Random Thoughts - Part Deux [NO POLITICS]

[Tcoat]

Flying has never bothered me either pre nor post 9/11. I just make sure I anticipate that it will take me twice as long as scheduled to get anywhere so I am pleasantly surprised when it doesn't. I don't mind sitting around airports and never truly understand the sate of panic in most people.
The only slightly annoying thing is that 99.9% of my trips are to the US and that means Customs at some point. If flying direct Customs is usually done at the point of departure so that is no big deal since you can just be there early enough that a long line doesn't impact you (other than waiting of course). The tension can rise a bit if the Customs falls between two flights though. They sometimes cut it very very close with the bookings. It is truly annoying when you have a flight with two or more layovers and the one with Customs is half an hour and then the next one is 8 hours.

[Capt Spaulding]

As a Wookie-lite who used to fly pretty frequently, airline business practices drove me away. The constant compression of the inter seat distances - additional fees for everything from exit row seats, to luggage, to a pressurized cabin - no thanks. One of our kids moved halfway across the country making driving for a visit a 10 day event, so I'll occasionally fold myself into a seat, cross my fingers about DVT, endure the wasted time, insults and indignities of the check-in/security and cattle car environment. But not if I can avoid it.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

...I don't mind sitting around airports and never truly understand the sate of panic in most people..

Oh, I love airports, so the time spent sitting and watching planes doesn't play into my calculations. It's also some of what @Capt Spaulding mentions as well. I'm not Wookie height, but I am wide so it is almost impossible to be comfortable on a commercial flight.

In the end, I don't mind flying, I just prefer to drive all things being relatively equal in terms of time.

If I was going to a Mountain/Western time zone, or International I'd fly in a heartbeat. We just don't travel those distances regularly. Plus, it's hard to drive to Scotland from Atlanta since I sold my white Lotus Esprit to that James guy, whatever his last name was.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Oh, I love airports, so the time spent sitting and watching planes doesn't play into my calculations. It's also some of what @Capt Spaulding mentions as well. I'm not Wookie height, but I am wide so it is almost impossible to be comfortable on a commercial flight.

In the end, I don't mind flying, I just prefer to drive all things being relatively equal in terms of time.

If I was going to a Mountain/Western time zone, or International I'd fly in a heartbeat. We just don't travel those distances regularly. Plus, it's hard to drive to Scotland from Atlanta since I sold my white Lotus Esprit to that James guy, whatever his last name was.

The flying part has never bothered me. Well except the one time I was wedged between two grossly overweight and very smelly guys. That was not fun.
Unfortunately it is just the case of modern economics that force the airlines to pack each plane as full as possible to make a profit. They are businesses after all and if that is what it takes to keep going then that is what we have to live with. There is always the option of Business Class for those that feel they are being treated as cattle. You just have to pay for it.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Unfortunately it is just the case of modern economics that force the airlines to pack each plane as full as possible to make a profit..

Yep, that's also why they have to charge for everything (baggage, change fees, etc). All that costs money and used to be built into the ticket price. To get ticket prices down they had to go more a la carte (I was in many of those conversations in the late 90's/early 2000's).

A seat that flies empty is "spoilage" and you can never make that revenue back, unlike say a car you didn't sell today, but you can sell tomorrow, so they no longer have the luxury to fly a half empty plane, which was common 20 or 30 years ago.

Given all the human and technology costs in running an airline its amazing any of them manage to make money. Most of the profit comes from freight/mail that is carried as "ride along".

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The flying part has never bothered me. Well except the one time I was wedged between two grossly overweight and very smelly guys. That was not fun.
Unfortunately it is just the case of modern economics that force the airlines to pack each plane as full as possible to make a profit. They are businesses after all and if that is what it takes to keep going then that is what we have to live with. There is always the option of Business Class for those that feel they are being treated as cattle. You just have to pay for it.

Lol it's called business class but you can't actually sit there on business trips any more...

[Atmo]

I'm good with long haul commercial flights. The irony is that TSA and other regs we have to comply with like arriving two hours before departure usually don't apply to those making the rules who fly on private or government jets. That gives them more time to lecture us about our carbon emissions after they land at their private FBO.

I have enough miles to get upgrades where the main benefit is early boarding and first dibs on overhead storage. Sometime I'll even get two bags of peanuts.

Besides all of the ground insults, the final straw is them walking about the cabin schlepping rental DVD players with some kind of movie you'd never watch at home like a full length Disney cartoon.

All this has led to a resurgence in private small jet and turboprop sales, charters, fractional ownership and business use. Many small jet manufacturers have wait lists of a year or more. Even the single engine pressurized market is gaining strength with enough new safety features like nearly autonomous flight to please the CEO's and insurers.

I reinstated my Commercial/Instrument/Multi ticket but it wound up costing a fortune to stay proficient, different than staying current, so let it lapse but am thinking about activating it again. A friend is looking for a partner in his SR-22 (parachute plane with deice). There are some scenic islands less than two hours flight time away up in Puget Sound.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Atmo

A friend is looking for a partner in his SR-22 (parachute plane). There are some scenic islands less than two hours flight time away up in Puget Sound.

What a great plane! I'm envious. I actually considered an SR-20 (the Cirrus aircraft, not the Nissan engine for those into Nissans) at one point (fractal ownership) but it didn't work out.

[Atmo]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

What a great plane! I'm envious. I actually considered an SR-20 (the Cirrus aircraft, not the Nissan engine for those into Nissans) at one point (fractal ownership) but it didn't work out.

It's a well balanced plane with enough power reserve for mountain flying.

Insurance requirements are stringent. A week of ground school and flight training then another two days of Garmin panel familiarization before being signed off.

[Spuds]

I guess growing up in the 90s and 00s makes me look at air travel a bit differently than all the old people. I don't remember air travel being any different than it is now, I guess...

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Spuds

I guess growing up in the 90s and 00s makes me look at air travel a bit differently than all the old people. I don't remember air travel being any different than it is now, I guess...

That would be about right. It changed drastically in the time I worked for an airline (95-05) primarily due to deregulation and cost increase, topped by "discount airlines" disrupting the system.

[Capt Spaulding]

Oh, I LOVE flying. Even after almost dying in a fiery crash that, thankfully, didn’t happen. I’ll jump at almost every right seat ride that comes around. Commercial flying however, is a different story. The service has become commodified, the pax are simply fedex parcels with attitude and the flight crews I once envied are button pressing systems engineers who (apologies to my systems engineer family and friends) I don’t envy.

I do know some folks who do what I think is “real” professional flying. I still envy them, but am too old and too poor to even dream of doing something like that.

[ichitaka05]

I was happy to see US Women soccer team lost against Canada. Not relating politic or any other things. Just pure sports/soccer, I like to see giant killing. I was hoping Australia win against Sweden, but either way good to see other win it.

Same goes for Men's. I was hoping Mexico beating Brazil and Japan beating Spain... but that didn't happen.

[spike021]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Flying has never bothered me either pre nor post 9/11. I just make sure I anticipate that it will take me twice as long as scheduled to get anywhere so I am pleasantly surprised when it doesn't. I don't mind sitting around airports and never truly understand the sate of panic in most people.
The only slightly annoying thing is that 99.9% of my trips are to the US and that means Customs at some point. If flying direct Customs is usually done at the point of departure so that is no big deal since you can just be there early enough that a long line doesn't impact you (other than waiting of course). The tension can rise a bit if the Customs falls between two flights though. They sometimes cut it very very close with the bookings. It is truly annoying when you have a flight with two or more layovers and the one with Customs is half an hour and then the next one is 8 hours.

Normally I actually love being three hours or so early. My dad hates that I'm like that lol. But it's kind of relaxing because it feels like being "between places". I don't know else to describe it other than kind of relaxing. Just put headphones on with music and people watch. Or read a book. Etc.

I do get panicky though with security. Partly because I've had relatives whose phones or wallets were stolen, etc., and also because somehow I always get asked to get an extra pat down or scan for chemicals. It's just way too stressful.