Ladies , is a solo female FF who frequents First Lounges a rare breed indeed?

[harvyk]

http://livelearnevolve.com/buy-that-damn-plane-ticket-already/

Totally agree...

 

[Anna]

http://livelearnevolve.com/buy-that-damn-plane-ticket-already/

Not really about pointy end travel

But +1 for feeling more in danger in broad daylight on a street in San Fran than in many other places with worse reputations, at night.

 

[JessicaTam]

I say more ladies in the F lounge!

I try to oblige as often as I can.

Seriously, though, I am perfectly happy traveling by myself. I quite like the ability to come and go as I please and have seen some places I may not have were I traveling with company. I think Katie has summed up pretty well some of the reasons behind the disparity between males and females 'up the front'.

 

[Melburnian1]

I have a female associate who is single and who refuses to travel alone for leisure. I agree with others: missed opportunities. Most males I know who have an interest in travel have been only too happy at various points in their lives to travel alone.

There are many women who all things considered prefer to stay at home if familial and economic circumstances permit and look after their children or the home. I know a few who do and without exception they love the joys of looking after their families. Inevitably, that means a smaller pool of women who want to 'advance' in 'corporate life.' So while the percentage of F or J lounge dwellers (or general business travellers) who are female may have increased somewhat compared with a decade or two ago, it's hard to see it ever being above 50 per cent.

 

[basso]

People can be one gender and appear to be another...

Are there sufficiently numerous of these people that it explains the apparent gender bias?

 

[Heleigh]

Lower oxygen levels and alcohol can do wonders to one's perception

Sorry to say Quickstatus stone cold sober and even with alcohol can still tell the difference.

(did like your comment but my "like" sometime doesn't work)

 

[missafternoondelight]

Interesting, I've contemplated this many times myself, not just in terms of Flounge, but also at SYD and MEL J Lounges.
I like to play this game: 1. Count the number of women vs men in the lounge. 2. Count the number of women in the lounge who are not travelling with a guy. 3. Count the number of the remaining women (travelling alone or with other women) who are under 40.
If nothing else, it makes me feel special.

I think it reflects the following:
a) Men are much more likely to hold senior positions, which usually involve more work - related travel.
b) Women are less likely to accept travel opportunities at work due to family commitments
c) Women are less inclined, generally speaking to travel alone, and if they do, they're likely to do it the most efficient way possible.. few have the patience for extra connections to achieve status.

I have told my friends that the lounges, particularly the J Lounges are a fantastic place to meet men, and by and large, filter out less desirable guys for you (eg. you know that 90% have jobs and/or means). Ladies have their pick with the gender imbalance... just look out for wedding rings.

I wonder how many hookups based on apps like tinder have occurred in the lounge? (Off topic - sorry).

 

[JohnK]

I wonder how many hookups based on apps like tinder have occurred in the lounge? (Off topic - sorry).

Like what?

Oh my goodness. Looks like there is an app for everything. What am I missing out on?

 

[Pushka]

Like what?

Oh my goodness. Looks like there is an app for everything. What am I missing out on?

Everything now JohnK. You have a fiancée

 

[plspoon]

When I first started flying from Perth to Karratha & Port Hedland about 16 years ago for work, I was frequently the only female on the plane! Things have definitely changed and now sometimes 20% of the passengers might be female!! Whohooo!
I have travelled to Europe a number of times by myself and I love it. Like a previous poster mentioned, it is great being able to go to the lounge/duty free//shops etc without having to ask what the other half wants to do!! However, I do still prefer travelling with my other half

 

[h15t0r1an]

Interesting, I've contemplated this many times myself, not just in terms of Flounge, but also at SYD and MEL J Lounges.
I like to play this game: 1. Count the number of women vs men in the lounge. 2. Count the number of women in the lounge who are not travelling with a guy. 3. Count the number of the remaining women (travelling alone or with other women) who are under 40.
If nothing else, it makes me feel special.

I think it reflects the following:
a) Men are much more likely to hold senior positions, which usually involve more work - related travel.
b) Women are less likely to accept travel opportunities at work due to family commitments
c) Women are less inclined, generally speaking to travel alone, and if they do, they're likely to do it the most efficient way possible.. few have the patience for extra connections to achieve status.

I have told my friends that the lounges, particularly the J Lounges are a fantastic place to meet men, and by and large, filter out less desirable guys for you (eg. you know that 90% have jobs and/or means). Ladies have their pick with the gender imbalance... just look out for wedding rings.

I wonder how many hookups based on apps like tinder have occurred in the lounge? (Off topic - sorry).

+ 1 I've had the opportunity to frequent First Lounges round the world where they existed, otherwise Business lounges, flying in J class mostly, over the past two - three years.

I've frequently found myself the only lone female. I've been asking myself the same questions as OP and this poster, and coming up with the same answers.

There are far fewer women than men in lounges overall. I'd even say there is a greater mix of races and ethnicities often, than there are of genders across everyone in the lounges.

Where I see women in lounges, they are most often travelling with men. In more than 50% of cases where women are accompanied by men, the relationship appears a personal relationship rather than that of work colleagues. In First, I would say the relationship appears almost 100% personal rather than business between a travelling couple. In Business there are a few more who seem to be colleagues. It's slightly more often apparently a colleague pair travelling together if they are under 30-35. Over 30-35 seems to be mostly couples rather than colleagues traveling together on business. Overall women in lounges seem to predominantly travel as part of a couple or possibly mother and son. As this poster implies, women often travel together but perhaps for leisure and / or in Economy / not Frequent Flyer members so this may be why we don't see pairs or groups of ladies in lounges much at all.

As you would expect in Australia, Europe and the US, there are -sometimes- some women travelling alone other than myself. But not always, and nowhere near the numbers you would expect based on what we are supposed to believe about progress of women through the corporate ranks. And let's face it, lounges tend to be more used by corporate types. In North America the balance changes slightly with a few more wealthier leisure types but overall the atmosphere is still corporate.

Even more entertaining, I have found that FA's of some unexpected airlines - e.g. SAS (Scandinavian) - have shown assumptions made about my wishes as a lone female traveling in business onboard, that have surprised me compared to the neutral, helpful and efficient service I have had on Asian airlines. Of course, as my male colleague said, I am a less attractive passenger for female FA's to serve, as I'm not the one that is going to "take them away from all this" !!

I must admit I didn't expect that as a lone female traveling in a lounge, I would still be so relatively unusual. Male business travelers seem to travel quite happily alone.

 

[dadevo]

Sitting in the qantas first lounge in LA right now and there are more females than males - and lots of females in groups of 2 -3 .... Must be girls trip season!

I run a business with over 3000 employees in 3 countries .... Over 90% of them females and there is no doubt that the girls are just as ambitious as the men ..... But much more reluctant to take on positions that involve regular travel away from home!

 

[Bindibuys]

I for 1 love travelling on my own, and wish my job involved more travelling. Anyone need a PA?
Now after this thread, I will be counting male/female ratio in lounge at Sydney international QF J in the morning.

 

[get me outta here]

BibdiBuys, may I introduce you you to dadevo, the guy in the post above you with many employees most of whom don't wish to travel as you do. This may possibly be to your mutual benefit.

I for 1 love travelling on my own, and wish my job involved more travelling. Anyone need a PA?
Now after this thread, I will be counting male/female ratio in lounge at Sydney international QF J in the morning.

 

[dadevo]

i have a job going in NZ right now ..... based in Auckland and travelling around our 25 medical sites .... need some knowledge of practice management!

 

[robd]

i have a job going in NZ right now ..... based in Auckland and travelling around our 25 medical sites .... need some knowledge of practice management!

I practise management every day

 

[Bindibuys]

Alas only a Chiropratic office for 5 years.

 

[Ben6]

I have made a similar observation myself but taken it even broader than what you see in a lounge. There seems to me to be a greater likelihood of male interest in all things like status levels, FF systems and uses and indeed the various seat configurations and options across planes. Like most generalisations though, they are just that and exceptions can always be found. The combination of natural inclinations, along with the existing disparity in gender break up for traveling heavy roles results in an obvious scarcity of single female FF travelers!

 

[knightman7]

My wife makes this observation quite often. She almost never sees women travelling alone in an F or J lounge. It's that rare that she will text me if she spots one.

 

[Travelqueen]

i have a job going in NZ right now ..... based in Auckland and travelling around our 25 medical sites .... need some knowledge of practice management!

Hi dadevo,

bet you never thought you could recruit so well on AFF.
......this all sounds very interesting.
I'm a nurse with many years of management and clinical skills.
I'd like a job, based in melbourne, with travel involved...... Haha....my dream job.

TQ