Not too long ago, we were attempting a trip to San Francisco. As soon as we got to SeaTac, we found that our flight was somehow already an hour and a half late. The employees at the ticket counter, civil without being friendly, couldn't get us on another flight, so we got some food and a drink and watched our delay get longer. Eventually, it was time to board (on what was now the last flight to SF), and of course, we ended up sitting on the plane for an hour while there were refueling issues. The pilot announced that the fuel switch could be fixed, but by that time, the crew would be "illegal," and so our flight was now canceled. Lovely. We exited the plane to deal with another unfriendly employee who literally rolled her eyes when we asked for something more than a mere refund of our tickets. All in all, those five hours at the airport were a nightmare. Surely, we thought, there's got to be a better way. more ›

Billionaire balloonist Richard Branson is finally doing something to get us closer to the Sun. more ›