tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post9145177091716116279..comments2024-03-09T20:40:14.660+11:00Comments on The BOOT - The Business of Online Travel: Business Traveller Tip – 10 tips for surviving economy class flyingTim Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05383381229302650553noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-33939878504182431372013-04-14T09:11:17.543+10:002013-04-14T09:11:17.543+10:00I was reading some info from an airline design pro...I was reading some info from an airline design pro who said that it isn't true tht electronics can cause plane crashes. They said if it were true, they wouldn't even allow them on the plane. The actual issue with electronics on take off and landing is that people wearing/listening to them won't hear the safety instructions or directions. I can see that...lots of people are very blaise about those now and don't pay any mind.<br />Happy travels! ArletteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-51917453509229952572012-09-04T05:56:12.362+10:002012-09-04T05:56:12.362+10:00My top tip after 30 years of international air tra...My top tip after 30 years of international air travel, mostly in cattle class - bring good quality battery powered noise reducing headphones. The type that cover your ears completely, and spare batteries. These will cut out about 80%-90% of the cabin noise and you don't get hearing problems or ear infections like you do from using earbuds for long periods. Don't plug them into anything just enjoy the silence. <br />Regarding the comment about a $200M airplane being brought down by a $300 mp3 player, probably not, but imagine the RF from 250-300 cleverly hidden mp3 players, smart phones and laptops sending emails and mobile phones all working at the same time! As a licensed pilot my comment on this is - Grow up! if you can't last without electronics for the time required for takeof and landing, then take a ship or stay at home.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-80588531426232847122010-10-27T00:15:38.668+11:002010-10-27T00:15:38.668+11:00Thanks for the info, very good and detailed! I lik...Thanks for the info, very good and detailed! I liked this post!Andreyhttp://www.bookingworld.runoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-78935452184530777972010-10-25T09:27:16.647+11:002010-10-25T09:27:16.647+11:00@Cam - great list. Mindset tip is spot on!@Cam - great list. Mindset tip is spot on!Tim Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05383381229302650553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-5907725437382471842010-10-22T23:21:53.275+11:002010-10-22T23:21:53.275+11:00Tim, great blog great post... couple of additions....Tim, great blog great post... couple of additions.<br /><br />1. If you are in the exit rows, wear white socks, that way there is a small chance the people waiting for the toilet or stretching their legs and waiting at the exit door have 'slightly' less chance of standing on your toes.<br /><br />2. Ask the flight attendants to hang your jacket, they often do and you don't have to pack it or squeeze it in the overhead bins.<br /><br />3. Beware the muppets that sit behind you and pull on your chair as they sit down, Always sit forward when ever you feel them getting up or coming back to their seat, you avoid the chair back slap and the 'I'm going to yell at you' feeling.<br /><br />4. The most important thing is your mental state, don't, don't think about business class and what it would be like if you were flying business class, accept economy, and know it will be over soon and just relax, it's not that bad (for day flights)<br /><br />5. Wear a dark t-shirt do if you do happen to spill any salad dressing or pasta sauce it doesn't show up that bad.Camhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14283865951560080113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-38448232492578921732010-10-22T18:53:13.906+11:002010-10-22T18:53:13.906+11:00Reader Andy sent me the following by email
On clo...Reader Andy sent me the following by email<br /><br />On clothing, I'd add at least bring (probably wear) a sweatshirt/light sweater. Last thing you feel like doing especially departing from a tropical city, but the cabin can get coooold<br /><br />On hydration, bring a water bottle. Some airlines in economy only give out plastic cups, on a long sector (say 7 hrs plus) I need to drink about 6 or more of those cups, having a bottle that I refill means maybe only 2 refills.<br /><br />I prefer windows (can sometimes enjoy a view, hate people disturbing me when they want to leave their seat etc). There's a few tricks to using a window seat when you want to go to the bathroom etc. First, good idea to wear disposable socks (from an old bus-class amenity pack), or OK with normal socks if you know the airline keeps the bathroom reasonably clean (and it's not late on a long flight). Then get the tray table up. Then check if the middle or aisle seat occupants are awake, if so ask them just to stay where they are (it's bad if they try to get out of your way, they usually spoil the manoeuvre or get in the way). Then make sure there is at least a few inches of the one-in-from-the-aisle armrest (i.e. between B/C seats if on the left side) not covered by arms/hands.<br /><br />OK, here goes. Stand up in a crouch (to avoid the overhead lockers - not much headroom...) onto your own seat cushion. Step across onto the B/C armrest space whilst holding onto the seatback in front of the B seat for balance and try not to straighten up. Then hop straight down into the aisle and walk away. If you're less agile, you can step onto the aisle armrest then down - might be easier for you.<br /><br />Voila! It's actually quite easy once you realise that only three things can go wrong: straightening up so you hit the overhead locker, losing balance because you forgot to grab the seat in front, or the armrest space disappearing because your neighbour/s get startled and move their hand or try to get up.<br /><br />BTW, windows aren't so bad in widebodies because the fuselage curvature is larger, so less space lost near your legs. Middle seats often have the IFE box taking up a LOT of leg space. Forward seats are usually better for 2 more reasons: less motion in turbulence (ask the hosties - they know which aircraft types are worse for this - some types have a near resonance that causes the back end of the fuselage to be almost constantly swaying from side to side), and less noisy (engine noise mostly goes backwards). Off topic, but have you noticed that upstairs in a 747 is reeeaallly noisy? there are areas of the 747 fuselage near the back of the hump that causes the airflow to become supersonic locally - causes a lot of whistling. But I still prefer the top - usually way more room!Tim Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05383381229302650553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-28389084478094540592010-10-21T12:03:52.272+11:002010-10-21T12:03:52.272+11:00@Steve - we also need to add Julian's comment ...@Steve - we also need to add Julian's comment "be first, be mean" :)!<br /><br />@Phil - nice tip - thanks<br /><br />@Julian - I with you. Take no prisoners!Tim Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05383381229302650553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-66739056228287050722010-10-21T00:01:57.941+11:002010-10-21T00:01:57.941+11:00Whilst you're setting up your ipod earpiece li...Whilst you're setting up your ipod earpiece like some CIA agent, spritzing yourself with a myriad soothing herbs and filling your seat pocket with more equipment than a marine takes into battle...don't forget your elbows...yes, that's right, if you don't grab the arm rest first, you will spend a lot of the flight with your arm position similar to that of a playgirl showing you her cleavage...Julian Cacchiolinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-47837681814062603842010-10-20T16:58:03.519+11:002010-10-20T16:58:03.519+11:00Great post Tim!
You've pretty much covered the...Great post Tim!<br />You've pretty much covered them all. With earphones, I would recommend lightweight in-ear ones that block out ambient noise. This way you can have the volume at safe levels and still be able to make out the lyrics. You can then cross off earplugs from your things-to-bring list. A great sub-$100 one is the Klipsch S4i which also features call, answer and playback controls for iphone users. Enjoy!Phil Wnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-96400473383203482010-10-20T11:42:44.544+11:002010-10-20T11:42:44.544+11:00lol - you could make a comedy skit out of that.
&...lol - you could make a comedy skit out of that.<br /><br />>don't sleep, wear a mask, take drugs, smuggle an ipod, ooh and dont forget the moisturiser (less than 100ml)steve sherlockhttp://twitter.com/stevesherlocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-76565077962904745642010-10-20T10:20:00.661+11:002010-10-20T10:20:00.661+11:00@kurt - great tips, especially Seatguru. Absolute...@kurt - great tips, especially Seatguru. Absolutely essential to check seats.<br /><br />@MelK - love the tip about unpacking the essentials and keeping them closeTim Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05383381229302650553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-85982248931077486192010-10-20T09:53:05.110+11:002010-10-20T09:53:05.110+11:00Great tips Tim! Another couple to add:
*Bring you...Great tips Tim! Another couple to add:<br /><br />*Bring your own water bottle and snacks - while some Qantas service does provide refreshment, on other airlines (or even a bad crew on QF), you can be stuck in a mid-flight desert of no water and nothing to eat.<br /><br />*The iPad is great for economy class working as it is basically impossible to work on a laptop - even for me, and I'm only 5'3"!<br /><br />And, be sure to unpack your inflight materials into the seat pocket - given the ridiculous squeezing of seats, it will be impossible to get anything from under the seat in front of you unless you are both small and very flexible....Mel Khttp://customerunderground.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29875741.post-20317515805984084732010-10-20T09:10:45.475+11:002010-10-20T09:10:45.475+11:00Hi Tim - great posting and extremely good advice! ...Hi Tim - great posting and extremely good advice! I think you've nailed the top 10 tips, I'll just add a "sub-tip" to your iPod one: plug the on-board headset's cord into your seat outlet, put the actual headphones out of sight, and tell the flight attendant that your headset is actually plugged into the onboard music. Yes, it's a bit of a bait-and-switch, but hey, long haul flying in cattle class is every man, woman and child for themselves!<br /><br />And although pretty much every traveller should know about it, for any traveller no matter how frequent if you don't check SeatGuru.com before you fly, shame on you. SeatGuru opened my eyes up to the best economy class seats on the planet - seats 71D and 80K on the Qantas A380. These seats have no seat in front of them, but they are not exit row seats so you don't have to beg (or pay extra) for them. 71D is an aisle seat and with the open space in front, plus the new "slide forward" cushions on the QF seats, it's nearly as spacious and comfortable as a Premium Economy seat. Seat 80K is against the window, but again without a seat in front it's easy access to get out and also gives you the wall space to lie against when sleeping. Night night!Kurt Knackstedt - The "Travel Barista"https://www.blogger.com/profile/05027257625169036189noreply@blogger.com