Tired of it? [Flying, that is]

[vertisol]

My name is Vertisol and it's been 18 days since my last flight....

I know we all either love flying or accept it is a part of our world due to work but how many of you find it tiring and long for time off?

I've had a pretty hectic travel load over the last 12 months and now entering my 3rd week since my last flight (longest gap in 3 years probably) it's dawned on me how nice it is to not be setting the alarm clock to get to the airport for that 6am flight.

Alas, it all begins again next Monday.

Who else has gotten to the point of a love - hate relationship with planes?

 

[Mal]

There are several different types of people who fly.
People who fly for work.
People who fly for pleasure and leisure.
People who fly as a career.
People who fly as a necessity to attend certain friend and family type events.

I firmly fit into the pleasure and leisure category. I don't enjoy the 9th hour of a long haul flight in Y... But I certainly enjoying flying overall as it means I am heading somewhere for relaxation.

But I do understand how some people who fly every week for work become fatigued.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Who else has gotten to the point of a love - hate relationship with planes?

ME ME ME - I LOVE being on them - HATE getting off them - pointy end only of course.

Flew SYD-SIN-BCN in F on SQ on June 19 this year - we de-planed in BCN and had to wait at baggage for some relatives to arrive from USA - could see SQ's 77W sitting at gate readying for next leg to GRU - commented to our group I would LOVE to be getting back on board for another 13hr flight after our just completed 7 and 13hr flts - received a number of less than complimentary comments along the lines of 'lunatic' - rude huh?

 

[bass_ke]

I'm a mix of leisure and work.

I'm a bit of an aviation nut so love getting aboard, although I imagine if I had to fly 10 or more sectors a week in Y it'd start to get on my nerves.

Since gaining status the airport experience has gotten better, especially now we are traveling with a bubba.

We've certainly softened up a bit since extended SE Asian trips, nights spent in dodgy airports with your pack as a pillow and D7 Y experiences!

 

[boomy]

Flying very often can be tiring but there are a few things I try to do to make it easier:
- I don't fly too early. I try to avoid 6am flights and book 8-9am.
- I stay overnight at my destination (unless I have a connection on the same day). It really makes a lot of difference when relaxing at a nice hotel instead of rushing back the same day.
- I book my seat very carefully to get as much comfort as possible.
- I try to make the best use of the lounges to relax before the flight.
- I use HC to get to and from the airport in MEL. It saves me the hassle of driving in the morning rush hour and allows me to have the extra glass of wine on the return .

I must add that we are very lucky here in Australia not to suffer from many delays (mostly due to good weather). That's by far the no.1 complaint I hear from fellow FF's at other parts of the world.

 

[spudseamus]

Since retired I don't do very much air time these days so for me it is in the catagorgy of family / leisure and usually 23+ hour trips and I do them in J (bad back, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!) I love to fly and I expect others to see my trip starting the moment I get to the check in desk !

 

[Joshua]

I see 'your' type a lot and wonder what drives people to keep putting themselves through it. If it is a work to live / live to work question then I'm definitely the former and travel patterns represent that. My sort of travel couldn't be more polar opposite to yours and I know I would hate to do anything different.

 

[Ewing]

I'm a bit over domestic flying so I decided to have a break. I'm almost a month into my 2 month flying hiatus and am somewhat enjoying it. I even took the train somewhere I would usually fly the week before last (in "first", obviously). It was so nice and relaxing.

Having said that, there's more flying in the latter half of the year. In October there's a trip to Singapore, and November I have quite a few flights. So yes, I'm making the most of my break

Having said that, I haven't been up to OOL to visit my Mum for a few months, so I might end up breaking my hiatus to do that before she disowns me! :mrgreen:

 

[vertisol]

I see 'your' type a lot and wonder what drives people to keep putting themselves through it.

This is what enters my head as I drive to the airport in the dark and home from it in the dark.

The actual act of flying and lounging and generally being around aviation I actually find really interesting. I am guilty of taking my 2 year old to the airport for a bit of plane spotting - not a great sport in CBR, but that's all we have (look kids a 734, Dash 8, ATR...).

I choose to spend as many nights home in my bed as possibel to support my wife with the kids but I don;t actually find that much interesting in hotel rooms either.

 

[Melburnian1]

boomy's first three tips are excellent, but I prefer travelling by train or if one must bus to the airport as it is part of the 'real world'. The train (where available) beats the traffic any day and avoids being blocked by other traffic at or near an airport entrance (an increasing problem in MEL and SYD, not that one can take the train right to MEL's airport).

No one has mentioned how a 7.5 or 8 hour flight to Asia in the northwest direction can be fine for many of us, but the same flight southeast bound - what we'd call in shorthand 'eastbound' is far worse.

As I get older, this effect seems to be magnified for a 21 hour flight to the Continent: fine going over, even in whY, but shocking coming back.

Has anyone else experienced these dramatically different effects on one's system or are all other AFFers just such expert flyers (even in whY) that you can all step off a plane from FRA, LHR or CDG after having travelled whY for 23 hours including a quick break in SIN, HKG, DXB or other ports and be as 'fresh as a daisy (even if seat occupancy was 100 per cent)?

 

[amaroo]

I've taken a 3 year gap from all work - loved it! Been back for 3 months and I've got to say the weekly commute is kinda fun. However, my rule is no early mornings (unless it's a QF8 DSC run) and nothing after 1.30pm Friday arvo.

Managed to maintain the status during the years away from work - all travel was family holidays. Nothing beats those!

 

[JohnK]

That is not an easy one to answer.

I don't fly as often as some people but I do commute and probably do ~70 flights a year. It is not easy. Whether I am leaving BNE early to return to SYD or leaving SYD to return to work in BNE. It gets tiring. It can get depressing especially when you try to plan everything and delays spoil those plans. I definitely drink a lot more than I should be drinking. I am eating more than I should be eating.

I do some leisure travel and enjoy the flying. Occasionally I schedule too many flights and if I am tired do not really enjoy it but ultimately I still get some enjoyment out of flying when I look back on the trip.

 

[Ewing]

or are all other AFFers just such expert flyers (even in whY) that you can all step off a plane from FRA, LHR or CDG after having travelled whY for 23 hours including a quick break in SIN, HKG, DXB or other ports and be as 'fresh as a daisy (even if seat occupancy was 100 per cent)?

I wouldn't know.

My longest flight in whY to date was the 5 hours from LAX-JFK

(I have booked a number of longer Y flights, but the op-up gods have always deemed me not worthy of the whY cabin) :mrgreen:

 

[Brisbane Flyer]

I've taken a 3 year gap from all work - loved it! Been back for 3 months and I've got to say the weekly commute is kinda fun. However, my rule is no early mornings (unless it's a QF8 DSC run) and nothing after 1.30pm Friday arvo.

Managed to maintain the status during the years away from work - all travel was family holidays. Nothing beats those!

Congrats on the three year break. I've done two of these in the last 15 years, best thing work related I ever did.
Now I'm stuck on the 20 hour work week, no real desire to do anymore, except play more golf, walk the dogs, play scrabble and travel for work/holiday. Why rush through life...turning 50 next year, might tone down the work a bit

Cheers
BF

 

[Milboo]

I'm back to flying regularly for work (used to do a lot 5 years ago) and I enjoy the ability to pull up outside the Sydney lounge and walk straight in without hassle having checked in online. Certainly makes it more bearable than dealing with the throngs of people!

I don't like all the bits that come with flying - the early starts (6am to Brisbane on Friday) and long days as I do day trips due to home commitments, the massive traffic queues around Sydney airport for morning flights, the time lost hanging around etc

 

[Tristanm]

Has anyone else experienced these dramatically different effects on one's system or are all other AFFers just such expert flyers (even in whY) that you can all step off a plane from FRA, LHR or CDG after having travelled whY for 23 hours including a quick break in SIN, HKG, DXB or other ports and be as 'fresh as a daisy (even if seat occupancy was 100 per cent)?

I am fairly wrecked after a LHR-MEL via DXB/SIN. Much worse than the trip over for me. I find myself overloading on caffeine during the day to stay alert then take a sleeping tablet to stay asleep of a night. This is for the first 2-3 days after getting back. Normally fly Y+ and I have a lot of trouble sleeping while elevated.

 

[boomy]

Has anyone else experienced these dramatically different effects on one's system or are all other AFFers just such expert flyers (even in whY) that you can all step off a plane from FRA, LHR or CDG after having travelled whY for 23 hours including a quick break in SIN, HKG, DXB or other ports and be as 'fresh as a daisy (even if seat occupancy was 100 per cent)?

Every time I'm flying back from Europe with a short connection in Asia I'm jet lagged for 2-3 days. For me, it doesn't matter if I fly in Y or J, it always hits me.

 

[BensAdventures]

This is an interesting question! A few weeks ago, I might have said I was said I was getting tired of it, but now I just want to jump on another INT flight again! I have no interest in criss-crossing around Australia, but that is what I'll be doing over the next month or two, but can't wait for Oct-Dec when I'll be travelling a lot again (mainly to the USA).

I've already planned by trips for 2014, and I'll be within a whisker of LTG, bring it on!

 

[Groundfeeder]

Since retired I don't do very much air time these days so for me it is in the catagorgy of family / leisure

I've been sponsoring myself now for 18 months after retirement, but still keep QP membership as one cannot get the flying bug off.

After 40 odd years of flying for work and not particularly caring about the costs I now check ahead to see what airfare sales are all about. I've traded the work credit cards, laptop and mobile for my Ipad and android and have a much more relaxed demeanour when preparing for and undertaking air travel. I'm not the slightest bothered if the flight is delayed etc as more QP time is enjoyed and if we're circling OOL awaiting arrival slots in BNE, well - it's a longer ride/better value!

I'll probably descend to QP bronze in Nov but have enjoyed Gold for several years while it was sponsored/achieved from my work travel requirements.

CU in the Lounge

 

[Fantic125]

No one has mentioned how a 7.5 or 8 hour flight to Asia in the northwest direction can be fine for many of us, but the same flight southeast bound - what we'd call in shorthand 'eastbound' is far worse.

As I get older, this effect seems to be magnified for a 21 hour flight to the Continent: fine going over, even in whY, but shocking coming back.

Has anyone else experienced these dramatically different effects on one's system or are all other AFFers just such expert flyers (even in whY) that you can all step off a plane from FRA, LHR or CDG after having travelled whY for 23 hours including a quick break in SIN, HKG, DXB or other ports and be as 'fresh as a daisy (even if seat occupancy was 100 per cent)?

From my experience I find if you're doing it reasonably frequently your body adjusts much more quickly to whatever time zone you're in.

I had a couple of years straight where I was swapping frequently between AU and Germany and AU and USA and found I adapted better each time, to the point where I could go into work the same day as arriving (after a shower and change of clothes to freshen up, of course) with no problems, even travelling in Y!

This was my choice BTW, as it helped me slot straight into a time routine.