first time flying....
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opebo
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« Reply #25 on: May 31, 2005, 07:01:04 PM »

Not between Asia-Africa.

And Singapore Airlines is simply the best airlines in the world.

Hm.  I usually fly Eva Air, China Airlines, Korean Air, ANA or as a last resort an American airline.  Basically the cheapest of the cheap.  All of them have such comically small seats on the Asian routes.  I have to get an aisle seat, or otherwise I just walk around or sit in that one oversized bathroom most of the flight.  I discovered that bathroom once when United Airlines.. or maybe it was Continental.. food poisoned me and I lay prone on the floor vomiting on the 12 hour trans-pacific leg.  Other than the vomiting the room to stretch out was quite nice.
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Cashcow
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« Reply #26 on: May 31, 2005, 07:04:26 PM »

I like Air New Zealand.
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Jake
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« Reply #27 on: May 31, 2005, 09:03:42 PM »

You will have to turn the GPS off during take off and landing.  They may ask you to leave it off during the entire flight.

Check in advance how full your plane is.  I've had a few planes all to myself.  One time, when flying down the Charleston from Raleigh, I had the entire plane to myself.  Sure it was just a turboprop, but it was all mine.  So I went on the flight in a full suit and tie.  When we land the pilot gets off, gets my luggage for me and shakes my hand.  The ground crew, not sure what is up with the guy in a suit and tie getting off a jet all alone, come up to me and shake my hand.  I go in the terminal and people are taking pictures of me.  Two strangers walk up and shake my hand. 

When I meet my friend, who is picking me up, he is in his Air Force uniform.  He shakes my hand and takes my bag.  Without realizing it, he plays along like I am some bigwig. 

I wonder who everyone thought I was. 

That's hilarious. Great story
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MaC
Milk_and_cereal
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« Reply #28 on: June 01, 2005, 12:37:16 AM »

not that big of a deal.  The meal's small, if you get one.  But it might be tasty (small croissant turkey sandwich I think I had).  The flight itself is pretty boring.  Stand in line, wait for your luggage.

I refuse to fly though.  Last time I did was in 2000.  Homeland Security scares the crap outta me.
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opebo
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« Reply #29 on: June 01, 2005, 12:46:18 AM »

I refuse to fly though.  Last time I did was in 2000.  Homeland Security scares the crap outta me.

Domestic flying is of debatable value, though road trips are horrendous.  However if I spend the money for a plane ticket, it is going to be to escape this hellhole, not just to visit a different part of it.
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Gabu
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« Reply #30 on: June 01, 2005, 12:58:16 AM »

I refuse to fly though.  Last time I did was in 2000.  Homeland Security scares the crap outta me.

I flew to JFK International Airport in New York from Sea-Tac in 2003.  I didn't encounter any problems at all.

If a foreigner travelling to Manhattan doesn't encounter any problems, I highly doubt you'll run into any.
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StatesRights
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« Reply #31 on: June 01, 2005, 01:02:39 AM »

Walter, don't try to light any fuses on your shoe now! Cheesy
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exnaderite
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« Reply #32 on: June 01, 2005, 01:03:02 AM »

In Detriot while arriving the immigration agents stopped me to check whether I had Foot-and-Mouth disease with me. I was taking a flight from London to Detroit to go back to southern Ontario, where we lived at that time.
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Erc
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« Reply #33 on: June 01, 2005, 02:31:50 AM »

Only bad (well, annoying) experience I've really had with Airport Security was a 1-2 hour wait on the curb for Security (they had to x-ray all our bags first) in December 2001.

I was annoyed, of course, since this was December and it was 6 am.  So it was cold.

As it turns out, I'm thankful the flight was that early...that was the day of the Shoe Bomber, and I don't even want to think about what security would have been like that afternoon...
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Frodo
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« Reply #34 on: June 01, 2005, 02:51:09 AM »

some bad experiences i recall include having missed my connecting flight to Reagan National, while i was en route from Seattle to DC, with a stop-over at Chicago Midway.  because the plane left as late as it did, i had to wait 12 hours from 7 am to 7pm until the next connecting flight could get me out of there.  so, i would advise you, Walter, to avoid having to make connector flights when buying an airline ticket if at all possible, and to stick strictly to non-stop flights.  life doesn't need to get any more stressful than it absolutely has to. 



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Platypus
hughento
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« Reply #35 on: June 01, 2005, 03:26:25 AM »

I've only flown Malaysian, Ansett (now defunct) and QANTAS. The Qantas flight was an international flight, Bali-Sydney-Melbourne, but we only caught the Sydney-Melbourne leg. We caught a domestic QANTAS flight on the way. I flew to Noosa when I was a baby on Ansett, can't remember that obviously, and Malaysian to and from...Malaysia. Via Singapore on the way. It was a good but not great flight; but I think it was kinda cheap, not sure.
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Ebowed
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« Reply #36 on: June 01, 2005, 04:05:33 AM »

M&C, don't be worried about the airplanes.  They're safer than cars anyway.  The only hassle is the airport security, really.

I've flown on many different airlines, and the food is generally horrible, but hey, you don't go flying for the food.  Air New Zealand consistently has the worst food, but if you're a little kid they give you a booklet and crayons (for free, I think), which is useful when I've had to sit next to younger siblings.  The airline I usually prefer to use is United Airlines, or Delta.
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skybridge
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« Reply #37 on: June 01, 2005, 05:18:05 AM »

I don't like flights. Short flights are incredibly noisy and boring, whereas long flights are incredibly boring. Service has come a long way this millenium but overall flights are boring as hell.
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StatesRights
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« Reply #38 on: June 02, 2005, 12:13:18 AM »

I don't like flights. Short flights are incredibly noisy and boring, whereas long flights are incredibly boring. Service has come a long way this millenium but overall flights are boring as hell.

Not only that but they hold your seat for you at a whim and you can easily lose it if it's "overbooked". What the hell is up with that? That's one of the worst things the airlines ever came up with. I hate flying.
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dazzleman
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« Reply #39 on: June 02, 2005, 07:23:15 AM »

All interesting comments.

I flew yesterday, and it was a less than thrilling experience.

I was taking a flight with a connector, and I missed the connector because the first flight was very late.

I hate to wait several hours for the night flight, which also took off late.  It seems that the only flight that took off on time yesterday was the one that I was supposed to catch as my connector.

I got home at 2:30 AM when I was scheduled to get home at about 10 PM.  It even took them forever to unload the luggage from the plane, for some reason.

Other than that, it was not too bad.

For new flyers, I definitely recommend a window seat, especially for a day flight.  Even after all this time, I still like window seats, though they are less convenient if you need to get up and take a leak, or want to grope the stewardess Smiley.

I sometimes fly first class if I can get a reasonably priced upgrade, but this time I flew coach.  Since most airline flights no longer have food, and food was the biggest differential between first class and coach, it's just not worth that much extra.  There's a bigger seat, but the seats in coach are really big enough, unless you weigh 300 pounds.  First class allows easier boarding and disembarking, as well as free drinks and headsets, but othre than that, it doesn't offer a lot, unless you're talking about a really long flight.

I check all my luggage now.  One pet peeve I have is people who make boarding and disembarking take forever by taking excessive carry-on luggage.  Since Sept. 11, I don't want to have to worry about whether they'll consider my shaving razor a weapon, or something like that, so I just check all the sh**t.  The only downside is the risk that the airlines f**k up and I don't get the luggage at my destination city.  It has been known to happen.

When you're flying, make sure your feet don't stink, since they seem to routinely make everybody take off their shoes to go through security.  That's the most important piece of advice I can give you. Smiley  But don't use baby powder to take away the odor -- they may think the white powder is an explosive.  What a crazy world we live in.
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