I Love Airports

The following is a post by Fleet’s Director of Sales, Jennifer Forde, who is helping many learn how to enjoy airports again.

Dirty little secret… I LOVE AIRPORTS! I know that sounds strange, as most people see them as a morass of long lines, delays, lost luggage and irate travelers.  Of course, all these plagues are legitimate problems and they are becoming terminal, I’m afraid.  Yet, regardless of the frustrations I often encounter when flying, as I arrive at the airport I am filled with a sense of excitement and wonder.

When I was a small child, my father traveled extensively for his international finance job, and my mother and I either accompanied him or hopped aboard a plane to meet him in some exotic locale. By age three, my passport had more stamps than many will collect in a lifetime.

Perhaps it was that every time we arrived at the airport my mother treated each trip as a new adventure. Maybe it was that I was simply a child excited that we were going to meet daddy. Collecting a shiny set of wings for each trip was a pretty big deal for me back then, too. Whatever the reason, when we would pull up to the curb and they came to check our bags, I could feel the energy in the air.  Why were so many people heading in so many different directions all at once? I was small, but I recognized then that I was part of a much bigger world, full of possibility and promise. These great big planes were my chariots in the sky. I could go anywhere! I could do anything!

Of course, the day came when evil turned something wondrous into a vessel of destruction, not only altering the skyline of our city, but the way we took to the sky, as well.  I traveled internationally shortly after 9-11, and while the excited hum was still present in the air, it was a fearful energy.  It was no longer a feeling that the airport could grant access to the world, but that it could let the rest of the world in as well, for better and for worse.

The security measures and restrictions have understandably increased exponentially since that September. Every adjustment brings longer lines, reduced amenities and increased fees and surcharges.  We have irritated passengers paying for bags, standing around barefoot and beltless, while they wait to be x-rayed before their overbooked flights are inevitably delayed. Sure, this adds hours to the trips we take. Yes, it’s nauseating to smell the feet of the man in front of you. Yet, I still feel the excitement. It’s imprinted on my child-brain, I suppose. I understand that security is there to try to safeguard us and that delays are now somehow the norm on commercial flights. I remember trips with Mom and try to see it all as part of the adventure.  However, I know I am the exception to the rule.

This is why I am thrilled to work with Fleet Aviation, where I can offer a safe, personal and hassle-free flight experience for our clients, without draining their wallets.  I love that when you charter a smaller private plane with us that you get all of the excitement of the airport and none of the frustration. Working for Fleet has allowed me to revisit the airports I remember from my childhood.

I cannot help but smile when I see the familiar wonder in the eyes of our clients’ kids when they climb aboard their very own aircraft, heading off on an adventure of their own with Mom or Dad in tow.  Even Mom and Dad have that same gleam in their eye when they charter a plane for a business trip! The wonder of taking to the sky hasn’t diminished one bit; it’s just a whole lot easier to recognize it – when you remove all the lines and fees and bare feet.

Working for Fleet Aviation has enabled me to share what air travel should be and what I know it can be - safe, efficient and affordable flights with all the excitement and none of the hassle. I hope that everyone has a chance to experience what Fleet has to offer and I invite you to call or email me so I can help you plan your next trip in the Northeast.