Over the years, I’ve traveled well beyond five million miles, utilizing countless airlines. Naturally, there’s some variation among flights, but generally, things run quite smoothly, and not much takes me by surprise.
Of course, certain flights leave a more lasting impression than others. I often compile lists of what I deem my best flight experiences, but in this post, I thought it would be entertaining to perhaps recount some of the worst flight experiences I’ve encountered over the years.
This list focuses on flights that were memorable for negative reasons, rather than simply being disappointing as anticipated. In other words, it won’t include flights where I took economy on an ultra-low-cost carrier and faced limited legroom.
In fact, I’m not even including many of the unusual and uncomfortable experiences I’ve had that could unsettled a typical traveler, such as engine failures, lightning strikes, fatalities onboard, or passengers being escorted off flights in handcuffs. I’m also excluding experiences like Air India first class or Pakistan International Airlines business class, which are notorious for being below par, so I came in with minimal expectations.
Longtime OMAAT readers might recall some or all of these. So without further ado, in no particular order…
### My Royal Jordanian nightmare
In March 2013, I flew Royal Jordanian’s A330 business class on what was supposed to be a routine fifth freedom flight from Bangkok (BKK) to Hong Kong (HKG), and it turned out to be the most terrifying flight of my life.
Severe weather, lightning strikes, turbulence, etc., typically don’t faze me, but I’d never experienced anything like this before. We spent about 30 minutes circling at a low altitude in what can only be described as the worst weather I’ve ever faced.
If you’ve watched Air Crash Investigation, this segment of the flight felt like a scene straight out of that series. I can’t even articulate the level of turbulence; hail was pounding the fuselage, and the cabin was eerily quiet, aside from passengers praying and weeping. Some of the flight attendants were in the jump seats, visibly distressed.
It’s difficult to convey, but it was the only moment in my life when I genuinely thought I wasn’t going to make it through a flight. When the plane finally landed in Hong Kong, I was literally in tears (as were many other passengers). One of the business class attendants was in the cockpit throughout the landing. Besides her makeup being smeared across her face (as if she had been crying), she mentioned how the captain said it would be his last flight. I suspect that wasn’t entirely serious, but it certainly wasn’t a joke either…
Following that flight, I developed a fear of flying, and for much of the rest of the year, I was terrified every time I boarded a plane. Thankfully, I eventually overcame it, but I hope I never experience a flight like that again.
### TAAG Angola Airlines’ first class “experience”
I enjoy trying out new airlines, and in March 2018, I was excited to fly TAAG Angola Airlines’ 777 first class from Luanda to Sao Paulo. Unfortunately, shortly after boarding, the purser became very anxious about my photography, to the extent that he confrontationally approached me and demanded I delete all my photos. He even insisted on inspecting both my camera roll and phone notes, getting the captain involved.
The entire scenario was incredibly awkward, and on top of that, the service was quite poor. For instance, when I woke up in the morning, I wasn’t greeted with a smile or asked how I had slept. Instead, I was reprimanded: “Why did you sleep for so long? We only have 30 minutes; you need to eat quickly. I’m giving you 10 minutes.” I hadn’t even requested breakfast!
Meanwhile, the TAAG staff seated in first class enjoyed excellent service, for the record…
### Lufthansa purser accuses me of recording the crew
I’m an introvert who doesn’t appreciate conflict and tries to avoid making others uncomfortable. In January 2018, I flew Lufthansa’s A320 business class from Zurich to Frankfurt, and during the crew’s safety demonstration, they abruptly halted and exchanged a few words.
I found this peculiar and wondered what was happening. Then the purser came over and accused me of filming the crew. That was completely false and unfounded — I don’t take pictures of people. She argued with me for a bit, and then I insisted on showing her my camera roll to prove I hadn’t done that.
Instead of apologizing for the misunderstanding, she simply walked away. I felt embarrassed and extremely uncomfortable. When she later came around to serve me