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Do you consider air travel to be comfortable?

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CanalWalker

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Moderator note: moved from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/manchester-euston-£320-ret.182476/page-3
Me too. Always amazed that people seem surprised by this sort of thing. However, I do have sympathy with those who are finding that they had booked accommodation and are now being told to pay extra. The advantage UK rail travellers have is that at times of peak demand there is a ceiling on prices - which means that the problem becomes overcrowding and resultant discomfort, something that air travellers don't suffer.

Air travel without discomfort? I wish!
 
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Bletchleyite

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Business class shares the same low air pressure

Have a try of a 787, which has a higher cabin pressure and humidity than most other aircraft. It really does make a difference. I don't do sleeping on planes, but for a 7 hour day flight it made a huge difference to my (lack of) grogginess on arrival compared with the 777-300ER on the way out.

smoking ban

Difficult to avoid that without the whole thing reeking of fag ash. Patches are probably the way to go.
 

Bletchleyite

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Now we've got a dedicated thread...I also find journeys in the exit row on sleasyJet when there's nobody in the middle to be an entirely pleasant experience. And if there's going to be a middle seat free, it's that one - who would pay extra to be sat between two rugby player sized blokes unless travelling as a two, and if you are it can be worth booking window and aisle and hoping nobody goes for middle[1] as a result?

[1] If they do, just offer them the choice of window or aisle as a swap - almost nobody will ever turn that down.
 

Bletchleyite

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Not if they are a smoker perhaps? ;)

Most smokers don't want to be sat in a room (aluminium tube) full of old fug, though, do they? In the days of the smoking carriage it tended to be that people would go there for a smoke and return elsewhere, which meant a guaranteed seat in there for anyone who didn't mind putting up with it in preference to standing in the vestibule on ICWC services in the 1990s.

Just get some patches for the journey - it's better for everyone that it's banned, really. It also reduces the fire risk.
 

hexagon789

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Most smokers don't want to be sat in a room (aluminium tube) full of old fug, though, do they? In the days of the smoking carriage it tended to be that people would go there for a smoke and return elsewhere, which meant a guaranteed seat in there for anyone who didn't mind putting up with it in preference to standing in the vestibule on ICWC services in the 1990s.

Just get some patches for the journey - it's better for everyone that it's banned, really. It also reduces the fire risk.

Hence why I said "perhaps". I know that plenty of smokers may not necessarily like the "fug".
 

Struner

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wear sandals or slippers when checking in & put your shoes/boots in your (hand-)luggage lol
it's way more boring than travelling by train
 

paddington

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The annoying thing about smoking bans is that you now have to pass through a cloud of smoke when walking into many buildings. At hospitals in particular, the preferred place for smokers seems to be in front of the NO SMOKING signs by the entrances.

This is a problem at the Heathrow T4 and T5 bus stops, though smokers at the central bus station seem to respect the signs and indulge in their habit by the shortcut passage between the arrival bus stop to the toilets/escalators.

Another side effect of the smoking ban relating to air travel is that the only way for people connecting at Heathrow (or other UK airports which are less used for connections) to smoke between their flights is to go landside, while at other airports in the world there are smoking rooms inside the airport. If not connecting to/from domestic or to Ireland flights, this clogs up the queues at immigration, although they would need to pass though security regardless and if eligible for immigration e-gates it is often faster to go landside than through flight connections.
 

jmh59

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The annoying thing about smoking bans is that you now have to pass through a cloud of smoke when walking into many buildings. At hospitals in particular, the preferred place for smokers seems to be in front of the NO SMOKING signs by the entrances.

Our local hospital maternity wing is a case in point. Newborns are carried through a haze of smoke usually generated by people attached to multiple drips on coat stands... but one has to remember it is your right to smoke and surely hospitals should make proper provision for people.

As to flight comfort, having just traveled to Hong Kong on a half-empty plane I have to say that having a row of three seats entirely to myself was comfortable... but I think my leg length is just right so I can easily fit plane seats legroom-wise. Mind you I've never been on the cheapo carriers so I dunno.
 

ashkeba

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Our local hospital maternity wing is a case in point. Newborns are carried through a haze of smoke usually generated by people attached to multiple drips on coat stands... but one has to remember it is your right to smoke and surely hospitals should make proper provision for people.
The current provision is not proper, is it? There's no right to hurt newborns as they leave. If someone stood by the door slapping babies' faces as they left, they'd be carted off in short order!

As to flight comfort, having just traveled to Hong Kong on a half-empty plane I have to say that having a row of three seats entirely to myself was comfortable... but I think my leg length is just right so I can easily fit plane seats legroom-wise. Mind you I've never been on the cheapo carriers so I dunno.
While those of us who are tall and beautiful find most planes horribly confining and even some exit row seats have legroom that makes most Mark 3 MU "airline" seating seem generous.

Give me trains any time! If only international tickets weren't so dam fiddly.
 

AM9

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Have a try of a 787, which has a higher cabin pressure and humidity than most other aircraft. It really does make a difference. I don't do sleeping on planes, but for a 7 hour day flight it made a huge difference to my (lack of) grogginess on arrival compared with the 777-300ER on the way out. ...
That's interesting, I will be travelling on a 787 to/from Calgary soon. Normal mif-flight air pressure is 7-8000ft, how much better is it on 787s?
 

FQTV

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Now we've got a dedicated thread...I also find journeys in the exit row on sleasyJet when there's nobody in the middle to be an entirely pleasant experience. And if there's going to be a middle seat free, it's that one - who would pay extra to be sat between two rugby player sized blokes unless travelling as a two, and if you are it can be worth booking window and aisle and hoping nobody goes for middle[1] as a result?

[1] If they do, just offer them the choice of window or aisle as a swap - almost nobody will ever turn that down.

A number of airlines, including no-frills carriers, have reasonably straightforward systems to allow you to book a ‘comfort seat’ - ie an unoccupied seat next to yours, or one between two of you if travelling as a couple.

The seat has its own boarding pass, and is ‘onloaded’ at the gate so that it can’t be subsequently reallocated.

The seat has its own naming protocol, which varies by airline. Jet2.com uses ‘MR EXTRASEAT [ASSOCIATED SURNAME]’, for example. On easyJet, it’s ‘MR SEAT CELLO’ as it’s the same system for large musical instruments.

If fares are very low, buying an extra seat can actually be cheaper than buying an exit seat or seats, albeit meaning that the additional space is lateral rather than fore/aft, and you may not automatically get associated amenities such as priority boarding.

The booking instructions are usually in the FAQ section of the airlines’ websites.
 

EssexGonzo

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As someone who's 6'3" and wide (but not what you'd call a chubster), most affordable air travel is not comfortable. My days of an employer flying me business class are behind me.

Ironically, in UK/Europe, nowadays I find Easyjet more comfortable than most BA flights. I suspect that BA have begun to tighten up their cabins and, of course, still have reclinable seats. It makes life so much easier when the option of dislocating my knee has been removed.

But it's not just the plane - I loathe airports with a vengeance. The modern airport experience is rubbish and if I can drive or use the train, I will do so.
 

Bletchleyite

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That's interesting, I will be travelling on a 787 to/from Calgary soon. Normal mif-flight air pressure is 7-8000ft, how much better is it on 787s?

6000ft, from a bit of Googling. It does appear to make a difference, as does the higher humidity. Love the big windows and the LCD "window shades" too.
 

whhistle

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but one has to remember it is your right to smoke and surely hospitals should make proper provision for people.
Is it a right to be able to smoke?
If so, surely I should be provided with free tools to do so?



Is air travel comfortable?
Now I think about it, not really.
I don't travel by air often so still get a bit of a buzz when I do. But it's tiring. The seats are fairly padded but not very comfortable for long distances.
 

edwin_m

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Air travel always involves the experience of airport security and queueing or simply hanging around in airports for long periods, which isn't particularly comfortable. It often also entails sleep disruption due to early starts or late evening arrivals, even if there isn't enough time difference to cause jet lag.
 

theshillito

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I'd consider air travel fairly comfortable. I've never flown Ryan or Easy though, so perhaps my thoughts on that would change if I did. Flying in a 787 with ANA between Dusseldorf and Tokyo (Narita) is lovely though (and the seats have seemingly got more legroom in my most recent trip compared to a few years ago). Eurowings between Manchester and Dusseldorf, along with Norwegian between Manchester and Stockholm also seem fine. Certainly not had an experience that I'd describe as "uncomfortable".
 

AM9

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I find it mainly acceptable, it's the airports that mar the experience for me.
In recent years, airports either have the feel of bus stations, e.g. almost all of those in the USA, or like the most intrusive areas of shopping malls, (painted women trying to spray the latest novel fragrance over everybody, passengers desperate to buy alcohol as if they are going to celebrate Christmas during their June Florida break, and bored kids of all ages).
The latest irritation is the shops that you are forced to traipse through after clearing customs.
6000ft, from a bit of Googling. It does appear to make a difference, as does the higher humidity. Love the big windows and the LCD "window shades" too.
How are the LCD blinds, do they impair pictures taken through the larger windows (when they are set to minimum obscuration of course!)?
 

paddington

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It often also entails sleep disruption due to early starts or late evening arrivals, even if there isn't enough time difference to cause jet lag.

The same is true for trains though. The reasons for early starts / late returns are that people want to maximise their destination time while reducing hotel nights needed, or because those flights are cheaper. But early morning and late night trains are more likely to have cheaper Advance / Sparpreis etc. tickets available too.

Another thing about smoking - I spent most of March in the German/Germanic-speaking countries and every station platform was full of smokers, it was very hard to find a spot to stand where you couldn't smell it, and they never stopped! At least you don't get that in airports, and UK train stations are better though there are lots of vapers.

Maybe a smoker can explain, but there seems to be something about trains that makes smokers so impatient for their next puff that they need to have the cigarettes in their mouth one station in advance and lighter in hand as the train slows to a halt, so they can light up the moment their mouth passes the door. And had a number of rude ones chuck their fag onto the platform just as the doors close then blow smoke right into other people's faces on the train.


I find airports pleasant to wait in because I almost always have lounge access from airline status, even though I don't fly that much (compared to some), I just choose which tickets I buy so they earn me benefits quickly and cheaply. If UK trains had comparable "frequent basher" schemes they should be giving me free meals at every station with the amount of trains I take....

As for queues, I avoid airports at peak school holiday times. IMO trying to board an XC train at New St during daytime is orders of magnitude worse than any of my experiences at airports.
 

OneOffDave

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Like most things it's a trade off. The 9 hours i spent on a plane yesterday was much more comfortable than the alternative transport methods would have been
 

fowler9

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I've done several 12 hour plus flights in economy. They were all for leisure so that probably helped with me enjoying them. I normally don't mind flying at all including the airport experience. I can imagine in many cases of you have to do it for work it must be torture.

Bad flights, actually the last one I took from Katowice to Liverpool. We spent the night before sleeping in the airport so I was tired, the Wizzair A320 was an older one, it was incredibly hot and very uncomfortable. Split to Manchester in September 2017 wasn't great either. Airport was massively overcrowded, plane was delayed and very hot. That one was Easyjet. Not their fault with the delay or the airport.
 

class387

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No long haul economy flight is comfortable, though some are better (A350 or A380) or worse (787, 10 abreast 777).
 

edwin_m

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The same is true for trains though. The reasons for early starts / late returns are that people want to maximise their destination time while reducing hotel nights needed, or because those flights are cheaper. But early morning and late night trains are more likely to have cheaper Advance / Sparpreis etc. tickets available too.
Trains are generally more frequent so there may be an option of a more convenient time. It may even be possible to get an off-peak train the evening before and a hotel for less than the price of a peak ticket in the morning. On most air routes there are a handful of flights per day, at times that suit the airline!

Split to Manchester in September 2017 wasn't great either. Airport was massively overcrowded, plane was delayed and very hot. That one was Easyjet. Not their fault with the delay or the airport.
Did you use a Split ticket?
 
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