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Modern business class is a different world. There's space to stretch out, kick back, sleep, food is often served on demand, etc. On more than one occasion I'v
by jpatokal 9y ago
Modern business class is a different world. There's space to stretch out, kick back, sleep, food is often served on demand, etc. On more than one occasion I've found myself at the tail end of a 14-hour flight and wishing we weren't landing just yet.
Having flown Sydney to New York and back just last week, I would much prefer a single non-stop flight. Especially since on the way back I missed my connection in SFO due to bad weather and was stuck for a full day: all US West-Australia flights leave late at night, so if you miss one wave, it's 24 hours until the next batch.
Also, 20 hours seems like a lot, but it's only an incremental increase on the current longest flight (17:40 for Doha to Auckland, NZ on Qatar) or the previous longest flight (18h+ for Singapore to NY). The problem is really the economics and the rocket problem: to fly further nonstop, you need to carry lots of fuel, which increases the weight, which requires more fuel... The 18 hour flight was business class only with seats going for north of $10k return and Singapore Airlines still couldn't make it pay off.
- saryant 9y agoYep. I've flown a few 14+ hour ultra-long-haul flights in business or first class and it's a pleasant enough way to fly. Key for me is to shower at the lounge before departure. That makes a big difference in comfort.
- wenc 9y ago> Key for me is to shower at the lounge before departure. That makes a big difference in comfort. I can confirm that. A shower before a long flight, even in economy, can make a huge difference. I almost never fly business, but I have a Priority Pass membership which gets me into airline lounges to shower. Best thing ever.
- walterbell 9y agoWhat's the benefit of a shower before flying? Did you mean a shower during a layover between two legs of a flight?
- saryant 9y agoMaybe it's just me but the slog of getting to an airport works up enough sweat and dirt that I sleep better on the flight if I'm freshly showered.
- walterbell 9y agoGot it, makes sense when departure ground transport is arduous.
- s0rce 9y agoSince I started hiking and multi-day backpacking trips I've found it much easier to enjoy myself while being dirty (amongst other slight inconveniences like being hot, sweaty or attacked by bugs). Might not be ideal for those around me but I'm now more comfortable on long trips/flights even if I don't get to shower right before/after.
- wenc 9y agoWhat Saryant said. Also, showers usually do more than just getting one clean. It could be psychological, but I find showers help me to relax, de-stress, and prepare me for sleep. Of course I'm one of those folks who shower before bedtime, so your mileage may vary.
- mb_72 9y agoAs well as the physical and mental benefits of being clean I find it also gives one a chance to get some much-needed isolation away from one's fellow travelers for even a few minutes. I quite enjoy flying - am about go from Tallinn -> Frankfurt -> Singapore -> Adelaide - but interacting with people I don't know I find very tiring. It's one reason I much prefer travelling with my wife; our shared 'personal space bubble' when seated together is much bigger. Am really looking forward to the shower in Singapore after a 12.5hr flight!
- jaipilot747 9y agoWhy do you have to interact with people you don't know?
- Cerium 9y agoAgree. One reason why I like Taipei airport is they have free showers. They are nice too!
- ajdlinux 9y agoA shower in the lounge after your long-haul trip when you're waiting for your domestic connection can also be absolutely fantastic.
- dopeboy 9y agoI did this for the first time on a personal trip. It cost ~$15 USD for a shower at the airport in Singapore. What a world of a difference it makes.
- candiodari 9y agoWhere can you do that in Singapore airport ? That sounds great and I do pass there regularly.
- simonbyrne 9y agoIt's in the paid lounge (you don't have to pay for entry to the lounge though). Definitely recommended as well. Or if you're there for long enough, try the swimming pool.
- davedx 9y agoSingapore Airport is great. I remember catching a movie there between flights once. Thanks for the shower/pool tip.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- arkitaip 9y agoHonestly would expect showers in first class.
- jpatokal 9y agoEmirates has them on the A380: http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/01/30/guide-to-the-emirates-a380-first-class-shower-suite/ http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/01/30/guide-to-t...
- saryant 9y agoEtihad too. I had a chance to try that out last year on their Abu Dhabi-JFK route. It's a remarkably dumb feature, pure novelty.
- incompatible 9y agoI'd be interested in seeing the fuel usage per passenger for one of these flights, verses one with an optimal number of stops.
- jacquesm 9y agoFuel usage will be lower because there is one take-off less.
- selectodude 9y agoMost fuel is used carrying all the fuel around. There is absolutely an optimal distance for fuel burn.
- jacquesm 9y ago> Most fuel is used carrying all the fuel around. That depends very much on the kind of aircraft, and while there are aircraft for which this is true this definitely isn't always the case. Modern aircraft are miracles of efficiency. Most fuel is used to haul the airframe, cargo and the passengers around, fuel is only a relatively small percentage of the total maximum take off weight. For example, the A350 mentioned in the article has a maximum of 108 Tonnes (140K liters) of fuel on board and has a maximum take-off weight of 280 Tonnes. So no matter what the mix cargo/passengers/fuel is there will never be more than 30-40% of the take-off weight in the fuel, and a good chunk of that (5 - 7 Tonnes) will be burned just on take-off and another 5-7 Tonnes to get it to altitude. So fully 10-14% of the fuel will be gone after the first few minutes of flight, then once you reach cruising altitude the consumption drops quite a bit due to the reduced drag. Consumption during take off and getting to altitude varies between about 2.5 and 1.0 times consumption at cruise altitude due to increased drag and the climb itself. With that kind of penalty on a take-off and the required reserve on landing (which is usually dead weight, but which you will very much appreciate if you have to get to your first or second alternate) the overhead of a landing+take-off sequence is pretty stiff so non-stop flights have a good chance of being more efficient if the destination is in range.
- vijayr 9y agoModern business class is a different world While boarding a flight this week, I was told to wait (just entered the plane) because they wanted to serve orange juice to someone in business class. So me and some 10 people behind me waited until the air hostess served the juice and came back few mins later, because orange juice couldn't wait for another 15 mins. It felt very weird. I guess rich people do really experience life on a different level.
- trimbo 9y agoMost people are either spending miles or company money. And if they're spending miles, it's still usually miles from company money.
- chx 9y agoOr from credit card churning, manufactured spending, or, in the most extreme case, pudding.
- deoxxa 9y agoI'd like to hear more about pudding.
- dmanchester 9y agoI presume that was a reference to this fellow: http://gizmodo.com/how-an-engineer-earned-1-25-million-air-miles-by-buying-1339646546 http://gizmodo.com/how-an-engineer-earned-1-25-million-air-m...
- delroth 9y agoReference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Phillips_(entrepreneur) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Phillips_(entrepreneur)
- ghaff 9y agoInternational upgrades still tend to require fairly substantial co-pays. Nothing like paying the whole thing in cash but still in the multi-hundreds of dollars.
- noobermin 9y agoMy sister used to work for United a couple of years back as ground crew at a small airport that flew directly to SFO. She always told me how notorious SFO was for weather problems, and would cause flight delays or cancellations day-to-day (multiple times a week) with only a couple of hour's warning.
- ubernostrum 9y agoSFO's issue is not "weather" so much as it's a combination of the local conditions and the airport itself. SFO has two sets of parallel runways, and usually likes to use 28L/28R for arrivals. There are plenty of protocols for airports to do simultaneous landings on two runways parallel and next to each other, but (simplifying a bit) SFO has the slight problem of them being too close together to do instrument landings for both runways at the same time. This leads to compromise protocols which rely on the ability of one plane to maintain visual contact with the other plane when doing simultaneous landings. But of course in foggy/cloudy/rainy weather, visibility goes away and SFO can no longer handle simultaneous landings on those runways, which basically cuts the capacity of the airport in half.
- sersi 9y agoIf flying business class, I prefer direct since, yes, it is very comfortable. If flying premium economy, it's a wash between direct or having a short layover. In economy, I definitely prefer having a layover closer to the middle. Flying 20h non stop in economy seats is hell and I'd never do it.