Hello friends,

I need some advice.

I have always wanted to fly to Europe, I've only been overseas once. My wife is a great woman, however...

This Spring we flew CLE-SFO in Y+ for a friend's wedding in Yosemite NP, great place to get married at IMO. The non-stop was something like 5 hours CLE-SFO and 4.5 SFO-CLE with the return as a red-eye. I had no problems with either leg, but she hated it, especially the return flight.

At this point you can see the obvious problem, to go EWR-LHR is seven hours in itself, and the return is what eight or nine? Since I live in CMH land that's what 10 hours in the air whether we fly to ORD, anywhere on the east coast, or even connect through YYZ. Unless you can somehow land at Gander, NF and take it to Dublin, then to LHR, you are talking significant time in the air.

Does anyone have suggestions to make a TATL flight easier for someone who doesn't really like to fly any kind of distance? Obviously flying C or F is a possibility, and there are tons of items available to buy to try and make the trip easier, but what do some of you do to make the trip seem shorter and the hours go by faster? I understand quite well that many people who fly TATL hate it no matter what class you are in, and since there is no more Concorde and 3 hr. flights options are limited.

Is there a way to fly to Europe and break it into less that five hour segments? Is it worth it to try and book TATL through Iceland (for example) with a full day layover on one ticket where we can leave the airport and relax without paying an arm and a leg?

Thanks for the suggestions.

The journey would probably take longer due to connections, but St John's newfoundland to London is flown daily by Air Canada and takes about 4.5 hours

But why doesn't she like to fly? You need to know that answer in order to solve your problem.

Has your wife tried AMBIEN?

Icelandair stops in Iceland on its TATL trips.
I fly from Seattle, departing at 4.30 pm arriving KEF at around 6 am local time which is midnight Pacific time. That's a pretty easy haul of 7.5 hours in Saga Class (book far enough in advance and SC, which compares to domestic business 2 years ago, is very reasonably priced). There's usually an hour to 90 minute layover, then the 3 hour flight to Europe. Arrival usually late morning to early afternoon.
From your location, the first leg will be shorter, though I don't know whether the schedule will be as convenient.
Check Icelandair out.

CMH to BOS to KEF to LHR. Longest leg from Boston is about 5 hours.

My husband is not a fan of flying in economy on flights longer than 3-4 hours, but sucked it up b/c he also loves to be in Europe. When we went to SE Asia this year, I churned like crazy to get enough miles to fly us business. He said he'd be willing to fly all the way around the world - didn't bother him at all.

I really think getting in a premium cabin should fix her issues, as long as it's not a fear of takeoff/landing, or something else that is exactly the same regardless of the cabin you fly in.

Go by yourself? Medicate her? Divorce is probably too much.

Icelandair is especially attractive if you decide you want to break up the flight by staying in Iceland for a day or so: https://www.icelandair.us/flights/st...pos=US&lang=en.

I'm also a big fan of business class. Ignoring for the moment some of the pickiness you can find at FT about the relative merits of one airline or the other's offerings, I've learned that the ability to lie flat and have just a little more room is far superior to wedging into an economy class seat (leg room is not always horrible, but I think the width of any economy or economy plus seat is uncomfortable--and I'm 5' 9" and of average weight). To me, flying business class is like taking a nap on a sofa--you might not want to do that every night, but it is mostly tolerable for one night.

Take the dayflight to LHR or KEF (from JFK in summer). Dublin also has a dayflight. CDG did in the past over the summer but no more. Consider buying a extra legroom seat.

Train to a nearby city?
Boat? It's a hell of a lot longer and seas are just an unpredictable but it's also quite an experience.
Otherwise if you can't afford Business class look into Premium Economy options on BA or VS from nearby airports. UA is a pay for more legroom but not a designated class and DL isn't yet offering a designated product.

I agree with both points.

Going via Iceland, with an interesting stop there, seems to be the best thing to do if flying economy.

Even better, though: Fly business. And to do so very cheaply on award flights, start exploring the credit card forums here on FT to learn about the many initial bonuses of 50,000 or more miles on various airlines by signing up for AA, UA or other credit cards and doing some initial spending of $2,000 or $3,000 within a few months.

Similarly, look into the Chase Sapphire and Ink cards, the Citi Thank You and Prestige cards, the Starwood Amex personal and business cards, and various Amex cards that get you initial points bonuses with each of those four companies' cards. Those points can in turn be converted into miles with partner airlines.

It might take some reading, asking questions, and investment of some time to learn about how to best go about this, but it will be worth it in the end for both you and your wife.

As others have mentioned, you need to determine whether it's a fear of flying or the annoyance of flying in economy.

The difference between Y and J on a TATL flight is amazing. Add to lounge access and she might be changing her tune (assuming it's not the fear of flying thing). You have so many opportunities in the states to take advantage of credit card bonuses so perhaps that might be a start?

I agree. Could be something other than the awfullness of coach.

Wife tried it on ATL-EZE. On approach to Buenos Aires, scared the s**t out of me because she was cold to the touch and didn't look like she was breathing.
She eventually woke up and said she felt awful.

Airplanes are not the place for human drug experimentation.