Another reason to fly yourself

Jose wrote:
Well said Jay, a lot of us have been there and done that back in the days
that commercial flying was a sheer pleasure.

It still can be, if you fly first class and pony up what it costs. Most
of us can't afford to do that. Bring back the "good old days" and you'd
have the good old choice - first class or nothing. Now we have another
alternative.



Ummmm... have you flown first class recently?

International first class -- you are probably right. Last time I did
that was in 1998 and it was definitely an experience to remember.
Domestic first class -- I fly that at least twice a year and it's not
that great. Just better seats. yeah you get a meal but it's not
anything like Jay describes. I use FF miles to upgrade -- would never
pay for it, because it's not worth it.

Nowadays the choice seems to be coach or nothing. Or, really, prison
transport or nothing.

Still, when I come back home next November, there is no way I am going
to make the trans-Pacific flight in coach. Urgh. I will pony up the
difference to at least go business class. Even then, if I start to get
a little homesick, just thinking about the flight home cures it real
fast.

Nowadays the choice seems to be coach or nothing. Or, really, prison
transport or nothing.

Still, when I come back home next November, there is no way I am going
to make the trans-Pacific flight in coach. Urgh. I will pony up the
difference to at least go business class. Even then, if I start to get
a little homesick, just thinking about the flight home cures it real
fast.

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 17:02:20 GMT, Jose
wrote:

Well said Jay, a lot of us have been there and done that back in the days
that commercial flying was a sheer pleasure.

It still can be, if you fly first class and pony up what it costs. Most
of us can't afford to do that. Bring back the "good old days" and you'd
have the good old choice - first class or nothing. Now we have another
alternative.

I guess I'd have to disagree on that one.
Other than a comfortable chair and having leg room the last dinner I
had served had green fuzz growing on it. True, I didn't have to pay
extra for the drinks, but I'd rather stay conscious and watch the
scenery.

The last commuter I road on er...in was a *box* with windows. Not
even a head. I was up front and near the props. I have never ridden
in such a noisy airplane. My Deb is quiet without the headsets
compared to that thing.

The last "cattle car" ride was coach in a 737 on a very rough day.
Almost every seat was full. They served breakfast and hit the jet
stream interfaces as they were cleaning up. THEN they really started
to clean up. I think there were only about 10 of us on the plane not
counting crew who didn't get sick.

No, that wasn't the last cattle car ride as the company had me
traveling a bit before I retired, but I sure don't miss it a bit.

Oh the joys of flying cattle care class. The room, the service, the
sounds, the smells... er... DAMN I'll swear I just caught a whiff of
that thing.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
Jose

Jay Honeck wrote:
I managed to catch the tail end of elegant train travel at that age, too.
When you contrast those days with the Russian Aeroflot model we've come to
emulate (just think -- we used to make fun of them!) since then, it is to
weep.


I have an old friend who was flying on Aeroflot with his family many years ago
(before the fall of the Soviet Union). I guess they used any opportunity to
hone their skills because the pilot started doing some airwork along the way...
s-turns along a road, etc....

I've never experienced such a thing on an American airliner.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message
...
Jay Honeck wrote:
I managed to catch the tail end of elegant train travel at that age, too.
When you contrast those days with the Russian Aeroflot model we've come
to
emulate (just think -- we used to make fun of them!) since then, it is to
weep.


I have an old friend who was flying on Aeroflot with his family many years
ago (before the fall of the Soviet Union). I guess they used any
opportunity to hone their skills because the pilot started doing some
airwork along the way... s-turns along a road, etc....

I've never experienced such a thing on an American airliner.

I remember a story years ago about how is was not unusual to have livestock
in the cabin on domestic flights in the old USSR.

Now let me just say I have seen animals onboard airliners...

Jay Honeck wrote:

When you contrast those days with the Russian Aeroflot model we've come to
emulate (just think -- we used to make fun of them!) since then, it is to
weep.

Maybe if you didn't have to pay for the tickets back then. Airfare from
Knoxville to New York then and now costs over $700. But $700 was half the cost
of a new car in the early 60s.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

When you contrast those days with the Russian Aeroflot model we've come
to emulate (just think -- we used to make fun of them!) since then, it is
to weep.

Maybe if you didn't have to pay for the tickets back then. Airfare from
Knoxville to New York then and now costs over $700. But $700 was half the
cost of a new car in the early 60s.

Oh, I intellectually *know* all that. Flying was exclusive, literally,
back then, and is much more accessible to the common man today. In that
regard, it's all good.

But, hell, go back to the 1930s. To fly on the Pan Am Clippers from the
U.S. to Japan cost the equivalent of $10,000 US dollars -- at the height of
the Great Depression! Now *that* was exclusive!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Oh, I intellectually *know* all that. Flying was exclusive, literally,
back then, and is much more accessible to the common man today. In that
regard, it's all good.

Well, for half the cost of a new car, you'd be able to do better than that
today. Just not on a major carrier.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

In rec.aviation.owning George Patterson wrote:
: Jay Honeck wrote:

: When you contrast those days with the Russian Aeroflot model we've come to
: emulate (just think -- we used to make fun of them!) since then, it is to
: weep.

: Maybe if you didn't have to pay for the tickets back then. Airfare from
: Knoxville to New York then and now costs over $700.

Yes! Back in 1977 (after my parent's divorce) my little brother & I flew
on all the great airlines from Boston to Tampa. You know, Eastern, People
Express, Piedmont... The tix were about $1200 round trip, each, for one
8-year old and one 4-year old. No non-stops. I think it took 8 hours
door-to-door for many flights (but forgive me if my memory is not perfect;
after all, I was 8 years old).
--
Aaron C