Yes, the golden age of air travel is over! I used to love it too, but now it is an ordeal to get on a plane. It has been over two years since I visited my family in Ca. and, sadly, I have no desire to go back, Covid or no. I would be happy to traverse Portugal back and forth for the rest of my life!
And with everything going on, I am thankful that we got here when we did!
Hey Shanna, thought provoking as always, thank you.
The last time we flew was to Spain, our most favourite destination of all (Extremadura in fact!).
We came back, found our dream rescue Staffy and never flew again. That was some sixteen years or so ago and we have not flown since. Nor will we ever again, for many of the reasons you have extolled and then some. At first we thought it unfair to leave our beloved hound and he went everywhere we did, for all of his twelve years spent with us (14.5 in all!). But we also discovered flying was no longer for us. We purchased a caravan in the Summer of 2019, would you believe, and experienced a new found freedom, at least for a few short months. We have kept ourselves busy renovating a house, soon to be home and, honestly, have no plans to travel for the foreseeable.
I was just talking about this today at lunch with a friend. He said I hate to travel, I replied no...I hate the preparation to travel by plane. And the horrid, impatient and rude people that seem to enter my space.
We love not having a car and I don't fly well. Obviously to go to Australia we will have to endure the flight but we too decided to travel by bus and train through Europe doing house sits through trusted housesitters. It has been suggested that we buy a car and we too have resisted. It has put pressure on us to risk travel by bus or train but given the recent numbers we aren't going anywhere soon. Keep safe love from the Australians 😘
I used to love flying, even working in the industry back in the 80s. But over the years the enthusiasm has paled. Have I become blasé? A little. And it’s now a chore. As the airlines have made seating smaller, airports bigger and security time consuming, it’s lost a lot of the magic it held for me.
I used to fly back and forth when I lived in Spain to go and see relatives back in England. That got tiresome as I wasn't going on a holiday and all that time spent getting to the airport and 2 hours before your flight became very tedious and tiring and had the same effect as if I'd travelled for hours in a car etc. So I don't miss it at all! The longest flight I've been on is to New York which was exciting but because the flight was at 9.00 am, I had to get up at 5 am travel to the airport, 2 hours waiting. Then 8 hours flight and it was still only midday when we landed! By 9pm I was shattered & went to bed!! What a long day!! Anyway, I shall be quite happy travelling along Britain's roads instead for the foreseeable future! I would love to go back to New York though, no other place like it!! Take care Shanna! xx
As an employee of Boeing I should be ALL about air travel. I know that the commercial airplane industry has a long way to go in terms of efficiency but I am encouraged that the aerospace industry is not ignoring the challenge and the product that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, the 787, is vastly superior with respect to efficiency compared to our competitor.
We most recently appointed a sr. VP of sustainability which is evidence that we are not ignorant and we understand our obligations as air traffic will exponentially increase in the next 10-20 years.
Flying is the worst form of transportation and we are looking forward to experiencing the train network ever so present throughout Europe.
Yes, the golden age of air travel is over! I used to love it too, but now it is an ordeal to get on a plane. It has been over two years since I visited my family in Ca. and, sadly, I have no desire to go back, Covid or no. I would be happy to traverse Portugal back and forth for the rest of my life!
And with everything going on, I am thankful that we got here when we did!
Hey Shanna, thought provoking as always, thank you.
The last time we flew was to Spain, our most favourite destination of all (Extremadura in fact!).
We came back, found our dream rescue Staffy and never flew again. That was some sixteen years or so ago and we have not flown since. Nor will we ever again, for many of the reasons you have extolled and then some. At first we thought it unfair to leave our beloved hound and he went everywhere we did, for all of his twelve years spent with us (14.5 in all!). But we also discovered flying was no longer for us. We purchased a caravan in the Summer of 2019, would you believe, and experienced a new found freedom, at least for a few short months. We have kept ourselves busy renovating a house, soon to be home and, honestly, have no plans to travel for the foreseeable.
Thanks again for your thoughtful insights Shanna.
Hugs,
Rog... x
I was just talking about this today at lunch with a friend. He said I hate to travel, I replied no...I hate the preparation to travel by plane. And the horrid, impatient and rude people that seem to enter my space.
We love not having a car and I don't fly well. Obviously to go to Australia we will have to endure the flight but we too decided to travel by bus and train through Europe doing house sits through trusted housesitters. It has been suggested that we buy a car and we too have resisted. It has put pressure on us to risk travel by bus or train but given the recent numbers we aren't going anywhere soon. Keep safe love from the Australians 😘
I used to love flying, even working in the industry back in the 80s. But over the years the enthusiasm has paled. Have I become blasé? A little. And it’s now a chore. As the airlines have made seating smaller, airports bigger and security time consuming, it’s lost a lot of the magic it held for me.
I used to fly back and forth when I lived in Spain to go and see relatives back in England. That got tiresome as I wasn't going on a holiday and all that time spent getting to the airport and 2 hours before your flight became very tedious and tiring and had the same effect as if I'd travelled for hours in a car etc. So I don't miss it at all! The longest flight I've been on is to New York which was exciting but because the flight was at 9.00 am, I had to get up at 5 am travel to the airport, 2 hours waiting. Then 8 hours flight and it was still only midday when we landed! By 9pm I was shattered & went to bed!! What a long day!! Anyway, I shall be quite happy travelling along Britain's roads instead for the foreseeable future! I would love to go back to New York though, no other place like it!! Take care Shanna! xx
As an employee of Boeing I should be ALL about air travel. I know that the commercial airplane industry has a long way to go in terms of efficiency but I am encouraged that the aerospace industry is not ignoring the challenge and the product that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, the 787, is vastly superior with respect to efficiency compared to our competitor.
We most recently appointed a sr. VP of sustainability which is evidence that we are not ignorant and we understand our obligations as air traffic will exponentially increase in the next 10-20 years.
Flying is the worst form of transportation and we are looking forward to experiencing the train network ever so present throughout Europe.