Salon :: Tech & Business

Ask the pilot: Remember the sense of awe you used to feel on an airplane ride? Where did it go? Plus: The lowdown on that "filthy" and "germ-laden" cabin air

If the feedback from my last two columns has taught us anything, it's that people really, really don't like to fly. With that on the table, try to imagine the following:

You wake up early for the 45-minute subway ride to Logan International Airport in Boston. The shuttle bus brings you to Terminal C, where you stand in line to be frisked and X-rayed before reaching an overcrowded departure lounge. Half an hour later your flight pushes back, languishes in a taxiway queue for several minutes, then finally takes off. So far this is nothing exceptional, but here's the twist: The plane's scheduled destination is, well, Boston. The jet never climbs to more than 10,000 feet. It makes a lazy circuit above the North Shore coastline, swings eastward toward Cape Cod, then circles west in the direction of Logan. Fifteen minutes later, the landing gear clunks into place, and just like that you're back where you started. You disembark, with smiles and handshakes all around, head for the shuttle bus, and take the subway home again.

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