It's the paradox of modern transportation: Despite having the ability to fly to most corners of the planet -- quickly -- there is nothing that elicits more complaints than commercial air travel.
While it isn't possible to fit every airline frustration in 140 characters, many travelers are making a valiant effort. These tweets give a bird's eye view of what it's like to jet around the world in a metal tube.
Documenting the experience is not only possible, it's required.
Requisite "I am tweeting from a plane." tweet.— Chris Cresswell (@GrizwaldMusic) December 16, 2015
Even airplane services that easily have the potential to be good are disappointing in special ways:
Airline Exec1: give them fruit salad AE2: but how does that fulfill our mission to make everything the saddest? AE1: pic.twitter.com/VX85nKd8qH— Siobhan Thompson (@vornietom) December 24, 2015
Shrinking airline seats have hurt everyone, but they've hurt the tallest among us most of all.
When you are 6 foot 6 inches and sit on a plane, crushed knees and T-Rex arms are involuntary. pic.twitter.com/0HmjLcbDjk— Corey Toler (@ctoler90) November 21, 2015
Which could be an excuse for the passengers who infringe on other passengers' space -- though probably not.
Is there a kind of manspreading that describes a guy unapologetically taking both armrests on a plane? I literally have no room right now.— Torrey Barrett (@torreyb) December 5, 2015
The struggle for overhead bin space is real.
Woman who made it on the plane with 3 carry-ons: "it's an expensive bag and I don't want to put it in the overhead or on the ground." — Justin Davis (@MrJustinMDavis) January 7, 2016
Boarding a plane in 'Murica really is a slow painful experience as 170 people try and cram obscene amounts of luggage in overhead lockers.— Steve Biddle (@stevebiddle) January 3, 2016
We can connect to the Internet from 35,000 feet, but somehow it's more frustrating than awe inspiring:
Paid 8 dollars for this plane wifi and it won't even load Netflix.... — Lord Dittrich (@dittrich23) January 7, 2016
And paying a premium for the privilege of connectivity means savoring every last second of Wi-Fi.
i’m trying to get my money’s worth for this plane wifi so i’m looking up the lyrics to songs i’ll sing at karaoke— cale g weissman (@caleweissman) December 29, 2015
Even more real than the struggle for overhead bin space: The struggle to keep your devices charged.
Hey fans, My plane doesn't have outlets so I will not be live tweeting this flight in an effort to conserve battery. Thx for understanding.— Kenny Youch (@kennyyouch) January 5, 2016
We can reach out to friends and strangers on the Internet for comfort if flying is freaking us out.
What do you do about anxiety on the plane? Spend too much for wifi and tweet nonsense.— Anastasia F. Warren (@anastasiafwa) December 28, 2015
But we treat the people actually around us like they're the absolute worst.
Guy next to me on plane asked what I'm writing. Said I'm writing about him, his virus and the pandemic he is going to start.— Jake Vig (@Jake_Vig) January 5, 2016
The urge to go online is so strong that not paying for in-flight Wi-Fi is no deterrent. How many people shared their thoughts after a flight when there was no option of Internet?
Here's all my thoughts that could've been tweets if I paid for wifi on the plane yesterday. pic.twitter.com/REO15bkfk2— Chloe Meghan (@Chloeee79) December 14, 2015
Subtweeting fellow airline passengers is passé.
People who clap when the plane lands are the worse. Yes, I'm sub-tweeting about you row 14.— Austin Bessey (@austinB26) December 19, 2015
But the potential to go viral is too strong to resist.
There's a woman on my plane flying with an Emotional Support Dog. That's some BS right there. An Emotional Support Dog??— Al Hughes Dukes (@Alsboringtweets) January 2, 2016