my greatest defense. Even if I don't have the ipod playing, I sometimes put them on just to read in peace. Sometimes I just go with the flow and see what they have to say. My funniest exchange was waiting to leave the gate on a Trans-Atlantic flight next to some businesswoman.

<exchange a few pleasantries>
Me: "Since we'll be eating dinner together and sleeping together, why don't you tell me something about yourself no one else knows."
Her: <pausing, thinking about it> "I buy vibrators over the internet and my husband has no idea"
Me: <spitting my wine out over myself> What!
Her: Oh yes, I've got one in my purse right now.
Me: <spitting more wine>

The conversation got a little weird after that, but it passed the time quite nicely.

[Blue-Jay]

12. That's hilarious!

I once helped a young lady (20-something) compose an entry for her website. She flew from Orlando after meeting up with her high school sweetie and found out that he wasn't as wonderful as she had hoped he would be. Go figure.

I use the headphone trick too most of the time.

[fudge stripe cookays]

15. I had a very cool seatmate a few years ago...

I had to fly from Dallas to Houston out of Love Field a month after September 11, so everyone was already nervous.

The weather was HORRIBLE. Thunderstorms everywhere, and they had to keep delaying and canceling flights. People were getting really cranky. I was flying Southwest (which I never do anymore since all my miles are on American), so it was like cattle trying to FINALLY board this plane.

My seatmate and I exchanged pleasantries, and I told him how much I hated flying when it was like that, the turbulence and all. And that I hated being in the clouds-- I got claustrophobic. This guy talked to me the entire flight! And not about anything important! It was really funny. Any time we had a pause in conversation and I started to turn toward the window, he'd ask me another question to get my attention.

When we got to Hobby, we circled for what seemed like EVER. We finally got ready to land, were just about ready to touch down, and then suddenly, the flight went STRAIGHT UP, practically vertically.

"WIND SHEAR...." I said, terrified. I had just finished reading a book about the Delta flight that crashed in Dallas in 1985.

"No," he said, "Everything's fine. They probably were using the wrong runway or something."

"Sorry folks," the captain came on the loudspeaker, "We had some windshear on the runway..." :scared:

We circled a couple more times, and weren't able to land. We finally had to divert to Austin, and I got off there. I found out later there had been a tornado touch down in Pasadena, and we'd flown VERY close to it! :scared:

But I'm still glad that guy kept me calm, or I would have been a COMPLETE basket case that entire flight.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. I love airports, love flying.

It's always interesting. The people-watching is the best anywhere. When I was in college (way back before all the Security Kabuki Theatre kicked in), we'd go to the airport just to hang out and watch airplanes take off and people do weird shit. People are still doing weird shit at airports, and it can be really entertaining to watch. I also enjoy watching airplanes taking off and landing, if I'm not actually flying in them, which is even better. Nothing more fun than a takeoff in a lightly-loaded Boeing 757-200 on a cold day.

[Redstone]

11. Perhaps the #1 reason why I'm glad I'm not in the electronics business anymore...

Excellent, and true, observation.

Redstone

[Hibernias Daughter]

13. I know what you mean

I recently read somewhere that the smaller your community, the more likely you are to interact with your neighbors... Vice-Versa, the denser the population, then it becomes less likely that you will interact with or even know your neighbors.

When I was young I loved that anonymity. But now I see that it's kind of nice to know you have people who care. In an airport there is almost none of that. It's just a sea of faces.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

14. Well

at least you have WI-Fi

[L A Woman]

16. I always feel lonely in airports...

it reminds me that I am single with no children. :-) Sometimes it makes me glad that I have no children! And I usually travel alone, going back east for this or that. Last week, I went home for Thanksgiving and it made me feel lonely to see all the families traveling together. :-(

Anyway, at least the airport in Columbus, OH has free wi-fi throughout. Can't say the same for LAX!!!