Travels

How much will you pay for comfort?  That seems to be the calculation used by every airline and car service I've encountered this summer. 

Lyft offers an upcharge for a roomier, somewhat more special in an unspecified way, ride to the airport.  I'm small, have no trouble getting into any vehicle, and I travel light.  There's no attraction for me there.  

However, if they offered a clever driver option, like the Russian speaking gentleman who transported me to SFO, I'd pay just a little bit more to have that ride through neighborhoods and roads I'd never traversed, avoiding the inevitable traffic jam through the city and the park, and using Google translate to agree that moving was much better than standing still.  It was a delightful slice of what America is all about,  (I tipped well.)

But the airlines are another story.  For the two hour flight to the Bay area, I can feel comfortable in any size aisle or window seat.  I can't see over the top the the seat in front of me no matter where I am in the plane, nor do my feet reach the floor.  Leg room is not an issue.  

TBG's frame is unhappily squished in the small amount of room between his knees and the tray table.  He can suck it up for two hours on the aisle; anything longer moves from uncomfortable to torture.  Exit row charges translate to mobility the next day.  I'm happy to pay.

It seems that no matter when I travel, the price of a ticket to San Francisco or Oakland is pretty much the same $250ish.  Flying to South Bend is another story entirely.  

Little Cuter and I live near two small airports.  Unfortunately, the only direct flight to hers leaves from another small airport, about 2 hours away.  It's on Allegiant Air.  They fly out on Wednesday at 8am and return on Monday at 11pm (which is 2am South Bend time).  

It's rarely worth the effort.  But I stumbled upon a deal where two tickets sold out of Mesa for less than the price of one ticket out of Tucson, I booked the flights.  I forgot that we vowed never again the last time we did this.  

The morning flight gets us in for half a day with the kiddos; we do just fine with an early alarm.  The plane wasn't full; we shared the three seats pretty comfortably.  The way home was a different matter.  It left South Bend at 9:30pm. We were pretty tired already. The flight was completely full. 

For more than 4 hours I groaned in a middle seat that did not recline, leaning on TBG's shoulder as he tried to maneuver himself into something approximating a comfortable position.  The perfectly sized woman in the window seat kept to herself.  There were many adorable little children, one with flashing lights on her headphones.  There was a large labradoodle service dog.  There was an emergency (Is there a medical professional on board?  We need your assistance immediately!) and a stretcher to remove the patient when we landed. 

It was agony.  Sleep was beyond elusive.  It was a far fetched dream.  As yesterday turned into today, I was too tired to yawn.  We slept in a comfortable hotel bed 3 minutes from the airport, had lovely check in and breakfast experiences, and used an app to unlock the door, which thrilled me immensely.  There was no traffic in Phoenix and we were home and unpacked and ready to nap by 10am.

Was having the extra funds to lavish upon my family worth scrunching myself like a sardine?  Was avoiding changing planes and a 2 hour layover in DFW a wise choice?  There's probably no such thing as a comfortable middle seat on any airline.  

Would I do it again?  Probably.