Monday, October 4, 2010

travel pains

image from here

since the holidays are drawing near..it may be travel time for a bunch of you..i ran across this interesting article in Travel + Leisure Magazine that polled their readers for some travel related questions..and all the questions are BUSINESS class related..
here is how they answered for a few interesting topics:

top domestic routes: based on overall score, and cabin comfort
virgin airlines--best in regular class cabin as well, in my opinion
midwest airlines
continental

transatlantic:
virgin america
qatar airways
emirates

transpacific:
singapore (in the 90% across all categories)
cathay pacific
air new zealand

top domestic airports: ratings based on easy of connections, baggage, food ect
portland oregon
washington Dc reagan
tampa
san diego

international top airports:
singapore
hong kong
amsterdam

96% of readers say the #1 important factor for choosing an airline is comfort and legroom
96% also said having a direct flight was most important

80% of the readers said they would rather walk thru a full body scan then be patted down in security..couldn't agree more

what do you rely on to help you relax or sleep on long flights:
30% said alcohol
29% said sleep aids (i.e drugs)
7% said alcohol and sleep aids

i think i am going to invest in some of these noise canceller headphones..i was more than annoyed listening to a mother and daughter discuss painful topics my last trip..cannot deal anymore..here is a review of many on the market here

ohh one more tip..for all you "can't sleep without a sound machine" that would be me..there is an App for that! its called ambiance..so you can listen to white noice, or streams or waves crashing as your phone charges through the night..sleep tight!

if you have any tips or recommendations..please share..so we can all be happier travelers..
(i need a new suitcase that can fit in overhead and has those cool wheels?)

love this movie...and this trailer is perfect..



5 comments:

StylishBird said...

It sounds like we are going to take Virgin to NYC when we go together! :) I have the noise canceling headphones and they are essential. Mine are Bose, the ones that sit a top your ears not all the way around them.

Amsterdam was a the best flying in...but was a total cluster f*** flying out. Sheer madness with no order...not typically the dutch way. It might have just been my airline though.

x A

rikshaw design said...

stylishbird..good to know about the noise cancellers getting some for sure!! i think its great to hear actual experiances...

Unknown said...

Oh that photo is hilarious and all too familiar!:) Thanks for the hot tips.

ashley // chasing heartbeats said...

Ah wouldn't it be nice to afford business for every flight? I am scarred for life after a few business class flights, makes coach feel like the greyhound bus. :( Oh well... I think I need to invest in some noise cancelling headphones or atleast get that app!! my last flight back stateside was miserable there and back, both times my monitor was broken and screaming babies for 8 hours straight :( they were too cute to hate and their poor parents had 2 under the age of 2, but it made sleeping impossible. Thanks for sharing all these tips!! Maybe next flight I will be the 7% who uses both alcohol and sleep aids ;)

Sound cancelling headphones said...

For me , investing in a quality pair os noise cancelling headphones was the best decision I ever made. I don't travel so often but when I do it is usually long haul and I have terrible trouble trying to sleep. Noise cancelling headphones saved my holidays imho.