When air travel loses its lustre, what's left?

[anat0l]

Having read another thread in this forum about travelling for work, some people here do notably fly a lot. I mean, a lot.

There's a common thread in them that says that whilst we can be frequent flyer nuts who really know and care about the service and features of flying, after a while (especially through repetition), the gloss wears off.

This applies mainly to all of:

• Airlines
• Airports
• Hotels

...and perhaps to a lesser degree, hire cars, taxis / chauffeur services, restaurants, etc.


It got me thinking - we put a lot of pressure on airlines to deliver good benefits, perks and features when we fly. But in the end, once we lose the love of flying, it almost seems like it matters little what happens any more, except if it disrupts our schedule.

At this point, what does it matter any more about the features of flight / airports / hotels? Does it matter that your Y meal looks a bit like a prison food tray? Does it matter that that veggie wrap you had on the last flight was dry? Does priority security feel like it's a worthwhile benefit any more? Even if they had vodka in the lounge, would it matter much if it were Grey Goose or just Smirnoff? Would you care if the hotel forgot to give you two bottles of water and instead only gave you one this time? If you slept the entire flight there and back, would you care if the FAs were a little brusque (except if you cared about the welfare of the other passengers or the airline)? SIN and HKG are amongst the best airports in the world, but after the nth time you walk through them you probably are sick to death of the same buildings with the same shops, and the same airline lounges.....

Do you even notice infractions in service or product as much as when you still had a passion for flying?

Do you think airlines are playing on the same lines?

What do you think?

If you're already pretty much jaded from all of this, what would it take to "bring the gloss back", so to speak?

In the end, what are the most important benefits of air travel, airports and hotels?

 

[TonyHancock]

In the end, what are the most important benefits of air travel, airports and hotels?

Comfort is the answer for me. With 300,000 miles and 100 hotel nights this year I want to get from A to B as comfortably as possible and stay in a hotel that gives me a decent bed, room service, good laundry service, fast internet etc. (......and the Ibis in Belo Horizonte is a step up from the Formule 1!!!)

 

[Paddy55]

Having read another thread in this forum about travelling for work, some people here do notably fly a lot. I mean, a lot.

There's a common thread in them that says that whilst we can be frequent flyer nuts who really know and care about the service and features of flying, after a while (especially through repetition), the gloss wears off.
...
Do you even notice infractions in service or product as much as when you still had a passion for flying?

You know you're flying too much when it doesn't bother you when you have to fly JetSt*r :shock:

 

[Warks]

I always get the feeling after a lot of work travel that I'm reducing my life expectancy. At home you have a routine and eat better (well I do). When away I don't get as much exercise, tend to sit in a lot of meetings and eat whatever's on offer. Then the travel part - with all the food on offer in the clubs it's again easy to eat badly and drink too much. Of course flying is always an opportunity to eat badly! I think if I travelled a lot more I'd have to have a very strict regime and stick to it otherwise I'd drop off the perch.

I can't see that the airlines/hotels etc can do anything much to make it a whole lot better. Just don't make it miserable.

 

[medhead]

I think I'm the opposite. Weekly return flights (only average by some standards here) and they all blur into one. At the time dodginess happens I notice, I might even comment but after a few days I don't remember if it was last week or last May. Even if I do comment, I don't really care and so I'm a bit of a fraud in that way.

Hotels, well I stay at the same one; a secondary hotel, no room service, no points, no chain. I actually get real annoyed with service their. If I forget the do not disturb sign they come in and do some really helpful, kind things. But argh, I just want my room left alone! That's how I make it like my home. Helps that after 2 years I always, 85%, get the same room.


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[simongr]

You know you're flying too much when it doesn't bother you when you have to fly JetSt*r :shock:

Personally I am the reverse - given I fly a lot (not as much as some) - having to fly on that sort of carp is unacceptable.

 

[UP4014]

When air travel loses its lustre, I use the train of course, here travelling between Sydney and Canberra rather than another flight.
A pic of myself riding the observation deck a friends private car, I came forward from mine, (BAM1748, the car behind the water tanker) for a beer with a mate on his car.
Exiting Gib Tunnel | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Matt

 

[Awesom Andy]

As much as I still love flying at the moment, i would definitely take high-speed rail if available. Quite often rail drop you off very close to or in the middle of the city, and there's no seat belts to worry about. I guess there's a bit more to look at in terms of scenery, but that's objective. I think that for any travel within 3/400 miles, high speed rail is well worth considering over flying.

 

[ReLoad]

An interesting topic, I think for me it comes down to routine, commonality and consistency and most importantly, we are a huge bunch of Wankers.

Routine:
For example, when you walk into a Westin hotel, no matter where in the world they smell the same, do I like the smell? Not really, but it consciously or subconsciously lets me go to sleep much easier knowing that in the morning I’m going to wake up and know that everything will be ok, my clothes will be laundered, ill have a good breakfast and that ill be able to start the day on the right foot.

Commonality:
Likewise, im sure lots of us have a preference for the same flights when we have a plethora of choices. We choose the same seat numbers on planes, we even have the same drinks each time in the lounge, where we probably sit in the same seats or area if we can.
We do what makes us feel comfortable by associating good past experiences and forming a routine. It is very natural and when we are tired, exhausted and mentally drained it serves us very well in what we do as Frequent travellers.

Consistency:
Do we get upset when things do not follow their “usual way” your damn right we do, because that's all we know! Don't change the pattern man, (insert rain man wanting K-mart boxer shorts motion)

Does it have any appeal to us anymore? Nope, does it sound sexy? Nope, are we lucky to travel so much? Maybe we are, and we’re probably taking it for granted, which leads me to my last point.

We are a huge bunch of Wankers.
Our moral compasses for what is right and wrong in our frequent travellers existence is so far out of whack its not funny, “oh it is disappointing they didn’t have Tattinger, and I only had to have the 2002 Dom Perignon”. “I can’t believe they changed the plane on me and now I have to sleep on a 10% angle.” And my personal favourite “How cough is it that they always run out of newspapers in the lounge”.


The solution?
I don’t think there is one, but I think here on AFF we’ve also built up a bit of immunity against the malaise, the unbelievably helpful people here that share their experiences, all the tricks they know, the things that make life easier, how to avoid bad things and nasty tricks. The great trip reports, the ability to play games, such as the counting game, or collecting interesting things, ticking off different airports, flying on all of an airlines metal etc, there are lots of things we do to help us cope with what we have chosen to become, the worry is, when that isn’t enough........

For me personally its about taking it in, for example and I am sure we have all seen it; A DYKWIA losing his load of bananas to some easyjet check in clerk who is barely legal to catch a train on their own, its funny it really is, and its moments like these which makes what we do kind of cool in a bizarre observing the world we live in way, sometimes we see funny things, sometimes we see sad things, sometimes we are part of funny things, sometimes we are part of sad things, but it is all experience, the trick is to enjoy experiences for what they are, at least thats what I do.

Now where the hell is my Tattinger.............

 

[Fantic125]

I just do it to get away from having to spend time with my family and do stuff around the house.

 

[Deleted member]

I don't fly often or even very far. I am off To a conference in may with Mrs GPH. We are flying BNE Sydney Qantas I think. Then it's SYD - HNL. And as it is all organised for us ( by the ubiquitous conference organisers) we are flying Hawaiian. In whY. A long flight by my standards. I am NOT looking forward to this. I have no status with anyone in this group. And due to the nature of the arrangements there is not a lot I can do to improve the situation. I am told that for about $5k extra ( one way) we can upgrade to an ersatz biz class , which I am reliably informed is more of a Y+ type seat. I am not keen on that. So against my better judgement we are going.
Compare that to our trip at the end of this month BNE-SIN in J (then on to Koh Samui) and return (in J) with a week in the KC over water villas. I am not only looking forward to the destination But the journey as well. So for me there is still some glamour , But not if I have to do it the hard way.
The way some of you folk jump on and off planes has me in awe.
So Status and a bit of preferential treatment when I matters most is well deserved.

So what solution do I envisage?

I am a complete novice at this and I have always wanted to know what the tolerance level would be on price if say Y magically became Y+ and J something more akin to a J+ or F ?
Is it about a catch a bus , cheapest fare mentality so ingrained that change is not something we as travellers would contemplate?
Do bigger planes with wider more comfortable seats (and maybe not as many seats as possible crammed in with no elbow room) offer a solution?
If Anyone with some knowledge of this could explain how it all works I would be much obliged.
I note that the old sliver service airline ( all biz class) didn't survive , does this offer some insight to how it all works?

 

[vetrade]

I don't think it is so much the frequency with which one flies that has caused flying to lose its lustre so much as the nature of flying itself. Everyone flies these days because it's comparatively cheap - as has been said before some flights are cheaper than the cab ride to the airport. Maybe I'm showing my age (or prejudices) but personally I would prefer if a lot more people couldn't afford to fly. People used to actually put on clean clothes if they were going on a plane trip. They put shoes on their feet and they used deodorant - and they behaved much more respectfully towards fellow passengers.

Being a hostess (that's a FA for the younger members) was a much sought after job that only "glamours" managed to get. They were admired by passengers and they performed their work the way appreciated workers do - with pleasantness and a smile. Screaming kids were a rarity because their parents couldn't afford a ticket for them and you never took a baby on a plane because you KNEW they would cry and disturb other passengers.

I think the appeal of plane travel has declined to such a degree that a lot of us retreat to the lounges and J or F class for some civility and just so that we don't have to feel that we're stuck in the "jungle" with people in $2 Bali tee shirts that only get washed when they fall off their surfboards; and like those who have conversations on their mobiles (probably with themselves) at 90 decibels pretending to be EIP's (EXTREMELY important people). A long haul trip in Y is often the stuff of nightmares.

So I don't thing most of us care much if it's Tattinger or Dom, ReLoad, but it definitely MUST be Grey Goose, anat0l. And most of all I must concur with Awesom Andy with regard to the merits of v. fast train travel sans the security checks because the greatest drag about flying is the many wasted hours at either end - and sometimes in the middle for connections that suck the will to live right out of you..........

 

[browski]

The loss of lustre might also be due to frequent business travel; not leisure travel. I have no supporting evidence, but I feel I'm much less grumpy on a personal holiday than another business trip. I begrudge this necessary evil that takes me away from my otherwise wonderful home city life. I dislike the allocation to the client of many long days (and evenings) of my time. I want my fully flexible, customer-free time back.

So........being mentally unstable, I'd like both the flights and hotel experience to be comfortable. Especially I want to interact with other humans as little as possible; that seems to be the best result for everyone concerned. It's always the little things that seem to cut deepest. A flight missed or a flight delayed does not even register. Lost luggage, getting ill or being caught in a warzone does not cause concern. But have me walk 300 metres to return to the lobby when the stupid plastic hotel key loses its ability to open my door (again) because I carry a mobile phone, nearly makes me top myself.

Perhaps I have revealed too much.

 

[Deleted member]

Vetrade has made some astute observations. But I wonder still if the sardine like existence inY cold not be fixed with a different pricing structure and seating arrangement ?

 

[nonpop]

... But have me walk 300 metres to return to the lobby when the stupid plastic hotel key loses its ability to open my door (again) because I carry a mobile phone, nearly makes me top myself....

+1 to that. Especially at 4am after being on the town, I find myself on a high floor, way, way away from elevator (as per my pref) only to find the door key card no longer works. That extra 15 mins means everything at that time. Ok so may be next time I need to leave the entertainment 15 mins prior. Oh well, a first world problem.

 

[ozmille]

lucky for me I still get excited when going to the airport, maybe because I am not really a frequent flyer