Flying to Europe?

[EHM-1671 Ben]

Hi everyone, I will have the pleasure of spending a few weeks in France this September and have a question for the frequent flyers among us who may have made the voyage from Australia/New Zealand to Europe: Honestly, how bad is the 30-something hours of travelling? Everyone says it's horrible but I couldn't imagine much better...

[EHM-2029 Sotiris]

Well,
speaking as a 200'000+ miles per year traveller (funnily enough, I'm in Hong Kong for the next couple of days), I can tell you that it's down to the people you travel with and reason you travel for.

For example, if you're with good friends or family and have a generally relaxed attitude the 30+ hrs will sail by.
Looking forward to reaching your destination also helps so expect the return leg to be slightly harder.
I've had 24 hour jounreys I relished (with the right people to the right place) and 3 hour ones that left me a wreck.

At the end of the day it's all in the mind.
One tip from my side. Try and fly Airbus instead of Boeing. Not that jumbos are bad but their seat layout may leave you wedged with two fat people on either side.
A330/A340's on the other hand, you're never more than a person away from the aisle. And in long-hauls where one needs to stretch and walk a little, not disturbing or being disturbed is important.

Finally make sure you prepare your goodie bag:
1 - Shades
2 - Inflatable pillow
3 - Thick socks (unless you fly SIA)
4 - Books, iPod and the like

With the above I can't see why you shouldn't enjoy this to the fullest!

[EHM-1001 Robert]

Sounds interesting !

I remember when I flew home from Korea. It was some 14 hours only on board a 747-400 economy class... The engine noise did not let me sleep a minute, and there is really few space there ! It is almost impossible for 3 people in a row to have a nice meal, especially when it is hot dish. If you depart in the morning, the sun will continously follow your way on the left side like it would not want to set at all, and makes too much shine for the tired eyes.

If you are lucky, and the plane is not full, you may allowed to have a different lonely seat, or even get a full row and prepare a bed there. It was also nice that we had 2 movies and 3 meals on that distance.

The time just flies away up there, but I guess twice this distance can be boring even with a good company

[EHM-1883 Matt]

This is indeed a busy year for me too. I am going abroad with my school 3 times to France, Belgium and Germany (Plus two family visits to Croatia and France!), but all the school ones are done by coach. Now, they say that each journey will take a day to complete in the couch, and the longest I've ever been in a coach is 2 hours, so my question is,

Is it the same as a long flight or worse due to windy roads etc.:%

[EHM-2029 Sotiris]

Far worse on the coach actually.
- You can't get up and stretch your legs
- You can't visit the toilet at will
- You can't read and peek outside 'cause you get dizzy
- The shakes and bounces of the road is far worse than mild turbulence

So arm yourself with patience and courage mate

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Personally, I love long haul, just check in early, try and get a bulkhead or exit row seat to give that bit extra room....

If you can, try and get an upgrade to the next class, it's always worth being really nice and polite to check in staff on long haul flights, I have blagged an upgrade 6 times (5 times with BA and once with Cathay) just by being polite and courteous to the girl at check in and then saying "I know this is really cheeky, but what are my chances of an upgrade?"  This only really works if you are flying alone or with one other person maximum. I tell you, you wouldn't believe the difference it makes on a long flight to be in an Economy Plus or Business class seat!

The carrier makes a massive difference as well. The Asian airlines have far better service and food I find but they tend to have far more languages to serve so it reduces the amount of English entertainment channels.... I know you are native English speaking so you will have a better choice of movies and entertainment with Air NZ, Quantas, Virgin or BA. Also if you are flying on a stop flight they tend to change the movies after the stopover so don't think "Oh, I will watch that movie after the layover!" Of course you may be changing airlines halfway so that makes things fun, I have flown Auckland to London via LA with Air NZ for the first leg and then Northwest to Gatwick.... Choose Air NZ all the way if you get the choice! LOL

[EHM-2173 Bastiaan]

I ussually fly a lot flights inside europe since my familiy is scattered all over Europe :p

I know it accually isn't allowed. But there is always room in bussiness class. In mid-flight you can easily swift classes without buying an extra ticket. One time a steward cought me, he didn't mind. I got an extra coockie

I don't knonw how it works with the airline you fly in, I usually fly with KLM.

[EHM-1671 Ben]

Originally posted by EHM-1703 Philip
Choose Air NZ all the way if you get the choice! LOL

From what I remember Air NZ is fantastic - I have flown with them many times but only as a child so this was before they installed the new long-haul entertainment systems which should make it even better.

I am not sure we'll take them as they tend to be a little more pricey than the Asian carriers however - we're looking for the cheapest option possible which could make things interesting :|

I'm going with 16 or more other students and a couple of adults... they're all great people (except for one who doesn't stop talking.... :@). It's a lot of people and it's brought the price of the trip down significantly but it could be an experience in itself navigating through the airports.

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Well..... I have a mate that flies between Hong Kong to London on a regular basis with OASIS and although they are a no frills budget airline, he says they are as good as SIA or Cathay and at as little as £75 each way if you book early enough, I don't think you can beet them, you would still have to fly to Hong Kong though!

[EHM-1883 Matt]

just for the record, I survived the coach journey! After when flying to Croatia, usually it seemed quite uncomfortable the 2 1/2 flight, but this time it was bliss!