Business Travel

[controlnovice]

Not sure if this belongs here:

I'm curious to know what your company's travel policy is regarding flights in business class.

Ours is anything over 8 hours, except to Europe, is approved for business class. Company is located in the USA.

I've talked with others in the chemical industry who've said industry standard is 6 hours, and others who've said, "Travel Policy?..."

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[jmw]

I have to go to Boston next month. The company is saying they will book me out of Gatwick via Continental. I haven't flown Continental in a decade... I still have my flight miles club card but probably the points have expired.
The question is, what is Continental like these days? Would I be better to swim across?

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[GTstartup]

For a US carrier Continental is not bad. I flew Continental to Europe last year in business and I found It better than Delta, Usair, etc. Domestically, in the US Continental is also pretty good. Can't vouch for coach. Even though the company I work for limits us to coach, I fly 100,000+ airline funny miles on one particular airline per year and almost always get an upgrade if first class exists.

 

[casseopeia]

Delta's new safety video starring Deltalina!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgpzUo_kbFY

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[jmw]

Its OK, for an extra £16 I'm flying British Airways, well I think I am.
Since the new terminal 5 opened it doesn't look so good, fortunately I fly from 4 and I hope the infection doesn't spread.
At least you still get the free booze on BA.


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[SomptingGuy]

Not that it affects me these days, but British carriers always used to give free booze to anyone over 18 (British drinking age limit). Get on an American carrier in London and you instantly have to be over 21!

Anyway, BA Premium Economy back from Chicago on Friday night was pretty comfotable. Wide seats, plently of legroom. Head and shoulders about regular Economy on BA and/or any other carrier I've used before.

- Steve

 

[jmw]

The trouble is that after all that terrorism which meant you now could at last be sure your luggage travelled with you and that you could find overhead space for your laptop, BA have, with their new terminal set us back to the old days when the expression was:
"Breakfast in London, Dinner in New York, Luggage in Bermuda."
Just substitute London for Bermuda.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[plasgears]

Continental!
I had an interesting experience with them several years ago when they first came out of hibernation. I arrived a little early at the gate. They started boarding, so I showed my pass and walked on.
My seat was occupied so I took another nearby. The opening announcement was a joke on a new flight attendant: "Welcome to Newark. We look foreward ... etc. OOPS!"
When we got to Newark my luggage was not there. I went to claims, and they said my flight had not landed yet! I was boarded on the previous flight.
I don't seek to fly on Continental anymore, but the others are not terribly better.

 

[SomptingGuy]

Hmm, in and out of LHR T4 thankfully so no probs. Will wait for them to sort their act out before risking T5!

- Steve

 

[controlnovice]

I just flew on Asiana Airline and New Zealand Air.

What a breath of fresh air!! These foreign (outside of USA) carriers are fantastic. The service on Asiana was probably the best I've ever had. New Zealand was a close second.

Due to company agreements, we usually fly United to Asia and the Pacific. United service is the pits. The attendants seem more annoyed than anything. I'm sure they get a lot of verbal abuse on board, especially in the States, but why do the foreign carriers seem different?

Anyway, I'm glad they just opened the skies between Europe and the US.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[jmw]

I think the equal opportunities and discrimination laws play a role with US Carriers.
I've travelled on a few where the trolley dollies were well past their sell by date and knew it. They were also past caring whether the cattle were contented or not.
Though why they should want to carry on at what can be very hard work (if they do it and don't just circle wagons in the galley) when past a certain age I don't know. I did wonder if liver damage claimed more of them on some airlines which would explain why they had a higher proportion of younger staff than others as those I have known were dedicated to absorbing as much alcohol as possible when they got the chance.

So far my favourite airline is Qatar air, cattle class or first. One trip London to Singapore and I qualified for silver and the second trip I got bumped to first (due to over-booking) and got free run of the lounge at Doha, just help yourself to the drinks and food which, for a 5 hour layover, was welcome.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[jmw]

Boarding in London was a cinch.
I just walked in, dumped my bag at the drop off and went for coffee. Then when I went through security it was the usual shoes off, jacket off routine but over with in a flash.

Coming back from Boston it was all show but what substance?
Shoes off. Jackets off and anything electrical, including laptops, had to be taken out of their bags and placed separately in the trays.
Well Ok, so I put my cell phone, camera and computer out but I couldn't be bothered about the two optical mice, the bluetooth RS 232/485 connector, the card reader or the standard RS 232/485 converter and whatever esle was festering in there.
And I forgot to take the change out of my pocket (about $3 in quarters) nor did I remember to take off my belt buckle (a large chunk of Navaho silver).
But they waved me through OK.
Now on high alert days I have known the detectors go off for a piece of silver foil or for the metal studs on jeans pockets.
Of course, there was only one security screen running and so all this took forever.

Last to board, I found all the overhead space taken up because despite all this security they are again letting people take their entire wordly goods on board as carry on luggage.

The security at the USS Constitution was tighter and they were even looking inside peoples cigarette packets. The USS Constitution is obviously a more important asset than a plane full of people.
I was amused to see that firearms are forbidden on US Navy and Military bases. That should make the peace-nics happy, unarmed military. But then, the modern military seems entirely dependent on precision guided ordnance and I guess that excludes hand held weapons of any description.

By the way, my side trip to the Constitution was made possible by the usual airline fares deal where I could have paid £1340 and gone home Friday night or £314 and go home Sunday which I did.
Our host said he went to Panama during the holidays and discovered that he couldn't use his air miles as they doubled the requirements during the holidays.
Then he discovered that if he booked first class he could... so let's get that straight, he had enough air miles to go first class but not enough to go second.
Why?
Because they never double up the first class rates, they just up the cattle class rates when they feel like it.

Now, is it any wonder that a couple more airlines went bust over the weekend? These guys couldn't run tap.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[HgTX]

Continental ain't BA or Virgin, but it's not bad. In my experience it's been better internationally than domestically.

I hate Delta with the flaming passion of a thousand suns, but others seem not to have the same pattern of problems I do. I will only book Delta if there is no other way to get the times and locations I need. (And to add insult to injury, they don't have wi-fi in their JFK terminal; I guess you have to buy a membership to the lounge or something.)

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[SomptingGuy]

Re shoes:

Just after the "shoe bomber" event I mad the mistake of wearing my DM's for a flight. Never again! There was double security too so I ended up carrying them around the airport.

- Steve

 

[HgTX]

Except then they won't let you on the plane unless you put your shoes/boots back *on*. At least that's what happened to me. I wanted to tell 'em to make up their damn minds, but then again I also wanted to be allowed to take my flight, so I just did what I was told...

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[SomptingGuy]

Eating sh1t is the bit I hate most about flying. There is no alternative, whatever you get you just have to hold your breath and swallow.

- Steve

 

[jmw]

What I really dislike is the culture of dishonesty: did you ever get the same answer twice, not just from different people but even from the same person?

How many "technical" reasons are actually commercial? (And yes, it surprises me they'd rather have you worry that whatever was wrong with the plane might still be wrong with it when you fly than let you think they just want to screw the last dollar out of your flight).

I've found that whenever you have a problem they can't solve they never say "Sorry, can't be done." The guy at check in will say "You have to talk to them at the gate." and the guy at the gate will say "You have to talk to the crew." and the flight attendant will say "I have to check with the In-flight Director so why don't you just take your assigned seats for the moment while I see if I can get it get it sorted out."
Don't ever agree to sit down. Once you sit you are there for the flight.
I've also asked for a seat with leg room, been told that that is what I've been given and found my seat was the most cramped on the plane. Liars, damned liars and airline staff.

I've also discovered that smart and polite gets you cr**ped on. The guys that get their way are the ones who push the limits of nuisance value to just short of being pitched off the plane.

My first flight into Miami one Christmas the plane was late, they had just two or three customs desks open and hundreds queued at each. In the line I picked the guy in front was bad mouthing anyone and everyone who came near to him in a voice that carried across the terminal. "I'm a citizen and a Taxpayer, I'll write my congressman"

Too late to change lines and I could see everyone around him getting more apprehensive and I could see the lady at the desk getting ready to "settle his hash" (she didn't actually check that her gun was loose in its holster but mentally, yes). I was expecting she'd take him apart, empty his luggage all over the place and maybe even have him strip searched. I had a connecting flight and I was expecting a to miss it (I did, actually, but not through any fault of his).

BUT, two or three people from the desk he shut up. When he got there he was all sweetness and politeness and he so wrong footed the poor woman that had he been smuggling a kilo or two of heroin or dirty nuclear bomb he'd have got it through, she just didn't want to be the trigger for another rant.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[davidbeach]

I've also discovered that smart and polite gets you cr**ped on. The guys that get their way are the ones who push the limits of nuisance value to just short of being pitched off the plane.

Long before 9/11 I was supposed to change planes in SFO, arrived minutes before I was supposed to leave, ran between terminals and arrived at the gate just after they'd shut the door of the plane. But this being SFO in the evening the plane was still sitting there, practically close enough to touch. So I just started raising a ruckus; I was there, the plane was there, it wasn't moving, so there was no reason I couldn't be on that plane. Before the plane moved the gate personnel had decided they didn't really want to have to put up with me until they could get me on a later flight, so pretty soon the jet way was extended back to the plane and I got on. Of course my luggage was on a later flight.

Wouldn't dare do that now, all they'd do is call for the goons.