5 ms·

>Personally, I would far rather spend 17 hours in a comfy, wide body aircraft than even 10 in a narrow missile. Personally, I would rather spend 3-4 days in an

by boznz 9y ago

>Personally, I would far rather spend 17 hours in a comfy, wide body aircraft than even 10 in a narrow missile. Personally, I would rather spend 3-4 days in an airship with a bedroom and a bar and a view.. Not everyone is in a rush.

windlep 9y ago
And if it had conference rooms, high-speed internet, a fitness room, and the slower trip helped minimize jet lag... I'd be quite happy with that as well.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  You might as well stay at home then.
nate_meurer 9y ago
Yes, or an ocean liner. I dearly hope I live to see the resurrection of an affordable North Atlantic passenger line.
- tim333 9y ago
  There are a few passenger services from $1000 or so. I'm not sure it was ever really cheap https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/atlantic-container-line-announces-new-trans-atlantic-passenger-service-starting-in-march-hamburg-antwerp-liverpool-halifax-new-york-baltimore-and-return/ https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/atlantic-co...
  - icebraining 9y ago
    I doubt it was that expensive. I know families who migrated from Europe to the US in the 50s/60s, and I'm pretty sure they didn't have (inflation-adjusted) $1000/person. It was probably easier to find work on a ship to pay for the trip, at least for able-bodied men.
    - twic 9y ago
      A Rudolph Arhlich got a third-class ticket from Bremen to New York in 1928 for $208.75: https://www.gjenvick.com/Immigration/ImmigrantTickets/1928-10-03-SteamshipTicket-GeorgeWashington-ThirdClass.html https://www.gjenvick.com/Immigration/ImmigrantTickets/1928-1... It would have been higher by the '50s, i guess, but not five times higher.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        That actually undermines my claim :) $208.75 in 1928 is over $3000 today.
  - gambiting 9y ago
    Well, it takes 11 days from Halifax to New York - so works about at about ~$100/night for a room with food included. Cheaper than a lot of hotels.
- andyjohnson0 9y ago
  It would have been nice to be a passenger on an old-style post mail boats, such as http://rms-st-helena.com/ http://rms-st-helena.com/. Alas it made its last voyage to St. Helena earlier this year.
King-Aaron 9y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq-N3_plNq8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq-N3_plNq8
verylittlemeat 9y ago
Consider taking amtrak across the US with observation cars.
- rwmj 9y ago
  I think I'd prefer the Japanese version, they know how to do trains: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/09/what-its-like-to-ride-on-luxury-train-in-japan.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/09/what-its-like-to-ride-on-lux...
  - verylittlemeat 9y ago
    Well the main problem with amtrak is that they never get anywhere on time. When you make the train trip itself the vacation though it makes it much more enjoyable. The sights on the california zephyr are fantastic.
icebraining 9y ago
Agreed. Plus they seem potentially less dependent on fossil fuels (e.g. producing hydrogen gas is energy-expensive, but it can be done with electricity, whereas airplanes need high-density fuel).
rkangel 9y ago
While this may be true for you, and for a limited number of others, I strongly suspect this is a case of "what the customer says they want is not the same as what they'll pay for". While we might like the idea of luxurious travel at a gentle pace, in practice the though process that will happen is: * I would like to go to Australia * I have 2 weeks of holiday * In order to maximise my time in Australia I shall take the fastest travel I can afford
- saiya-jin 9y ago
  Exactly my situation, few years ago flight from Europe to Sydney wasted me for good 3-4 days (including jetlag, but not only). Started Friday night right after work, arrived Sunday morning with few hours stop at Abu Dhabi. I think I flew huge 747, but not sure there. Trip back cancelled all the positive energy while roadtripping around the east coast (5000km of driving). These places are just not worth the suffering for just 2 weeks off, 3 week vacation is minimum. Same goes for rest of the area - New Zealand, Fiji, etc.
bpicolo 9y ago
Very steampunk, but unlikely it sees reality. It's not like companies haven't tried time and time again to commercialize airships.

by boznz 9y ago

windlep 9y ago

And if it had conference rooms, high-speed internet, a fitness room, and the slower trip helped minimize jet lag... I'd be quite happy with that as well.

tonyedgecombe 9y ago
You might as well stay at home then.

nate_meurer 9y ago

Yes, or an ocean liner. I dearly hope I live to see the resurrection of an affordable North Atlantic passenger line.

tim333 9y ago
There are a few passenger services from $1000 or so. I'm not sure it was ever really cheap https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/atlantic-container-line-announces-new-trans-atlantic-passenger-service-starting-in-march-hamburg-antwerp-liverpool-halifax-new-york-baltimore-and-return/ https://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/atlantic-co...
- icebraining 9y ago
  I doubt it was that expensive. I know families who migrated from Europe to the US in the 50s/60s, and I'm pretty sure they didn't have (inflation-adjusted) $1000/person. It was probably easier to find work on a ship to pay for the trip, at least for able-bodied men.
  - twic 9y ago
    A Rudolph Arhlich got a third-class ticket from Bremen to New York in 1928 for $208.75: https://www.gjenvick.com/Immigration/ImmigrantTickets/1928-10-03-SteamshipTicket-GeorgeWashington-ThirdClass.html https://www.gjenvick.com/Immigration/ImmigrantTickets/1928-1... It would have been higher by the '50s, i guess, but not five times higher.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      That actually undermines my claim :) $208.75 in 1928 is over $3000 today.
- gambiting 9y ago
  Well, it takes 11 days from Halifax to New York - so works about at about ~$100/night for a room with food included. Cheaper than a lot of hotels.
andyjohnson0 9y ago
It would have been nice to be a passenger on an old-style post mail boats, such as http://rms-st-helena.com/ http://rms-st-helena.com/. Alas it made its last voyage to St. Helena earlier this year.

King-Aaron 9y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq-N3_plNq8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq-N3_plNq8

verylittlemeat 9y ago

Consider taking amtrak across the US with observation cars.

rwmj 9y ago
I think I'd prefer the Japanese version, they know how to do trains: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/09/what-its-like-to-ride-on-luxury-train-in-japan.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/09/what-its-like-to-ride-on-lux...
- verylittlemeat 9y ago
  Well the main problem with amtrak is that they never get anywhere on time. When you make the train trip itself the vacation though it makes it much more enjoyable. The sights on the california zephyr are fantastic.

icebraining 9y ago

Agreed. Plus they seem potentially less dependent on fossil fuels (e.g. producing hydrogen gas is energy-expensive, but it can be done with electricity, whereas airplanes need high-density fuel).

rkangel 9y ago

While this may be true for you, and for a limited number of others, I strongly suspect this is a case of "what the customer says they want is not the same as what they'll pay for". While we might like the idea of luxurious travel at a gentle pace, in practice the though process that will happen is: * I would like to go to Australia * I have 2 weeks of holiday * In order to maximise my time in Australia I shall take the fastest travel I can afford

saiya-jin 9y ago
Exactly my situation, few years ago flight from Europe to Sydney wasted me for good 3-4 days (including jetlag, but not only). Started Friday night right after work, arrived Sunday morning with few hours stop at Abu Dhabi. I think I flew huge 747, but not sure there. Trip back cancelled all the positive energy while roadtripping around the east coast (5000km of driving). These places are just not worth the suffering for just 2 weeks off, 3 week vacation is minimum. Same goes for rest of the area - New Zealand, Fiji, etc.

bpicolo 9y ago

Very steampunk, but unlikely it sees reality. It's not like companies haven't tried time and time again to commercialize airships.