Travel and stress.

Travel and stress.

Travel is a stressful situation. As an international flight attendant, I served over twenty years in the travel industry.  I have seen the realities of stress on travelers firsthand. Based on the latest incidences in the travel industry, it seems like travel and stress have increased significantly.  Here are a few thoughts to reduce the stress around traveling, not only for yourself but for everyone around you.

There are many reasons why travel can be stressful. There is a financial strain associated with travel.  Air travel can be expensive and places a burden on many. At the same time, many people think of travel to get away and destress from financial situations.  The reality is that the stress relief expected at the end of the travel experience requires lots of financial planning and logistics many do not anticipate.  Many travelers have worked hard to save and plan for their trip.  Therefore, maximizing every dollar is essential to them.

As a flight attendant, I often heard many frustrated passengers claim, “I paid for this seat.”  The reality is they paid for transportation from point A to point B.  All the service received between is extra.  Even if you preselected a seat, there would be no guarantee that you will be assigned that seat.  In addition, the overhead bin above your seat is not your designated space.  It is a shared space. Hence, frustration and anger when seat selections are not honored, or there is no room in the overhead bin for carry-on luggage.

Covid has brought on the realities of reduced onboard services.  Many travelers are often taken aback by the lack of services.  Again, they assumed that what they paid for was service. This is far from the truth. When travel expectations are unrealized, this creates a stressful situation the traveler has no control over. Most frustrating is the fact that they have already paid for what they believed to be their rights. Expectations do not meet reality and they try to vent their frustrations.

Most importantly, think beyond yourself when traveling.  Those in customer service positions in the travel industry have not met you and have no personal grudges against you.  They work for the company you paid and did not personally receive your hard-earned dollars.  In most cases, they are also trying to save for the experience you are trying to have. Rules and restrictions govern them, and it is their unfortunate job to explain to you those same issues you find aggravating.

So please give grace to yourself and others when traveling.  Remember that the stress you are experiencing is often an everyday reality for the customer service personnel.  Whether they be flight attendants, gate agents, or TSA, they too are only doing the job they were hired to do.

I hope these thoughts have given you pause.  Practice kindness when traveling. It will improve the experience not only for yourself but for everyone else.

Unexpected travel experiences!

Unexpected travel experiences!

Every once in a while, travel brings some unexpected challenges. Recently my family had an unexpected travel experience. The current COVID policy with taxi services is that no passenger sits next to the driver. Therefore with 3 or more passengers an Uber XL or similar is needed. Unfortunately, this comes with third-row seating and unless you are familiar with the car you get, it is up to the driver to let the third-row passenger out of the car.

My brother, wife, and two nieces recently traveled to New York and took an Uber XL from the airport. As they arrived at the hotel, my brother, wife and one niece got out of the Uber waiting on the driver to let my other niece out of the third-row seat. As this was happening a random man jumped in the car and proceeded to carjack the Uber with my niece still inside. My quick-thinking other niece jumps back into the Uber and now both have been carjacked.

Everyone calls 911 and my brother tracking the Uber drive, jumps into a cop car with the Uber driver and the chase begins. However, the carjacker realizes he is being tracked and dumps the Uber driver’s phone. Meanwhile, my nieces are in the Uber screaming to get out, and as standard in NYC, no one pays attention. They demand to be released and the driver complies but somehow they decided they would not get out unless they had their luggage. The carjacking resumes and my nieces must have been screaming so much that the carjacker one again and stops and puts them out with their luggage. My nieces are then picked up by a pursuing cop who takes them to the precinct while the chase continues for the carjacker.

I don’t know how that chase ended but it was an unexpected trip and experience for my nieces and my family. I’ve never had anything remotely similar happen in my travel experiences. It was a reminder that in all travel we need to be vigilant and self-aware.

Have you had any unexpected travel experiences? I’d love to hear about it.

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