Long Flights

[+ aeikaryoko]

I am impressed!

Ditto. @WilliamM I have to applaud you on your statement.

[mike carey]

I was really asking why Moscow and Warsaw. Should have been clearer.

Part of the 'why' would be why go around the world. One reason is that sometimes RTW tickets are cheaper than a return ticket, it then becomes a question of 'given I'm going RTW where to stop?' as sometimes those tickets mandate a certain number of stops. Regardless of that if you're doing the trip and have the time to spare, why not stop at some random places.

[MikeBiDude]

I’m in the “coach is ok” - it’s usually a fraction of a great trip, plenty of suggestions above for making yourself comfortable, bringing along entertainment, I often bring my own food/snacks, etc.

[+ Charlie]

I presume because jet lag is much easier to deal with westwards than eastwards.

At least it is for me, so I think that is what they are saying.

 

I was really asking why Moscow and Warsaw. Should have been clearer.

Because I had never been there, so why not? It was not long after the Wall had fallen, and the Soviet Union was an exciting place to be, because everyone there was debating what would come next (it turned out to be the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself).

[+ WilliamM]

Ditto. @WilliamM I have to applaud you on your statement.

I was really asking why Moscow and Warsaw. Should have been clearer.

Because I had never been there, so why not? It was not long after the Wall had fallen, and the Soviet Union was an exciting place to be, because everyone there was debating what would come next (it turned out to be the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself).

 

I visited St. Petersburg just after retirement, but it was planned for the White Night in June followed by Munich and eventually Milan.

[+ WilliamM]

Part of the 'why' would be why go around the world. One reason is that sometimes RTW tickets are cheaper than a return ticket, it then becomes a question of 'given I'm going RTW where to stop?' as sometimes those tickets mandate a certain number of stops. Regardless of that if you're doing the trip and have the time to spare, why not stop at some random places.

 

I do that when driving in Europe. Also, flying is a necessity for me - not something I enjoy.

[Epigonos]

If I intend to do a considerable amount of driving after a long flight I ALWAYS pick up the car and then spend the night at a hotel very near the airport. I did that last fall when I spend three weeks driving in Burgundy and the Loire Valley of France. I drove over a thousand miles during the trip. At the end of it I spend the last night in the same hotel as the first. For me, at least, this system makes for a very relaxing beginning and ending of a trip.

[MikeBiDude]

If I intend to do a considerable amount of driving after a long flight I ALWAYS pick up the car and then spend the night at a hotel very near the airport. I did that last fall when I spend three weeks driving in Burgundy and the Loire Valley of France. I drove over a thousand miles during the trip. At the end of it I spend the last night in the same hotel as the first. For me, at least, this system makes for a very relaxing beginning and ending of a trip.

I like this plan....and flip side when returning the car I’ll often do it the night before departure, courtesy shuttle to nearby hotel, relax, and shuttle back for my flight the next day. Especially in new foreign travel locations.

[Epigonos]

Hey MikeBiDude that is exactly what I did at the end of the trip to France. Great minds - right.

[+ WilliamM]

If I intend to do a considerable amount of driving after a long flight I ALWAYS pick up the car and then spend the night at a hotel very near the airport. I did that last fall when I spend three weeks driving in Burgundy and the Loire Valley of France. I drove over a thousand miles during the trip. At the end of it I spend the last night in the same hotel as the first. For me, at least, this system makes for a very relaxing beginning and ending of a trip.

 

I bought a "pre owned" car in Amsterdam years ago and sold it in Paris after driving through Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain for three months.

[+ Axiom2001]

I can't handle long flights in coach anymore because I'm 6'3 and need leg room, so to date, I try to use Southwest for the bulk of my domestic flights (which have worked for me in terms of seating and comfort), for I pay extra for boarding early. I also fly from SJC or SFO to begin any of my departures domestically or internationally. I'm also a "senior citizen," and thus far (thank goodness) I've been able to cope with the distance.

 

For international travel I have purchased my business or first class tickets via a consolidator along with purchasing separate insurance in case any problem occurs which would still enable me to travel on this/these tickets.

 

...have managed to obtain reasonably priced tickets for the preceding mode of travel. If I'm in first or business, I have been able to handle the very long distances, but my traveling in coach leaves me in a similar state as the OP.

[Islesguy]

Is it just me or do others feel cheerful and energetic getting off a west-bound plane, while feeling near-dead getting off a long flight east?

 

 

 

I have a knack for getting 2 or 3 seats off season all the time. I go to the back row and get an aisle seat. Of course high season there are no empties.

I have found if I can fly east with a morning departure and an evening arrival, just adjusting my sleep schedule for a couple of days prior to my trip avoids all jet lag. If I have to take a red-eye, I'm going to feel dead. I have a JFK-LHW red-eye coming up next summer. I need to find some way of getting sleep on the flight. Maybe my usual trick will work but I haven't been able to sleep on a plane in years.

[Mjonis]

In April we’re going to the Maldives. JFK to AUH. Red eye flight. Used miles for Etihad apartments. I think I’ll use one of those phone apps to help with jet lag. The way back will be brutal though. LOL

[Spursy]

Gogo isn't allowing streaming. It's still fun to be online but it reduces the options.

Streaming GoGo is being rolled out. I tried it on a recent Delta flight and it was OK (which is about as good as it gets for GoGo).

[+ aeikaryoko]

Streaming GoGo is being rolled out. I tried it on a recent Delta flight and it was OK (which is about as good as it gets for GoGo).

I’m still waiting on United to roll this out fully and hopefully it’s sooner than later.

[buckguy]

I'd rather get things over with. I used to fly to Asia on a regular basis and my favorite routing was Chicago-Hong Kong because it meant that the other flights at each end were short, rather than the alternative layover and then a long flight from Narita, after 13-14 hours to Narita. I really don't see the point of breaking up long flights and although I need meds to sleep on a plane, the main thing is having an itinerary that enables you to reset your clock at the destination w/o too much trouble. The volume and diversity of inflight entertainment keeps improving and frankly having Kindle or video downloads makes things easier than in the old days.

 

Long flights take planning, but even short flight eat up time, given security and so forth.