37 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: "The View through the Airplane Window"
|
|
date: 2023-11-07T17:34:55-07:00
|
|
description: "Why do they make me choose a seat? What happens if I don't?"
|
|
tags: ["travel", "thoughts"]
|
|
showTableOfContents: true
|
|
weight: 1
|
|
type: "post"
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
I fly fairly frequently from where I live now to my hometown. It's a convenient trip because there
|
|
are two conveniently located mini-boss sized airports close to both places. The (un)fortunate thing
|
|
about mini-boss sized airports is that they only attract the budget airline offerings. When you
|
|
purchase flights through these low-spec'd airlines, they try and swindle you by charging you for
|
|
making choices, like do you want to bring any bags? How about choose a seat to sit in the plane?
|
|
At first, I thought choosing a seat was part of the fare: these slippery execs won't let me fly unless
|
|
I have a boarding pass AND a seat ticket! I've learned however, that it is a false choice.
|
|
|
|
I take the high (cheap) road and choose nothing, which means they pick a seat for me. Which means I
|
|
sit above the turbines every flight, my window looks out at the wing.
|
|
I am led to believe that these mid-range seats are picked
|
|
least often, so I wonder, why are these seats of no apparent distinguishing quality least often
|
|
selected by the 'selectors'? If you want seats closer to the front, but dont want to front the bill,
|
|
you're in luck! Selecting the back of the plane is more expensive than not choosing a seat, and your
|
|
odds have to be impossibly better that you'll sit closer to the front by abstaining from seat selection.
|
|
|
|
But I'm not complaining, nor do I wish people would have different airline decision-making habits.
|
|
I feel privileged to sit in view of the wing: I watch it move a surprising amount during flights, which
|
|
could very well be troubling to the anxious or weary traveler, but to me, I find it satisfying. I
|
|
watch the slightest shift of an aeleron send the whole plane in a calculated, soft roll. I imagine
|
|
my arm as the wing: extending out the side of the plane. It reminds me of sticking my hand out the
|
|
window while driving to feel the force of the wind against my palm, turning a once invisible
|
|
everpresent essence into a carvable, ridable rush of energy. Watching the wing wobble a bit gives
|
|
the plane a little more mortality, I feel a little more of the rush and terror of flight.
|
|
|
|
So thank you, mini-boss C-suite for giving me the view through the window everytime I fly without a seat.
|