posted
I am amazed anyone actually pays that much for economy tickets (there's a ticket price section). Even times when I've had to book absolutely last-minute I've gotten better deals than that. I mean, 700 euros within europe on economy class? What are these people smoking? Are these people just fans of one airline and take their flights no matter what price they are?
I've never paid more than $350 round-trip to go from New York City to Mississippi, and that's a looooong way. Heck, most of the time it's around $200. And I flew Easyjet from London to Edinburgh for about 100 pounds round-trip after booking 5 days in advance. NYC to Hungary and back for $350... it's too late at night to remember all the good deals I've gotten by just shopping around all the major search engines and airline homepages, but there've been many. And these aren't just student deals.
posted
Airline food does seem to have been getting better over the years, but it’s always funny looking at some of the execrable excuses for food still served up by some of the world’s airlines…
“How was the lamb Sir?”
“Lamb? I thought that was the cheese!!!”
My favourite trick on BA flights is to wander the isles after a meal is served and gather up the wee boxes of smoked salmon that a lot of people leave, sometimes you might have to trade a Kit-Kat or something – after a while you can gather enough to totally appall the vegetarian stuck next to you by the window!
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Airline food, what airline food? If you fly coach you are usually lucky to get a bag of pretzels thrown your way. I've boarded more than one flight lugging my carry-ons with a bagel clutched in my teeth so I don't freaking starve to death. First class is only marginally better. At least the nuts are often warm and tasty. The meals are skimpy in my opinion but at least there's wine with them. Alcohol covers a multitude of sins.
-------------------- "The question for joining the protected forum for real magicians should be:
What is the use of women?" Steve W. from JREF's 'This is no fun' Posts: 7622 | From: North Carolina | Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
My experience with airline meals has been that they are, without exception, inedible slop. I have found however, that vegetarians get a better deal with it - I requested the vegetarian option last time I flew and got a fairly pleasant vegetable curry, whereas everybody else got the usual husk of charred grey rubber and some plastic carrots. Saying that, I was given some grisly pork sausages floating in beans for breakfast and when I told the steward I was down for a vegetarian option, he went away for a while and brought back...a tray of lukewarm beans. Hmmm. If I wasn't so trusting, I'd assume he just went round the back and picked out the sausages.
quote:posted by Chimera: Alcohol covers a multitude of sins.
This is possibly straying into urban legend territory, but I once read that when you are flying in a plane, because of altitude or something, the effect that alcohol has on your system is 3 times more powerful than when you're on the ground. So if you have one glass of wine, you become as drunk as you would normally be after drinking three glasses of wine.
So whenever I'm flying I make sure I stop after just 12 whiskies. You can't be too careful
-------------------- Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Posts: 2372 | From: Scotland | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Hacker Barbie: I am amazed anyone actually pays that much for economy tickets ... 700 euros within europe on economy class?
That would probably be full fare, unrestricted coach, without a Saturday stayover, paid for by the employer. For business-related travel, the ability to change flights at the last minute is often essential.
Plus, on some airlines (Air France, for example), full-fare coach includes access to the "business class" lounge (at least it did the last time I had such a ticket).
-b "up up and away, into the friendly skies..."
Posts: 210 | From: Orsay, France | Registered: May 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Air France eh? Who'd have thought a nation of gastronomes such as themselves could serve such horrors!?
Oh the humanity.....
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged |
The Otter of our Discontent
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
quote:Originally posted by Hacker Barbie: I am amazed anyone actually pays that much for economy tickets (there's a ticket price section). Even times when I've had to book absolutely last-minute I've gotten better deals than that. I mean, 700 euros within europe on economy class? Diana
For some reason, airfare within Europe is ridiculously expensive. Some friends of mine said it was about the same price for them to fly to Berlin to New York, then back to Barcelona, then it would for a direct flight from Berlin to Barcelona.
IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by The Otter of our Discontent: For some reason, airfare within Europe is ridiculously expensive. Some friends of mine said it was about the same price for them to fly to Berlin to New York, then back to Barcelona, then it would for a direct flight from Berlin to Barcelona.
Within the US as well, for people who don't have the good fortune to live near a high-traffic hub.
I just got back from a week in New Mexico (business-related); I paid the same price for my round-trip from Paris as did one of my colleagues from Burlington VT.
-b "Adam Smith would have been proud"
Posts: 210 | From: Orsay, France | Registered: May 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Jay Tea-Cell: Air France eh? Who'd have thought a nation of gastronomes such as themselves could serve such horrors!?
Oh the humanity.....
Umm, do you object to the spinach ravioli (which appear to have been badly overheated) or the fact that the roquefort and comté are not stilton and cheddar?
-b
Posts: 210 | From: Orsay, France | Registered: May 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Tch! No Bruce, it's the barbarous presentation that so shocked me, surely everybody knows ravioli verde should be served in a gratin dish and eaten with a spoon, not a fork...
...savages!
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
In my recent traveling experience, the food varied by airline. We took Alaska Airlines down to California, and I was not impressed at all. I think the 'snack' thing was basically the same both ways, Seattle to L.A. and vice versa, except the morning flight version had eggs mixed in with the cheese and ham bits. It was some sort of icky little quiche, I think. And they put stupid little cards with Bible quotes in with the trays. Meh? American Airlines was much better. We actually got a choice of what to eat. I had a steak on the way to Honolulu (which unfortunately ended up in several airsickness bags... frigging period >_<), and a shrimp and noodle dish on the way back. With a salad and dinner roll and such on the side. Woo.
Hawaiian Airlines? We got little cups of guava juice. Hey, what do you expect for a 30-minute flight? Posts: 698 | From: Washington | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
You guys think you have it bad??? I'm a vegetarian and while everyone else gets a nice fry up for breakfast or a nice apple pie for pudding I get blinking fruit - Ugh!
For some reason, airlines think vegetarians don't want apple pie but fruit. That or really spicy curry type things. Double Yuk.
I nearly starved to death on a 13 -hour flight to Malaysia!!
Posts: 884 | From: UK | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
robin
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
Yeah.. Vegetarian meals tend to be unpredictable. Sometimes you get a meal that looks far better than the soggy cold-meat-in-a-plastic-bun that all the other cattle class passengers get, but other times, it really does seem that the airline is trying to punish you for ordering a special meal.
Air Canada is particularly bad in this way. My last flight from New York to Vancouver, i got a practically extraterrestrial dish of cold wheat gluten with some strange glutinous teriyaki-ish sauce garnished with weird grey mushroomy material, a stale white bun, and a cup of wilted chopped fruit. The regular meal was veggie lasagne and cake! WTF??
Also, the difference between first class and cattle class meals makes me want to cry. Why didn't i choose a profession that actually makes money??
Also, the difference between first class and cattle class meals makes me want to cry. Why didn't i choose a profession that actually makes money??
-robin
Yes, but the price difference is quite ridiculous, as well. Sure, you get nicer food and free booze, but you're also paying dearly for it. The difference between first class and economy from JFK to Mississippi is more than $400, sometimes $500. All the free booze and more thoroughly-heated, porcelain-served food in the world would not justify that price difference to me. I'd rather get a nice meal in a real restaurant once I'm safely off the plane. And it'll still be cheaper.
Let's see... what else (italicized text mine)?
You board before everyone else does. But why would you want to sit on a plane for 20 extra minutes? What's the point? By getting on the plane before everyone else, you're not getting there any quicker.
You get off before everyone else. Again, what's the point? You still have to wait for your bags, if you checked any.
You get to sit in the 'special lounge'. Solution: don't get to the airport 5 hours in advance. And the smoking lounge in JFK is cooler, and free. Or just wonder around the Duty-Free shops. They're always fun.
Wide seat that you can pretend is a bed. Unless you're planning to sleep, why do you want it? A seat is a seat. And this is coming from a 5'9'' person.
Two carryons instead of one. Why would you want two carryons? Isn't the point of checking your baggage that you don't have to haul it around the airport with you? Sure, carry on breakable stuff, but I'd hate to travel with two bags of breakables, too.
And the people you meet in economy class are cooler.
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[lol]](graemlins/lol.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
