Glamour

[AVC]

cargo hold economy jammed up against 2 other people i dislike immensely,

Most of my flying has been done in Y, with some J thown in. I certainly prefer flying in J, but our next two trips this year are in Y. Not much glamour there.

Having said that, try doing some combat-load trips in the back of a C130. That makes ANY Y trip seem really glamourous!

 

[11sjw]

try doing some combat-load trips in the back of a C130.

Did 16 hours going from PER-TSV in the late 80s in the back of a Herc. What a killer.

 

[JohnK]

I wouldn't call it glamorous.

I still love flying but occasionally it does get tiresome.

Economy does not scare me at all as it allows me to save money and travel more often. In fact looking forward to my next trip back with QF economy on the 747. I have missed being in that bird.

Most of my flying is in economy, with the occasional business flight thrown in, and I am one of those people who tries to come up with weird ways to get around the place. A few I will never forget are

SYD-ADL-ASP-AYQ-PER-BME-DRW-GOV-CNS-SYD in 3 days in economy

SYD-SIN-BKK-TPE-HKG-MNL-HKG-TPE-HKG-MNL-HKG-TPE-BKK in 3 days in a mixture of economy and business class

SYD-CNS-TSV-MKY-ROK-GLT-BNE-BKQ//BCI-LRE-BNE-HVB//BDB-BNE//CTL-RMA-BNE-THG-BLT//EMD-BNE-SYD in 6 days in economy and mainly on Dash 8's also included was a long distance bus trip and 2 shorter bus trips :shock:

There are many more and hopefully there will be more to come. So it may not be glamorous but it is not stopping me thinking of where I want to go next....

 

[Bolthead]

For me it's the whole journey thing..... I have been somewhat been unlucky perhaps when it comes to working for companies that have always had Y policies when flying any destination irrespective of position in the company. (I'm sure I am not alone here) I guess it is certainly fair in that respect. What still irks me is when seniority in a business determines what class of travel. Sorry getting off track.......

I love flying and I think I will always love flying. What I hate is driving to the airport unless it is an overseas leisure flight and I am looking forward to the entire trip. I have only ever flown business international twice from AUK-SYD (see below) and that was a fluky upgrade. Have flown plenty of domestic business but all have been upgrades. (mostly between 1985-1995) Last was an upgrade from AUH to FRA to J on Etihad and I can tell you I had a smile from ear to ear for 7 hours (or so) I took advantage of every little bit that was offered to me. That was glamour to me. In the end it was all in the mind....

 

[mosanator]

Having said that, try doing some combat-load trips in the back of a C130. That makes ANY Y trip seem really glamourous!

I was going to come in and say "oh yeah try re-qualifying for WP, in 8 months, all domestic whY (I pray for a fare booked into actual Y fare bucket), all CBR - SYD and then regional NSW, 95% DASH 8. Oh man that is so glamorous I walk around singing "I'm too sexy for this shirt" at airports.


That was until AVC reminded me of the "Combat Load" on a Herc. Two words to describe that - baa baa. (like sheep, you get the link?) In fact sheep would be more comfortable because at least their legs are straight when they are on a truck.

People here complain about people putting their set back, and lack of leg room. Try the passenger in front of you putting their seat (their pack) on your feet and then sitting on it. Your seat back is the guy behinds legs. And "fasten seat belts please" is the load master putting a bloody big orange ratchet strap from one side of the AC to the other every 4-5 rows of cargo (Diggers).

So yeah compared to that, I'm too sexy for this shirt.................... super glam "Dash Plat FF" !

 

[dajop]

If glamour is any of the following:
- sitting in the arrivals hall of an airport (where you can't enter the departure hall without a boarding pass) for 5 hrs waiting for colleagues delayed flights; or
- pushing your way into a luggage carousel to try and retrieve your luggage before it disappears, whene everyone has there luggage trolley butting against the conveyor; or
- getting your ankles hit constantly by said luggage trolleys as you queue to get through customes, because your in a country where there is no concept of personal space; or
- sitting in a cramped economy seat somewhere in the middle of the airport, for 90 minutes waiting for ATC clearance; or
- landing and taxi-ing for 15 minutes to the other side of the airport, where you have to get a bus that takes 15 mins to get back to the terminal, and then waiting another 20 minutes for luggage to come out, or
- any such similar stories
then it sure is glamorous!

I love travel, I find it interesting, I usually enjoy it, even when bad things happen you know you'll have a good story and be able to reflect on it and find it funny. But glamorous? Maybe not so much.

But having said that, there are moments of glamour there, when sitting in nice wide business class seat, enjoying your 2nd Singapore Sling after you've already had a couple of champagnes ...... aah you remember what makes it worthwhile. Such moments though are usually fleeting when you remember after you land the next morning you'll have a quick shower and head into the office ....

 

[AVC]

Funnily enough, I have a close family friend (my daughters godfather in fact) that is a Q pilot.

Of course everyone says "oh that's so glamorous". I think one Christmas at home in the past 10 years. His wife thinks it's very NON-glamour.

My father in law delivers yachts for a living. Big-cough yachts. He's somewhere in the Riviera right now on a 66 foot, 2 million dollar catamaran. Glamorous huh? Maybe while you're tooling around in the harbour. But bashing a 50 or 60 footer across the Pacific with green water breaking over the bow takes the glamour away real quick.

Like most things. Ninety percent (or even less) mundane/routine, the rest is glamour.

 

[Deleted member]

Funnily enough, I have a close family friend (my daughters godfather in fact) that is a Q pilot.

Of course everyone says "oh that's so glamorous". I think one Christmas at home in the past 10 years. His wife thinks it's very NON-glamour.

My father in law delivers yachts for a living. Big-cough yachts. He's somewhere in the Riviera right now on a 66 foot, 2 million dollar catamaran. Glamorous huh? Maybe while you're tooling around in the harbour. But bashing a 50 or 60 footer across the Pacific with green water breaking over the bow takes the glamour away real quick.

Like most things. Ninety percent (or even less) mundane/routine, the rest is glamour.

My cousin is a mega yacht captain in Antibes. ......believe me his life is glamour. Spends most of the time in port and boy what a port!!!

 

[cove]

Here is a snippet on adding glamour to your travel without breaking your bank.
Use the limo service so you get your luggage and body delivered to the check in door. Now that costs about $15 to $20 more than going in a Mr Toads Wild Ride in a taxi that has no idea where your airport is and who got their licence out of a cereal pack that morning.
Next you run up mobs of FF points with more than one carrier so that Business and First Class tickets are available and has a web site that makes you feel special as you click away.
Now that you are safely on board and out of your short stay in the special lounge go to your window seat in the specially configured 1 2 1 seating that provides you with privacy and a cabinet to hold your personal effects rather than in the overhead luggage area.
Accept the offer of champagne and caviar and sit back and relax by reading the menu to decide whether it should be the French red or just continue with a another glass of Dom Perignon (or equivalent).
After your meal,lower the blinds, figure out the lie flat bed and go into a deep and restful sleep.
OK that is all I could think of.......other than falling asleep to dream about further ways to run up some more FF points.

 

[Deleted member]

Here is a snippet on adding glamour to your travel without breaking your bank.
Use the limo service so you get your luggage and body delivered to the check in door. Now that costs about $15 to $20 more than going in a Mr Toads Wild Ride in a taxi that has no idea where your airport is and who got their licence out of a cereal pack that morning.
Next you run up mobs of FF points with more than one carrier so that Business and First Class tickets are available and has a web site that makes you feel special as you click away.
Now that you are safely on board and out of your short stay in the special lounge go to your window seat in the specially configured 1 2 1 seating that provides you with privacy and a cabinet to hold your personal effects rather than in the overhead luggage area.
Accept the offer of champagne and caviar and sit back and relax by reading the menu to decide whether it should be the French red or just continue with a another glass of Dom Perignon (or equivalent).
After your meal,lower the blinds, figure out the lie flat bed and go into a deep and restful sleep.
OK that is all I could think of.......other than falling asleep to dream about further ways to run up some more FF points.

I agree. + 1 and I use one carrier to accumulate points and do the best we can to ensure we travel as close to the front as possible .
Used a limo from NYC to La Guardia and it was one of those big SUV's a Cadillac escalade as I recall Well worth the extra cost after having endured a NYC yellow cab on the way in .

 

[Jkyn]

As can be seen by the many posts except for a few things that come at us out of nowhere life is what we make of it. We can choose to turn it into a glamorous experience or we can grumble. Now with the help and wisdom of my fellow AFFs I am planning to turn them all into glamorous events!!!
Thanks for sharing!!!!!


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