Air Travel Nowadays

[BoeingDiesel]

My flying for business is coming to an end, I turned 66 in July Penny said that I'm going to be a "Certified Senior Citizen" when I start collecting my Social Security in a couple months. We are planning another trip to France next July to follow the Tour De France like we did once before. Lufthansa Airlines is the way to go EXCELLENT safety record, customer satisfaction and JUST A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE Last time we used them flying to Germany.

Excellent choice in Lufthansa. The air crews were always very accommodating to the comp and I loved their giant sticks of chewing gum.

 

[Ozymandias]

Excellent choice in Lufthansa. The air crews were always very accommodating to the comp and I loved their giant sticks of chewing gum.

Swiss is also in this Alliance, together with United and Lufthansa.
We always fly with Swiss if we have a chance to do it.
And they are not as Expensive as they have been in the Past.
Best is LAX to ZRH with the brand new Triple 7.

 

[GrantP]

Has anyone ever chartered a plane? I wonder if security procedures etc. are the same as flying commercial?

There are no security procedures for a chartered jet as far as I can tell. I worked in an office for 5 years that was attached to an aircraft hangar that chartered airplanes, there was never a security check. My office window literally looked over the planes in the hangar, the pilot would greet the guests and they went onboard. There was no security anywhere or I would have had to go through it to get to my office. In fact, I had access to the aircraft itself just because I had access to the building. I'd occasionally go out to the hangar and see what was new...never touched anything though, just admired.

I looked into a flight once mostly out of curiosity, the price was absurd.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

There are no security procedures for a chartered jet as far as I can tell. I worked in an office for 5 years that was attached to an aircraft hangar that chartered airplanes, there was never a security check. My office window literally looked over the planes in the hangar, the pilot would greet the guests and they went onboard. There was no security anywhere or I would have had to go through it to get to my office. In fact, I had access to the aircraft itself just because I had access to the building. I'd occasionally go out to the hangar and see what was new...never touched anything though, just admired.

I looked into a flight once mostly out of curiosity, the price was absurd.

From what I have been told 15 grand ( and ↑↑ ) per hour is very common for something like a G-550 or better, but goes up from there for amenities eg; food, booze, FA's etc.

 

[GrantP]

From what I have been told 15 grand ( and ↑↑ ) per hour is very common for something like a G-550 or better, but goes up from there for amenities eg; food, booze, FA's etc.

That sounds about right. I looked up a flight from Scottsdale AZ to Kalispell MT (a drive I do fairly regularly) and if IIRC, it was nearly 50k round trip for the family.

If it was even twice the price of a commercial flight I'd still consider doing it just for the convenience but that's above my pay grade.

 

[jgillott]

Yes, that is definitely reserved for high end corporate travel.

 

[jhenderson]

When you figure purchase,maint, inspections, insurance, pilot and sometimes co pilot, along with their recurrent training in make and model being flown, fuel and FBO and landing fees, private jet travel is expensive. Sometimes beyond belief. Drop down a level to turbo prop and cut the expenses by 1/2 considering an equal number of seats.

 

[TFucili]

Went to board in CLT on the way back to PHX only to find out we were summarily bumped from our seats even though we printed boarding passes yesterday morning. Now our seating is split up and I am right at the aft lavatory. At least we made it on board. Airlines have zero ethics.

 

[mwilson]

Went to board in CLT on the way back to PHX only to find out we were summarily bumped from our seats even though we printed boarding passes yesterday morning. Now our seating is split up and I am right at the aft lavatory. At least we made it on board. Airlines have zero ethics.

That is for sure....

My friend that works for Ryder flies all the time...he spent two days trying to get home from Philly, was supposed to change for a Bangor flight in DC but that got screwed up so they sent him to Philly. He finally made it home Friday.

One of our salesmen and a customer were coming back from Detroit, supposed to change in Philly but he and our customer wound up at Logan. He rented a car and drive them home Friday..

Crazy times...

 

[RVTRKN]

I'm two days away from getting on Air Canada, that screwed up our flights from Las Vegas to Anchorage AK, see earlier post, we'll be boarding in Vancouver BC for Las Vegas on the 23rd.

 

[BDaugherty]

We get the best steaks AT HOME,

View attachment 114111

Mine isn’t quite as fancy looking, but I certainly understand about the difficulty of getting food anywhere that’s better than home. Of course, it IS nice to just sit down and relax with no prep or cleanup to worry about.

 

[RVTRKN]

I'm two days away from getting on Air Canada, that screwed up our flights from Las Vegas to Anchorage AK, see earlier post, we'll be boarding in Vancouver BC for Las Vegas on the 23rd.

They actually screwed up the flight back from Vancouver to Vegas as well. We didn't get our premium seats we purchased and almost had to sit separated in a middle seat. They at least refunded our premium seat options for all flights. I will never fly Canada Air again.

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/air-canada-still-flying-high-on-ottawas-corporate-welfare

This is what happens with government subsidized companies

 

[Jim W]

My nephew who lives in Seattle WA. will fly Alaska Airlines only when he flies anywhere out west or east if the Alaska Airlines flies there. He say's all other airlines pale in comparison to Alaska Air Lines for their service. I take his word for it since I will not fly anymore unless the DW puts a gun to my head and says to me get on that plane. My last flight was in 2013 and that was enough for me.

 

[BSeyler]

X2
We have had very good service with Alaska Airlines.

 

[jhenderson]

Mine isn’t quite as fancy looking, but I certainly understand about the difficulty of getting food anywhere that’s better than home. Of course, it IS nice to just sit down and relax with no prep or cleanup to worry about. View attachment 114361

What’s that green stuff? If there’s something green in my fridge it’s because it’s gone bad.

 

[TFucili]

Seaweed helps attract mermaids...

 

[mwilson]

 

[TFucili]

I have Bobby Bare on my Pandora channel.

 

[mwilson]

I re-discovered him about 3 months ago thanks to Pandora...

Shuffle Bobby Bare, Johnny Cash, Hank Jr, The Cult, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and a few others...you never know what’s coming up next..

Was streaming my Pandora through the Rent A Suburban out in Missouri and the IT guy from our dealership remarked that I appeared to like just about any music....and a lot of stuff he had not heard in years...

I was ready to inform the herd that music was the drivers call....not necessary as they all liked it..took the fun right out of that..

 

[TFucili]

Dave Dudley, Dick Curless, Red Sovine, Del Reeves...