Last year, I was traveling quite a lot, way too much for a normal family life. My resolution for 2012 should be to travel less.
When I updated my trip recording yesterday, I made a quick count. In 2011, I went on 19 business trips, to a variety of interesting places:
- Milan, Italy.
- Doha, Qatar.
- San Antonio, Texas.
- Moscow, Russia (7 times).
- Murmansk, Russia (4 times).
- Domestic, northbound (2 times).
- Domestic, southbound (4 times).
There are a few things I really dislike about flying. This is my top 3 hate list:
- Sitting in a center seat: A long flight squeezed between two fat guys, and fighting for the arm rest is a nightmare. I want a window seat.
- When the guy in the seat in front of me leans his seat backward and steals half of that small space I have to read and write and work. The seats should be fixed in the upright position.
- Airport security is such a hazzle; taking off clothes and shoes, emptying pockets, taking lap top out of the bag, long lines.
Flying is not all bad. There are things I like about it too:
- Sitting by the window looking down on interesting places as we pass by.
- Getting some undisturbed time to read and write.
- The comfort in business class. I don’t fly business class very often, only on flights taking 6 hours or more. Most of the time I fly Economy Extra, to be able to re-book flights as needed.
Anyway, next week I go again; booked my tickets today.
(I took the picture above last fall, on-board an Aeroflot plane, over the western part of Russia. The clouds make up an interesting pattern of almost parallel lines. I'm not sure what's causing this, but it was a nice view.)
I think I hate just about everything about flying.
ReplyDeleteYou're off to a bad start. Ten trips per year means one trip every 5.2 weeks, right? We're only in the second week...
ReplyDeleteHere's to keeping your feet on the ground.
Alex: It's not all bad. The good thing about flying is fast travel >:)
ReplyDeleteNessa: On trip per month is OK, but not more. Will try to keep my feet on the ground as much as I can >:)
I remember the days of half full planes and being able to move to two consecutively open seats to stretch out. Now with airlines using fewer planes and packing them out, that option rarely exists. Never again will I take a center seat.
ReplyDeleteMy husband travels so much that when he took some vacation days (since he was about to lose them) around Christmas, I didn't know what to do with him. I don't even try to keep track of where he is anymore.
ReplyDeleteSo, I sympathize with you for having to travel so much, and I sympathize with your wife, too.
Incidentally, my son doesn't fly much, but when he does, it's not very much fun. Try being him in the middle seat when the guy in front reclines. My son is 6'10".
Stephen: My default is to book window seats, but sometimes I can't avoid the center, for instance to day. I missed the Aeroflot flight to Moscow due to fog, and had to take an alternative route later via Riga. Had to accept a center seat from Riga to Moscow.
ReplyDeleteHelen: My spouse works full time as a chemical engineer and travels white a bit too, mostly domestic, and (by helicopter) to the offshore oil field where she's in charge of the chemical systems. Sometimes it's challenging to synchronize our travel. When needed, we fly up some grandparents to take care of the kids >:)
I hate flying. Period. There's nothing nice about it. Only one thing worse and that's travelling by boat (and you'll never get me on a cruise liner after the recent disaster!)
ReplyDeleteHope you manage to stick to your 10 flights only.
Judy, South Africa
Judy: Boats are better than planes, more space to move around. I actually enjoy being on boats, both big and small ones >:)
ReplyDelete