February break is coming up soon and a lot of us are planning to use the opportunity to go somewhere by plane. We all tend to put our  experiences into different categories, and here’s some of mine when it comes to this type of travel:

Most romantic plane ride: Robert and I were traveling to Puerto Rico on our first plane ride together.  I made a comment about my office’s pool for a mega lottery. Robert held my hand, looked into my eyes and told me that he had already won the lottery.

Most frightening plane ride:  I was on a plane with my children’s father. We were laughing about something and, all of a sudden, oxygen masks shot down in front of us and a recorded message boomed with instructions on how to put the masks on.   I went from happy to terrified in a split second. It turned out that an attendant had accidentally pressed against the wrong button, but my stomach lurches anytime I think of this experience.

Most exciting plane ride: On the way to Hong Kong from JFK, Robert and I flew over the North Pole. It was daylight there, and I could easily make out the amazing landscape below.

Most annoying plane ride: It was April 1st in 1982, and I was traveling with my Dad to Belgium on the way to Athens, Greece. We were seated in a center row on the boundary of the smoking section of the plane. I had to travel for over 8 hours engulfed in cigarette smoke with no leg room because of a metal bar situated underneath the seat in front of me. I had a  man on my left who kept trying to use my shoulder as a pillow. The chair in front of me was pushed all the way back into my face.

But wait, I’ve saved the best for last! As we were starting our descent, the pilot announced that, because of bad weather, we were going to have to land in Luxembourg.  I was, of course, really worried as to how we were going to make our connection. As I frantically tried to figure out what to do, I heard the pilot speak in French and then in English “April Fool’s Day!”

We’d love to hear about some of your air travel experiences.