I think everyone can agree that flying is stressful. You have that last-minute packing, making sure you have everything you need. You may hit traffic on your way to the airport. Check in and bag drop can be an endless queue, but not one as endless as the line at the security checkpoint, which can be an absolute nightmare. Then, when you finally get to your gate, there may be seats for you and your party…or maybe not. Prices for a candy bar or a beer are cray cray. And then, IF your plane is on time, you get to sit in a too-small seat for hours.
Good times.
Because flying is so stressful, UK-based comparison search engine FlightsFinder decided to devise an online tool that could provide passengers with a clearer picture of what to expect in terms of stress during their time in the airport. They call it the Airport Stress Calculator.
All you need to do is fill in your time of departure, the airline you’re flying with and the airport you’re flying from. Then, the calculator will work its magic and give you the percentage risk that you will have a stressful airport experience.
The calculator would determine your level of stress based on:
- The airport you’re flying out of: Stress levels based on frequency of flight delays in selected airport.
- The airline you’re flying: Stress levels based on luggage weight restrictions for the selected airline’s most basic economy fare.
- The time frame of your flight: Stress levels based on volume of travelers in your selected time range.
It sounded simple enough, so I went to the calculator page and started playing around with it.
For each factor (airport, airline and time of flight), there was a drop-down menu. So to start, I filled it in with flying out of Orlando International Airport on Delta, at 8am. It gave me a total of 46% stress.
OK. Orlando Int’l Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and is THE busiest in the state. Let’s try a less busy airport. Say…Austin-Bergstrom Int’l Airport.
Not on the list. OK…John Wayne Airport? Nope. Houston Hobby? Negative.
OK, so there’s a bunch of airports that aren’t included.
Let’s try airlines.
It looks like all of the major U.S. airlines are listed. And so is…Virgin America??? Yet not Virgin Australia.
Well, OK then.
But meanwhile, they DON’T include the likes of Air Canada, Logan Air, JAL, and the list goes on and on.
They did cover all times of a 24-hour clock so they’ve got that going for them.
But as I experimented with airports, airlines and times, I noticed another, shall we call it a quirk. I plugged in Charlotte Douglas Int’l Airport / Ryanair / between 8:01pm and 10.59pm. It gave me 52% stress.
There’s just one problem…Ryanair doesn’t service Charlotte Douglass!!!
The same happened for flying Spirit Airlines out of Chengdu Shuangliu Airport between 12:01pm and 3:39pm. 55% stress…for an airline that has never, ever landed at that airport.
So not all airports are listed. Not all airlines are listed. At least one airline no longer exists. And they’re giving stress factors or airlines that have never landed at specific airports.
What else can go wrong? Oh yeah…the only “stressors” they’re including are:
- Stress levels based on frequency of flight delays in selected airport.
- Stress levels based on luggage weight restrictions for the selected airline’s most basic economy fare.
- Stress levels based on volume of travelers in your selected time range.
They don’t take holidays into consideration? The stress of flying around major holidays is a HUGE stressor. But just because Denver Int’l Airport is packed to the gills around Christmas doesn’t mean it’s that packed in June.
What about weather delays? Orlando Int’l Airport gets a ground stop hold nearly every afternoon in the summertime because of thunderstorms. Some parts of the world get blinding snowstorms all winter long and it definitely affects planes flying in or out. It doesn’t look like that’s being taken into consideration in their stress levels.
Also, let’s face it – people who understand airports, and flying, and who have the “right” credit cards and airline loyalty, and who have access to a lounge, are going to have less stress at an airport than someone who doesn’t even have PreCheck.
Similarly, a solo traveler might have less stress in an airport than a single mom traveling with her 3 kids under the age of 5.
Also, how are they deciding that you’re going to have 16% stress? What does 55% stress even mean? They offer no methodology to explain how they came up with these numbers.
So yeah….cute idea. But, sorry not sorry, pretty worthless.
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