Sick of flying :(

[gnhansen29]

I'm not the most frequent flyer but my main concerns are spending too much on leisure travel and the hassle of getting myself and luggage to the airport early enough.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I average about 5 hours a week flying time for 2018 (SYD MEL and SYD AKL mainly), I don't mind the actual flying that much but the waiting at airports, the delays and being away from my wife and now 2 year old son for as much as I am is taking its toll on life and the more important things. I'm now actively looking at reducing the travel as much as possible to spend time at home.

Family balance is important. Whilst on one hand, short separations can be beneficial, too many can cause issues. Don't fall into the trap of forgetting the important dates/days. Just recently I altered my planning to fit in my youngest daughters graduation and formal although they stayed at the hotels (Hilton and Marriott) and I slept at home, just to experience the unusual ... sleeping in my own bed! I also find that it's good to get the family to join me at times as a break from home. I love going home and spending time at home, but they love getting away as they're at home nearly all the time. When I get them to join me, I will book them business and pay extra to ensure nice rooms etc and I find that really helps.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Hi all,

this is not an amazingly interesting thread. I just thought I would share with my fellow AFF members that at the moment I am absolutely sick of travel.

Due to work and other reasons I have enjoyed / suffered a lot of flight in the last few years. For most of them averaged, over the entire years, two hours of EVERY SINGLE DAY being airborne. Add airport time and you start to feel my pain. More than a month a year physically airborne....

I know there are many who travel even more, but I am just sick of it. I love airlines, aircraft, travel, flight. But I think I have overdone it. Am now in an endless cycle of travel with the main flight being SCL-SYD or vice versa. I now hate it. It would be different if Emirates flew it, and I could afford First. An Emirates A380 in First is now about the only flight I actually look forward too.

All this has come to a head because in a couple of days I do the SCL-SYD run again, and, just DON'T WANT TOO!!

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry everyone, just crying out into the night blizzard...

i have always been grateful we don’t fly enough to get sick of it - I still get excited when a trip gets nearer and it’s not just the holiday part, I enjoy planes, lounges , everything. Sorry you have done so much that that is not true for you

By the way get in touch if you are going to be in Canberra - we have a group that meets from time to time and we could get together for a coffee or something?

 

[kort]

I found this thread most interesting as I can semi relate.

In the past 12-15 months I have had to travel for around 6 of them (fly out Sun PM/Mon AM, back home Friday PM, at least 1 city each week, both Aus domestic and international). Estimate was 60 flights (flight times ranged from 1 hour to 10 hours), so nothing compared to the OP, but it was plenty for me!

Flew Business the majority of the time on the domestic routes and flew at least Business on the international legs (with some flights in 1st). So while I was at the pointy end most of the time, it still does not make up for the time away from home. I do look forward to the occasional work trip, however like most things, when it becomes constant, the excitement does disappear pretty quickly.

After those big flying stints, on the weekends, I just want to sit at home. Thankfully my partner is a homebody so our weekends are pretty quiet-just the way I like it

Next trip is a personal one in a few months. The time away from flying will hopefully invigorate me again.

 

[samh004]

Generally after a fairly hectic status run I will be pretty sick of it. Nothing gets you down like 12 pressurisations in a few days, even if you're in J. I think it's the lack of a comfortable sleep where your body can properly recharge that does it.

 

[blaz]

Flying for work is simply logistics...getting from point A to point B, but flying on a holiday is part of the whole adventure for me, at least. However, any day at home beats travel for food, beverage and comfort, but I love exploring, so I am up for slumming it .

 

[Janflyer]

I can relate to Juddles, although this thread has made me realise that others have it worse. For the past 2+ years, I've been flying PER-MEL every other week in Y for work and find the hardest part is adjusting to the time change and dealing with being tired all the time.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Flying J make the whole experience so much easier.

 

[kort]

Flying J make the whole experience so much easier.

Multiple flights of flying J and even F class week in week out have worn me down. Too much of a "good thing" doesn't make it as special.

 

[ronagoh]

I'll do a job swap with you for a year or two.....

i second that

 

[leadman]

It's just not the flying alone; packing and repacking, going to from airports, waiting in customs lines, waiting for baggage, checking in and out of hotels, lost luggage, jetlag, inexperienced travellers, delays, etc, etc,.

As i often say, travel is all about the next queue........

 

[leadman]

i second that

Be careful what you wish for! This week on the very long business trip i outlined previously; BKK > HKG > LAX > RNO leave 11:00 into RNO hotel 21:00, next day breakfast meeting 06:30 on plant 08:00 (total sleep 2 hours) and on and on. Fell asleep at work on the Thursday, told to snore quieter. This is about a normal week on the road across the globe. Weekends are used to get to the next country continent.

 

[Quickstatus]

@juddles
Some options:

(a)Delegate air travel
Instead of you why not your significant others? Fly to you instead of fly to them?

(b) travel is always better in company. Buy 3Y tickets instead of 1J (the third seat is an extra seat sans airline fines). Y travel in company is often more enjoyable than J solo.

(c) Create an AFF get together in SCL....

(d) Cruise SCL to SYD 31 nights on the Viking Sun

 

[Nank]

My friend's dad worked in a high up management position for Telstra until recently. Though he was based down here in Melbourne he was flying almost daily up to SYD or other parts of Australia for meetings etc. Thankfully for him I believe it was all work-funded but damn his QF points count is off the charts lol. Though I am an avid aviation enthusiast I did find that going on one A380 after another plus a A320 and 777 chucked in somewhere all in Economy through Europe and back last holidays did start to get the better of me. Wasn't helped by the fact that I ended up with an ear infection partway through I much prefer when I am out actually flying myself, feels a lot nicer and of course is way more fun. Always need to find a balance in life, guess that's why I love my lawn and landscape business because not only does it bring in some extra cash to pay for my flying lessons etc. but when I do end up with an airline it will give me a good way to refresh myself from spending hours on end in an overpowered tin can at FL380 all the time ;D

 

[dajop]

Anyway, it is 22 hrs till I get aboard again. One thing I do like as an aviation enthusiast is that when I do QF 28 I suspect it will be on VH-OEB - the oldest of QF's 747's, and one I have flown a lot. I don't know how long "Phillip Island" has left in her, but it cannot be long!

I wonder if the older aircraft type contributes to the general "over it" feeling? Recently had three flights (on different routes) over a one month period on the same SQ aircraft ... not just aircraft type but actual aircraft (looked up the rego number), one of the oldest in the fleet. Each flight was awful, even with good crew/service, and (the same) extra legroom economy seat, maybe there was something about that aircraft that gave that impatient/irritable feeling for the whole flight. Since then had a few more medium hauls in economy in much newer aircraft and I was happy again.

Also timing can be a big factor, I've concluded I have that "sick of flying" feeling, particularly on short-medium haul where I reach destination between 2-4am "body clock" (departure city) time.

 

[Flying mermaid]

@juddles

(b) travel is always better in company. Buy 3Y tickets instead of 1J (the third seat is an extra seat sans airline fines). Y travel in company is often more enjoyable than J solo.

I must be a sociopath, because I can’t think of anyone whose company would make me happier in Y vs J

 

[Alyopsis]

A couple of years ago I had a job change and a few other things going on. My flying and hotel nights dropped right off, soonafter did my status. Do I miss it ? Yes and no. I remember those days I was on three flights a day and the smell of the Qantas coffee brewing as I boarded yet another plane made me want to puke. I remember the 4.00am alarms and 4.30am taxis. I remember the VA toasties - not entirely positively.

But I think I miss the drama. I think I subconsciously miss the wank value of having to announce winding up a meeting or lunch cause I gotta get to the airport and go somewhere. I think I miss walking into another fine expensive hotel suite (upgraded thanks to status) and been oh so over it and wanting to order mashed potato and go home. The fact that I still lurk around websites like this suggests I still haven’t got it out of my system.

Now I fly a lot less. The hotels are few are far between. But I still go business thanks to what I learnt in forums and on websites like this. When your slapping everything on certain cards and maximising convenient bonus points opportunities the points add up quickly and you’re soon sliding back into 1A after a couple of pinots in the lounge and it’s just like the old days. Then there’s an ATC delay and you’re orbiting over Singleton and you’ve had more than enough wine and being in 1A don’t get you on the ground any faster than the bloke in 19B and you realise why you don’t do this too much anymore.

 

[chillbaby]

Still enjoy flying internationally for work. Always Oneworld J or F - approx. 1 O/S trip per month (6 x US, 6 x Asia or NZ) plus usually 1 personal family O/S trip at Christmas. Rarely fly domestically though - definitely over that and always send staff when I can...

 

[Melburnian1]

Flying to LHR in J on QF 1 tomorrow....after the Syd F lounge, it is all downhill. coughpy J seat with very average food and drink, no EK F lounge in Dxb for a midnight steak and French red, can't sleep on board, jetlag and cold miserable weather in London! ...I'm not overjoyed with this work trip. To make it all bearable, I'm taking a week of leave to spend in Bordeaux and Paris before coming home

Plenty of competition on the Kangaroo route. Is it feasible for you to use an Asian carrier?

 

[kpc]

Plenty of competition on the Kangaroo route. Is it feasible for you to use an Asian carrier?

It is called the Platinum handcuffs....a return Syd-Lhr J with double SCs is basically Plat requalication (already QF LT Gold)....my personal / award longhaul flights are usually not QF flights