A couple we know who are highly educated and professional were telling me about their upcoming trip to Thailand from New York City. They had never flown internationally before. In the conversation, I made a comment about how tiring a trip like that would be because of the long flight. The wife looked perplexed and told me she did not know what I was talking about. She told because because they would be flying on a jet the trip would be short-- just a few hours. I told her a non-stop flight from JFK to Bangkok will be about 16 hours if there were a nonstop and up to 30 hours with a connection. They did not believe me until we looked it up online.

I hear stories about how most people don't have basic geography skills and can't pick a country on a map. I suspect that when the Pilot comes on the PA and gives flight time, this is the first time many people understand how far it is from one end of the world to another- even on a jet!

How about you and your friends? How much do you know about the flight time before you leave? Do you look at a map, a globe, or an atlas while you plan your international trips?