TravelCommentator

Category: Air Travel

Backpack in an overhead bin on a Boeing 787-10

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

The Hidden Dangers of Overhead Bins

On my recent flight back from Singapore there was an incident that caused concern. A man sitting in an aisle seat was hit on the head by a bag with duty free items that had fallen from the overhead bin. I heard a large bang and looked around and saw an older man holding his head and another man picking up a sealed duty free bag with two cartons containing alcohol, one was clearly identified as a bottle of Scotch. The overhead bin was open and I could see it was full of roller cases and when the man who picked up the duty free bag tried putting them back in the locker there was no room. They were sitting on the edge just...

Air Travel / Opinion

Meals at 36,000 Feet: Worth It or Not?

I have been asking myself this question for a while, is it worth eating the meals supplied on long haul flights? From a monetary point of view the answer is yes, they are part of the fare you’ve paid on a full service airline, so it makes sense to eat them since they are not costing you extra. They will save you money by not buying food in airports where eating is usually more expensive than food outlets elsewhere. What about the quality and nutritional value of these meals? Many of the better airlines these days have well-known chefs curating the menus, not just for First and Business Class passengers but also for those in Premium Economy and Economy Class. So there’s no question...

Air Travel / Airports / Tips & Advice

Airport Hotels

Some may ask why are there hotels at airports when most people travel to the centre of cities or towns where they’ll be staying while holidaying or doing business? The short answer is convenience. Mostly for those that require a place to stay immediately before or after their flight. They are perfect for people who do not live close to a major airport and have difficulty getting there within a required time before a flight or perhaps a late flight when public transport may not be available. A good example are country people that come from outside cities and are required to travel a fair distance. Also business people who want an easy transition between doing business and flying in or out. There are...

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

Sky High Thieves

A few days ago well known YouTuber Sam Chui did a story on thefts on planes alerting his many subscribers (in the millions) to the possibility of their valuables being swiped. Having property stolen while transiting airports or actually on board a plane is not something many give much thought to or are aware of. We think theft while travelling is mostly pickpocketing or scams at tourist sites and while sightseeing. It does happen and stealing on planes is not a recent thing. I remember, about ten years ago or so, reading a blog post on a loyalty website. In that article it mentioned Asia as the prime hotspot, specifically flights in and out of China and Hong Kong (this last destination noted by...

Air Travel / Opinion

Inconsiderate Passenger and Seat Jerking

On my last flight SIN-ADL—a flight of about 6 hours and 30 minutes give or take 5-10 minutes—I had to endure an annoying restless person sitting behind me who kept poking, touching and banging into the back of my seat. She did this all the way through the first 3 hours of the flight when the lights were dimmed, the time best suited to rest. The flight left Singapore on time at 23:40. All the backwards and forwards motion of the headrest gave me a headache. I told her to stop moving around and hitting the chair. She seemed to have understood me and shortly afterwards just before the lights came on she was asleep. The nerve and so irritating. Some people have no...

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

The Worst Becomes the Best Seat in the House

Can the worst seat in Economy Class actually become the best? You may ask, “how can that be so?” Well this happened to a female passenger on my return flight from Rome (FCO) to Singapore (SIN) in late January this year. The exact same seat that I labelled the worst seat ever (see my article “The Worst Seat Imaginable”) about a year ago when I flew in the opposite direction SIN-FCO. On that flight I took a gamble. I moved from the seat I had previously chosen, way back in the middle tail section, to the forward section. At the time when selecting this seat, around 48 hours before flight departure, the row was empty. I chose the aisle seat just in case. As...

Air Travel / Opinion / Technology / Tips & Advice

Turbulence, Avoidance and Legalities

Turbulence is becoming a real issue flying, especially on long haul flights where there’s more chance of it happening. I won’t get into the scientific or technical explanation of how and why turbulence happens and whether it is exacerbated by climate change, etc. I’m more interested whether the passengers aboard flights can be notified visually of bad weather (and the possibility of turbulence) instead of being warned by a chime and a seat belt sign lighting up. Before take off the captain or co-pilot make an announcement—the one where they welcome you on board and give some general info on the flight including if there’s chance of bad weather or turbulence, etc.,—is the only time, except when required during the flight, the cockpit makes...

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

Medicines: Preparing for the Unexpected

A recent trip to Europe made me realise my lack of planning regarding health and whether I should have taken any medications with me as a precaution. Of course I was super confident I’d be fine and thought I’d be immune from any of the usual nasties, like a cold, a sore throat, etc. What made me think this way? Well, throughout the “COVID-19 pandemic” I was fine. No colds, no sore throats, no fevers and no coughs, etc. I did get something but didn’t get tested to see whether it was COVID or not. It did feel different and it wasn’t like any cold or influenza (which I haven’t had for probably 30 years) so it made me think this has to be...

Air Travel / Opinion

Plus Size People on a Plane

Every now and then a post or video crops up on social media, whether parody or serious, about being large bodied or overweight and how this affects them (and to a lesser extent others) while flying in Economy Class. There’s a recent video I happen to catch on X of a woman having a whinge. Hard to say if she was serious or it was tongue in cheek. A mild mannered one anyhow. She goes on, “I’m plus-size and on a plane”…then demonstrates the difficulties she has to face starting with the tray table saying, “of course I can’t put the tray table down”. Then goes on about having to have the smallest member of her family (little boy) sit adjacent in the middle...

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

Anti-Bacterial Wipes a Necessity in the Cabin, Definitely

Some will be thinking, “I won’t be taking any wipes with me and do the cleaning others should have done for me”. I’ll guarantee you, you will get strange looks from other passengers if you start doing the wiping and cleaning after sitting down in your seat. They do it to make you feel out of place as most won’t bother. But there is no dodging this fact; airline pilots and cabin crew recommend antibacterial wipes. Why? Because they know their workplace and know what goes on. Do I agree with them? Wholeheartedly even though I haven’t asked them specifically. I have always suspected the airplane cabin to be a place that harboured bacteria. I can tell you this through observation. Others should do...

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

The Risks FAs Take on The Job Deserves Respect

The recent events of severe turbulence on two flights Singapore Airlines SQ 321 (London to Singapore) on the 21st of May and Qatar Airways QR017 (Doha to Dublin) on the 26th of May, has highlighted the dangers of being a Flight Attendant (FA). Yes, passengers did get hurt some severely with one elderly person dying from a heart attack, but cabin crew do this everyday with higher probability of getting injured while making sure passengers are safe. Their job is not all rosy and glamorous as some may think. They work very hard. Passengers need to understand this. Next time you fly please spare a thought for the FAs and what they have to endure while doing their job and the risks they take...

Air Travel / Loyalty / Tips & Advice

Is Pursuing Status Worth It?

There are various perspectives to whether status is worth its weight…in Gold. It can be complicated. The simplest answer; does the individual see value in chasing status? Holding on to it is also a challenge. So the question beckons. Is it worth it?

Air Travel / Tips & Advice

Losing my iPhone at Fiumicino Airport

A moment I never thought would happen to me; losing my iPhone. Something I would dread to experience again… Like many people today we carry our lives on our smartphones. We are so dependent on them for most of our daily tasks: phone calls, messages, email, notifications, banking, air and train travel, identification, etc. To make matters worse most of the world around you requires a smart device to actually get things done. What would we do without them? This is why if your smartphone goes missing you are in a jam. The feeling of helplessness will overcome you, but, there is no place for panicking. A level head is required. As long as the smartphone is missing or lost and not destroyed there...

* Review / Air Travel / Tips & Advice

The Worst Seat Imaginable

Yes, I finally had the opportunity to score the worst seat on a long haul flight. How did this happen? I took a gamble by switching seats before my recent long haul flight from Singapore to Rome with Singapore Airlines. Why did I do this? Well, because I thought if I scored three seats I could lie down and get sleep during the 12.5 hour flight. Knowing those seats were bad also should’ve worked to my advantage. I thought no one with a sound mind would ever select them. I originally was located midway down the tail of the Airbus A350-900. In the aisle seat of the middle row of three. When I booked a couple of months earlier there were a lot of...

Air Travel / Airlines / Airports / Routes / Tips & Advice

Routes: Adelaide-Singapore / Singapore-Adelaide

My first post in the Routes series and I’ll start it off with the international route I fly the most ADL-SIN/SIN-ADL, in other words, Adelaide International Airport (ADL) to Changi Airport Singapore (SIN) and back. Airlines At present only one airline offers this route in and out of Adelaide, Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance. In Australia Singapore Airlines codeshares with Virgin Australia. The Singapore Airlines flights are designated SQ278 (ADL-SIN) and SQ279 (SIN-ADL) and fly daily, all-year round. A second service runs only in December and January designated SQ276 (ADL-SIN) and SQ277 (SIN-ADL) and fly four times a week (Tue, Thu, Sat, and Sun). Schedule SQ278 Northern Summer: ADL 09:10 – SIN 15:10 Southern Summer: ADL 10:35 – SIN...

Air Travel / Routes

Routes

I’ll be introducing a new series of posts about international airline routes to and from Adelaide, my home town in Australia. I’ll add as much information as possible about the route, the airlines that fly it, the airports, flight schedules, etc. If I have flown the route I’ll add some comments; perhaps with tips and advice but not a review. Reviews will be in separate posts. In time I will also add routes connecting other Australian cities to overseas destinations, where travellers from Adelaide are required to transit before final destination. Many of these are hubs for the respective airlines that fly out of Australia, such as: Air New Zealand/Auckland, Qatar Airways/Doha, Emirates/Dubai, Cathay Pacific/Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines/Singapore, etc. Cheers

Air Travel / Tips & Advice

Empty Seats? Yes please. Then Disappointment

On one flight from Singapore to Milan (Italy) several years ago, I asked at check-in whether the flight was full and was told no, there were seats available. Reason why I asked is when I booked my forward section seat in Economy I had a whole row to myself but then when I checked a day or so before departure someone took the window seat. I had the aisle seat and was hoping to score all three to myself. So I decided to change seats at check-in. By doing this I was wasting the money I spent for the forward section seat. No big deal as an empty row anywhere, even in the tail section, trumps a single forward section seat. The check-in agent...

Air Travel

Duty Free Shopping and Air Travel Safety Questions

I’ve always wondered about the safety issues of buying duty free items after clearing security and passport control at some airports. This all done after checked luggage has already been shipped away to be security scanned and ready to be loaded onto the plane. So the question is; why are we allowed to carry alcohol, perfumes and other flammable liquids on board the aircraft and why aren’t these items banned from the cabin? The solution would be to only be able to purchase duty free alcohol, perfumes etc., before luggage is checked-in. Correct? In fact no. Reason is that it is best to have anything flammable in the cabin where it can be put out by the crew. In the cargo hold these items...

Air Travel / Opinion

Snippet: Should You Dress Up or Down on Your Next Flight?

Recently there was an article about dressing up while flying and explaining why it was good to do so. The writer started the piece by describing how air travel used to be glamorous and goes on with the example of old films where you’d see passengers handed a cocktail seemingly enjoying themselves while in photos movie stars striding off the plane with their small, classy luggage. They had a good thing he says. I agree, in those days only the ones that could afford to fly would dress up, like movie stars and the well heeled. Glamorous for sure. How else would they be able to fly? I doubt they wouldn’t have it any other way. He goes on to say since the demise...

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

Air Travel Etiquette: Some Basic Rules

To me etiquette, in the context of air travel, starts way before getting on board the plane. It starts as soon as you enter the airport terminal. Good etiquette alleviates frustration, anger and conflict. Issues that have become more common with air travel. What is etiquette? Etiquette is basically a code of conduct, an unwritten set of rules that govern behaviour and social interactions. Principles such as: respect, kindness and consideration, or the proper and polite way to behave are the mainstay of etiquette, but also decorum, manners and attitude play their part. Applying etiquette to air travel I suppose like in any situation where one has to interact with others in a comunal setting certain rules need to apply. So before stepping into...

Air Travel / Opinion

Unruly Passengers to Confront or Not?

Should you get involved in situations where there’s a problematic passenger on board? I would say no. Let the cabin crew do their job and sort things out. Flight attendants are trained to handle all kinds of situations even those when someone becomes unruly and violent. Are there exceptions to the rule? If the cabin crew ask for assistance and if you are capable of holding your own in a situation like this, then yes. Especially if you have experience or are trained in crowd control or mediation. Otherwise if you have self-defence knowledge, perhaps ex-army or police, speak to the cabin crew and assist. On some aircraft among the passengers they may also be an air marshall or a law enforcement agent. So...

Air Travel / Opinion / Tips & Advice

How to Survive Jet Lag, My Take

The scourge of the long haul flyer. Yes, the loss of sleep, the heavy head, the tired eyes, the feeling of fatigue and irritability. These are the psycological and physiological effects that will weigh you down for several days. Is jet lag avoidable? Or can it at least be managed so that it doesn’t wreck travel plans? Here’s what I think… I will be honest, in my early days of crossing multiple time zones I too suffered the occasional jet lag. The only way I knew how to counteract the effects was to just go to sleep at my earliest convenience. I basically tried to sleep it off, but of course that caused other issues. I would be out of kilter for a few...

Air Travel / Opinion

Snippets: Have We Forgotten How To Travel?

…Flew to Europe and realised I’ve forgotten how to travel With mandates and restrictions easying or withdrawn and some normality coming back to travel after about two years, have we forgotten how to actually go about our favourite leisure passtime? The question was implied in a recent article with the writer going through the motions, feeling excited, nervous, anxious and confused. Forgetting how to pack when he was always ready at a moments notice, having bags pre-packed. He was trying to figure out what he needed. I don’t blame him especially for someone who travels to earn a crust. Packing is one of the most frustrating things. He didn’t need this extra aggravation. He goes on to explain he has forgotten how things were:...