When talking to fellow travelers, I often find it surprisinghow many people seem to feel a disdain for smaller planes. In fact, I have met more than my fair shareof travelers who are willing to undergo longer delays or even fly out of theirway just to be on a larger plane. Itsurprises me, considering how much more exciting a small plane ride canbe. I don’t necessarily refer to thetiny ten-seaters they place you on when traveling to some middle of nowheredestination, but to anything short of a jumbo jet.
When you are taking a huge jet to your destination, thereare certainly perks. You typically getmore television choices, better entertainment options, larger meal selections,and the like. But there is no benefitthat doesn’t come without giving up something in return, and I find that theseperks simply aren’t worth all that I sacrifice to receive them. Sure, I can enjoy my choice of meats withmysterious grill marks on them to give the notion that there is a huge openflame grill at the rear of the plane, but at what cost?
When I take a vacation, the idea for me is to meet newpeople and see new things. There is nobetter way to do this than to take a smaller plane. It starts before you even board. You are placed in a small area not alwaysunlike a holding cell, where you are encouraged to chat with the other peopleherded into the group. Then, they actuallylet you walk right onto the tarmac. Youcan actually see the whole entire plane, gaining an understanding of exactlywhat you are entrusting to keep you from falling out of the sky. Try to board a jumbo jet and you are lucky tosee anything besides the door frame. Youwouldn’t even know if a wing was missing (thankfully, someone checks thesethings).
Once I have boarded the plane, I typically find myself in awindow seat (by request, of course). This gives me the chance to see the world laid out before me as I flyand gives me an out in case the person seated next to me turns out to beincredibly dull. More often than not,however, I find myself seated next to some of the friendliest people I haveever met, eager to share details of their trip or of their lives that are oftentruly fascinating.
Ultimately, travelling on smaller planes is just the way togo. I get to meet great people, neverhave to worry about getting stuck in the middle of a long aisle, and rarelyhave to wait ridiculous amounts of time before boarding or deplaning. I just park my car in the space I booked inadvance, pass through security, and get right on. I am sure there are those who prefer theimpersonal nature of the jumbo jet, but for me travel is an experience, and itall starts with making the right flight choice.
