Long Haul Flights

otron

Am I odd in that I would prefer to be alone on a long haul flight? I just think that its easier to get through by doing your own thing and not having to worry about anyone else you know beside you... is it just me?

deisedevil

otron wrote:

Am I odd in that I would prefer to be alone on a long haul flight? I just think that its easier to get through by doing your own thing and not having to worry about anyone else you know beside you... is it just me?

Ya i had i found that when i went on hols this year. i have a friend who is scared s***less when flying. i have always loved it,even loved it on my first flight when the pilot hammered the plane off the runway and bounced it off it a few more times for the craic, didn't seem to bother me at all. but the last flight my friend was havin a bit of a hard time dealin with it and we were all tellin him it'd be grand and making jokes bout it.when the plane came to land i thought i was gonna get a panic attack, just lasted bout 5 secs but my heart was in my mouth,lol. didn't help that one of my friends had told me that goin into malaga airport the plane goes past it and then turns back, it didn't on this occasion just fell all of a sudden and all i could see were trees and houses and no sign of a runway,lol. But even that wouldn't have bothered me this much.if i had been on my own i would have been totally fine.

28064212

If you feel that it's something that you have to "get through", then yeah it probably is easier on your own.

ferdi

one word: valium.

lau1247

I found out that from experience it is better to be alone on long haul flight..

It's even better if you can use the whole row to sleep..
You can also go out to toilet anytime..
Without having to bother people..

Sparky

i would of prefered to be alone when i came straight from LA, i was asleep and my friend woke me up to say there was a new film on.

Pighead

This is always a great topic. I know I fly alone at our field quite a bit just because nobody comes out. However, I have seen pics and have been there when someone did get injured. In this case he couldn't drive himself to the ER and it was good that other people were there to assist him. Bottom line is if you do fly by yourself be careful, but they don't call them accidents for nothing!!!

Father_Ted

No not at all, tis being my experience being stuck in the one place for over 8 hours brings out the worst in people. Theirs only so much you can talk about or comment on with a person you know before the effort out weights the result

Triton

Get a PSP and entertain yourself with movies and games all in one go. And I don't work for Sony!

randomfella

Its my one fear - flying.

My last flight was last week, the first in a year and a bit. The flight over (to Beauvais) was fine because i was so psyched (sp?) up to beat the fear that i did. Talking with friends who tried help me overcome the fear helped. Flight was grand and i enjoyed it, couldn't believe it. Thought i had conquered my fear. By the way i used rescue remedy which i thought was some sort of miracle drug at the time.

However the return was different, bumpy with turbulence. Cloudy so i couldn't see what was going on. Scared but not scared ****less as i'd once been. I took rescue remedy again but when i wanted it to work, it did sfa.

So whats valium? i've heard thats def gonna do the trick but don't want it to be like rescue remedy.

Scraggs

I agree with OP. Flying long haul solo is such a better aviation experience than sitting beside someone its just so much more comfortable on your own!
Like forced conversations with someone when u want to sleep/watch tv etc. is so bad...
Or sharing the 3/4 seat rows with tall people or overweight people [no offence intended its just obviously uncomfortable for all involved]

The last 3 times i've flown to US i've been seated in an empty row by myself and it was wonderful!!
O and as someone siad the freedom to go bathroom or on walkies w/o havin to get others to move is deadly!!

Father_Ted

Scraggs your lucky. I fly a lot with my job. Every flight bar one has been near full. I am 6'4 and always seem to be seated next to a couple with a baby or to someone thats taller then me. It can get really uncomfotable especially on a trip to the US were half way through the flight you can't feel your legs anymore.

Scraggs

~@Fr. Ted, i really sympathise!
I'm just really really lucky! Theres nothing worse that kids on planes imo. especially when they cant handle the pressure change effects on their lickle ears.. and the bawling... o sweet jebus...

Neuro

otron wrote:

Am I odd in that I would prefer to be alone on a long haul flight? I just think that its easier to get through by doing your own thing and not having to worry about anyone else you know beside you... is it just me?

As the saying goes: he who travels alone, travels fastest.

Neuro

lau1247 wrote:

I found out that from experience it is better to be alone on long haul flight..

It's even better if you can use the whole row to sleep..
You can also go out to toilet anytime..
Without having to bother people..

The best way to stay comfortable on a long-haul flight is to have plenty of legroom. SeatGuru.com allows you to determine the best seats on a flight based on the carrier and aircraft type, which you can then specifically request at check-in. The best seats tend to be on emergency exit rows or immediately behind bulkheads. You can usually find out what type of aircraft will be used on your flight via the carrier's website.

Father_Ted

Thanks Scraggs.
The problem is that on most carriers behind bulkhead seats are reserved for people travelling with kids or for the eldery. Exit row seats are like gold dust usually reserved weeks in advance.

Aisling(",)

I've always wanted to fly solo but the closest i've gotten was being in a row 1 away from my parents

StupidLikeAFox

I was coming back from holidays and the guy next to me was off his face. I wanted to fly on my own that day alright!

scorpy

When I was small, my parents had a moses basket for me to sleep in on the long flights to chile. The basket would be on the floor in front of the seats so my mum could lie down over two seats! As I recall the basket was quite comfortable, but of course I'd be a *bit* big to fit down there now.

I hate long-haul flights because I can't sleep at all. Even if it's a 13-hour flight and I only had an hour's sleep the night before, I absolutely cannot sleep on planes anymore. the worst part is when they change the oxygen/carbon dioxide mix to make everyone go to sleep - it just makes me groggy and miserable. blergh!

I have yet to fly alone, though. I'll be getting a plane over from england on my own for my debs, so I'll see what it's like then.

Neuro

scorpy wrote:

I hate long-haul flights because I can't sleep at all. Even if it's a 13-hour flight and I only had an hour's sleep the night before, I absolutely cannot sleep on planes anymore. the worst part is when they change the oxygen/carbon dioxide mix to make everyone go to sleep - it just makes me groggy and miserable. blergh!

I don't believe oxygen levels are altered at any stage during flights to induce sleep! Have you got any sources/links for this information?

Dizzyblabla

Neuro wrote:

As the saying goes: he who travels alone, travels fastest.

What happened to "Gioríonn beirt on bóthair"? Two shorten the road...
(apologies for the spelling, it's been awhile!)

But, ya, I prefer to travel alone too, flights especially, even the waiting in the queue with people tends to annoy me!

scorpy

sorry neuro, it seems I was misinformed! maybe I heard wrong, but it is true that carbon dioxide levels on planes are often higher than outside because there are so many people in the one space.

Dinner

I'd much rather be on a flight on my own. I've only had the pleasure once and it was from London to Dublin and I was surrounded by a well tanked stag party so it wasnt as good as it could have been.

lardboy

otron wrote:

Am I odd in that I would prefer to be alone on a long haul flight?

Not at all. When I fly anywhere more than an hour or so away, I tell anyone that I'm travelling with that I'm going to have a seat away from them. They all know m well enough now to know that it's for their benefit as well as mine as I can get a bit moody when stuck with people for an extended time.

I had to travel with clients on a trip to Rome a few months ago and couldn't get a single seat, so I had to sit with them. By the end of the journey I had almost told both the clients and my boss to p!ss off!