No debate there. I just wish they’d let me fly HND<->SEA at reasonable times so I can stop going to Chiba forever.
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I love learning about the world, thank you (no, really). I have yet to make it to India in any capacity, but I see it in my future.
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Next week I have to go overseas for work. Of course that means departure from Narita… The Keisei express train has gotten better but the airport itself still stinks
It was $700 to take the train for a sleeper on a 23 hour trip, $400 to fly 6 hours w/layover this past week. Unfortunately, those flight economics win every time (plus the need to book Amtrak sleepers 4+ months in advance on any long route even slightly popular)
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Again, I’m not arguing. This is more of a shared pot of tea conversation. 
I am in a privileged position since I can spend a few years of my life and save money for an overseas vacation. There have been a few times I thought I might win a financial lottery, but those never came to pass. So I save. And I will not apologize for seeing Avebury, or cashill, or Ness, or the Taiwan 101.
If I am an oppressor, I will give you my address and you can have my stuff. Not the sentimental stuff, but everything else I’ll help you load up in your truck.
Shit, I did exactly that in 2014. Everything was free, except the meaningful things with stories.
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In theory.
But do you really want to further reduce compassion at the airport by introducing abject competition?
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Not really. They already suck, do they have to ‘game-ify’ the boarding process even more?
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Against this only because it means the end of free upgrades based on miles flown / status. I flew 20 round trips on United last year. I was upgraded to first class 3x out of the 40x I boarded. I live for that 7.5% chance. Make that 0% since I’d never get into bidding war over a seat, and it takes the one fun thing about flying away from me.
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Also the massive deforestation of some of the islands.
I think there are some factors missing here. Rental car or taxi cost from airport/bus terminal to HQ.
Well, no, for some it’s a job requirement, a job that puts a roof overhead and food on the table. Unless working for a living is on the wrong side. If I could afford regular vacations, I wouldn’t fly. I’d be off camping in the mountains a hundred miles drive from the nearest airport. Now that’s luxury.
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Similar story here in Germany. We (me, my partner, and one of those screaming babies some folks are complaining about) recently travelled from just outside Cologne to a little way outside Munich. The flight is around an hour. Plus an hour at each end to get to/from the airport. Plus having to arrive an hour early at the airport. Plus an hour waiting for luggage, etc, to get out of the airport at the other end. So that’s actually 5 hours, broken into lots of little sections. By train it takes just over 6 hours with two changes - the middle section of the journey is 4 hours, which is long enough to get properly settled in. We had loads of space including a table, the chance to walk up and down the train, changing facilities, a free seat for the little monster, and to look out of the window and enjoy watching Germany whizz by.
The price is also pretty good if you travel regularly. You can buy a half price card for €130, which (unlike the UK), means the tickets are actually half price. And if you miss your train, or change your mind about when you want to travel, just get on a different train.
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Avebury is pretty amazing, isn’t it? When I lived in England I spent a lot of time with Julian Cope’s Modern Antiquarian, a selection of OS maps, and a mountain bike. The area around Avebury was always my favourite. Happy days!
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I’M 6’3" TELL ME YOUR SECRET and is it the sort of thing I could work on between now and, oh, last week in March?
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I just had to fly transatlantic on New Year’s Eve on United. First class was empty and business class was sparsely populated.
A week prior, upgrades from Econ Plus (where I was) were $650 +20k miles. I asked at the gate after they made announcements about the flight being pretty empty, and they said it was $850 + 20k miles.
My ceiling was $500 (and only because it was NYE), but United wouldn’t budge. Instead, they moved some transiting United crew from coach to business (which still only occupied about 25%).
An auction would have been great - they probably would have gotten some cash out of me - but it’s stunning to me that airlines are just throwing profits away by pricing-up upgrades at the last minute, especially when the demand is so low.
I was never great at economics, but is there some part where the laws of supply and demand are reversed at 30,000 feet?
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- sit on screaming baby until quits screaming
- increase screaming baby distance from you by 40,000 feet straight down.
- seat kicker prices follow getting rid of screaming baby prices.
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I think that when comparing the cost of different modes of travel we have to take into account that air travel is heavily cross subsidised before we get on it. The fuel is tariff/excise/VAT free which is a massive subsidy in Europe. The airports are frequently/usually built with public money and pay airlines to fly to them with public money…
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I can’t imagine many jobs that require air travel while being a member of the underclass, but I’m of limited imagination and if that describes you kudos. I’m guessing you’re bouj scum like me, tho. 
Also, if you are getting flown around a lot by your corporate masters, that probably means you’ve got a decent amount of leverage you could be using to sell your labor for more.
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Friend, my belief is that we’re all oppressors of varying degrees by merit of our participation in this inequitable system of systems that we call modern civilization. I don’t think giving up possessions really moves the needle appreciably in terms of our oppressordom, so I won’t take you up on your offer nor will I offer up mine 
The auction thing is odd, but i guess it’s fine. I never upgrade, i travel as cheaply as i can so its whatever to me.
