Your evolution as a Frequent Flyer.
Dec 6, 2011, 10:26 am
#31
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: UK
Programs: Tufty Club (Gold), BAGA Gymnastics level 4, 440yds swimming certificate
Posts: 2,533
Birth to Probably 21 - largely charter flying once a year (Love Dan-Air)
21-25 - As a PhD student largely charter flying with a few longhaul Ys on good student fares two or three times a year
25 - 30 - lots of domestic flying on BA (weekly and often more)
Early 30 - Opped up on BA to J flying LHR--BKK-SYD on holiday
30-36 - Cant go back to economy now! and I just go on holiday far too often
21-25 - As a PhD student largely charter flying with a few longhaul Ys on good student fares two or three times a year
25 - 30 - lots of domestic flying on BA (weekly and often more)
Early 30 - Opped up on BA to J flying LHR--BKK-SYD on holiday
30-36 - Cant go back to economy now! and I just go on holiday far too often
Dec 6, 2011, 10:35 am
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: The Hague, NL
Programs: GMLFL, Life 2.0 - Mucci Premiere Classe & des Chevaliers Toulousiens
Posts: 22,911
Dec 6, 2011, 10:35 am
#35
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,717
Paralytic, that is a thing of beauty 
To the Henk's question, I'm an airline brat: father now a retired pilot, mother a retired stewardess, older brother in air traffic control and my sister not in air travel, but tourism more generally.
I flew around with my father from birth, and growing up I made extensive use of freebie flights to touristy charter destinations (757 and 767 mainly). Most airlines were Economy only, but one had a shorthaul-type Business Class with extra-bulky seats and heated mini-pizzas which I fell in love with. The parents always joked that I was the one kid who preferred Business Class to flying in the cockpit - I grew up routinely getting bumped to the jump seat.
From 21 I've been working in business jobs with a lot of international travel, so I've become the family's first consumer rather than producer of air flights. I've flown enough to get BA Silver in most years since then and have been Gold for the last couple of years. Whilst I loved the flying (300+ hours in the air per year), not living in one place was less enjoyable, and I've moved to a job with less crazy travel. For now it's mainly leisure travel, and I have several years worth of miles to burn.
To the Henk's question, I'm an airline brat: father now a retired pilot, mother a retired stewardess, older brother in air traffic control and my sister not in air travel, but tourism more generally.
I flew around with my father from birth, and growing up I made extensive use of freebie flights to touristy charter destinations (757 and 767 mainly). Most airlines were Economy only, but one had a shorthaul-type Business Class with extra-bulky seats and heated mini-pizzas which I fell in love with. The parents always joked that I was the one kid who preferred Business Class to flying in the cockpit - I grew up routinely getting bumped to the jump seat.
From 21 I've been working in business jobs with a lot of international travel, so I've become the family's first consumer rather than producer of air flights. I've flown enough to get BA Silver in most years since then and have been Gold for the last couple of years. Whilst I loved the flying (300+ hours in the air per year), not living in one place was less enjoyable, and I've moved to a job with less crazy travel. For now it's mainly leisure travel, and I have several years worth of miles to burn.
Dec 6, 2011, 10:47 am
#37
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Scotland
Programs: BA Silver, Hilton Diamond, BD Blue (RIP)
Posts: 1,981
Travel (be it by plane, train or boat) has always been something I've really enjoyed. Same goes for my mother who would occasionally take my younger brother and I to Glasgow Airport to eat in what is now Frankie and Benny's (it was landside back then) and 'watch the planes).
I'm also lucky enough to come from a relatively well off family and to have grown up in the era of easyJet and Ryanair (whatever you think of them they did make flying, on any airline, far more affordable for 'normal' people).
For the first 4 years of my life we had an annual holiday to Palma flying from Glasgow on what I'm 95% sure was a chartered British Midland plane. Additionally we would make the odd trip to Bristol by air but this was very expensive at the time (although it did come with the fun of an EDI-GLA hop on the way home).
Then my parents discovered Keycamp and self drive holidays in France and the flying was cut down. I don't think I flew again until 2002 when it was announced that we were going to Oslo for a long weekend with Ryanair from Prestwick. The 'short break by air' became something we did about once or twice a year visiting Gothenburg and the Mosel Valley in Germany a few times.
Unfortunately my mother developed cancer in 2007 which required treatment in London (we live in Central Scotland) since the radiotherapy made travel difficult and extremely tiring for her we took it in turns to visit. One weekend she would come up and the next we would fly down. Not thinking much of it I signed us all up to the Executive Club and Diamond Club. The miles we gained were truly piddling but after my first experience of 'birdseed' which was only a 'trial' at the time) I wrote an email to BA saying that this really wasn't what I expected from them (having had couscous on an evening shuttle a few weeks earlier) and was given 20,000 miles as an apology. A quick play with the redemption tool was probably my 'gateway drug' to all the madness.
And since then uhm it's become an addiction. I moved to the south east for university about a year ago and managed to take advantage of a bmi silver status 'challenge' so mostly defected to them. Due to my mother's health I like to touch base around every 3/4 weeks so am up and down a lot. Despite what they say about 'glorified waiting rooms' lounge access, additional baggage and the general knowledge that you will be looked after make everything much easier. Since I moved here I've taken advantage of business class sale fares and visited Berlin, Basel and will be going to Nice tomorrow. The ability to jet off to places for a daytrip is something I really value and will never get tired of.
(Sorry for the essay...)
I'm also lucky enough to come from a relatively well off family and to have grown up in the era of easyJet and Ryanair (whatever you think of them they did make flying, on any airline, far more affordable for 'normal' people).
For the first 4 years of my life we had an annual holiday to Palma flying from Glasgow on what I'm 95% sure was a chartered British Midland plane. Additionally we would make the odd trip to Bristol by air but this was very expensive at the time (although it did come with the fun of an EDI-GLA hop on the way home).
Then my parents discovered Keycamp and self drive holidays in France and the flying was cut down. I don't think I flew again until 2002 when it was announced that we were going to Oslo for a long weekend with Ryanair from Prestwick. The 'short break by air' became something we did about once or twice a year visiting Gothenburg and the Mosel Valley in Germany a few times.
Unfortunately my mother developed cancer in 2007 which required treatment in London (we live in Central Scotland) since the radiotherapy made travel difficult and extremely tiring for her we took it in turns to visit. One weekend she would come up and the next we would fly down. Not thinking much of it I signed us all up to the Executive Club and Diamond Club. The miles we gained were truly piddling but after my first experience of 'birdseed' which was only a 'trial' at the time) I wrote an email to BA saying that this really wasn't what I expected from them (having had couscous on an evening shuttle a few weeks earlier) and was given 20,000 miles as an apology. A quick play with the redemption tool was probably my 'gateway drug' to all the madness.
And since then uhm it's become an addiction. I moved to the south east for university about a year ago and managed to take advantage of a bmi silver status 'challenge' so mostly defected to them. Due to my mother's health I like to touch base around every 3/4 weeks so am up and down a lot. Despite what they say about 'glorified waiting rooms' lounge access, additional baggage and the general knowledge that you will be looked after make everything much easier. Since I moved here I've taken advantage of business class sale fares and visited Berlin, Basel and will be going to Nice tomorrow. The ability to jet off to places for a daytrip is something I really value and will never get tired of.
(Sorry for the essay...)
Dec 6, 2011, 10:55 am
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: A metal nomad
Programs: Mucci des Delices Exotiques,Order of the Platinum Hairbrush,Her Royal Diamond
Posts: 23,727
Funny you mention this. As we were landing yesterday, I thought about the controllers and all the accents they hear. Obviously English is the language of controllers, but do they have a hard time understanding all the accents? Chinese, French, Arabic etc etc pilots.
Maybe I should post this in the other thread, wonder if it was asked.
Maybe I should post this in the other thread, wonder if it was asked.
Dec 6, 2011, 10:59 am
#39
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
Posts: 23,433
0 to teens - never set foot on a plane
teens to university - very occasions hop around
sandwich year - couple of European trips for work
uniiversity to mid-twenties - 2-3 Y trips a year backpacking
mid-twenties to now - lots of business travel, personal travel. The business stuff increasingly in Y, the personal stuff increasingly in F or J!
Future? Can't imagine a life where I don't travel but equally don't want another 20 years of 150-200K miles p.a.
teens to university - very occasions hop around
sandwich year - couple of European trips for work
uniiversity to mid-twenties - 2-3 Y trips a year backpacking
mid-twenties to now - lots of business travel, personal travel. The business stuff increasingly in Y, the personal stuff increasingly in F or J!
Future? Can't imagine a life where I don't travel but equally don't want another 20 years of 150-200K miles p.a.
Last edited by Swanhunter; Dec 6, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Dec 6, 2011, 11:01 am
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,145
Funny you mention this. As we were landing yesterday, I thought about the controllers and all the accents they hear. Obviously English is the language of controllers, but do they have a hard time understanding all the accents? Chinese, French, Arabic etc etc pilots.
Maybe I should post this in the other thread, wonder if it was asked.
Maybe I should post this in the other thread, wonder if it was asked.
Suggest you re-post to the other thread, where we ATCOs can tell some War Stories!!
Dec 6, 2011, 11:23 am
#41
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Programs: BAEC Gold [>20k Lifetime TPs] | Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond [as is Mrs PtF] | Various Others
Posts: 6,156
I presume you weren't studying English!
Dec 6, 2011, 11:48 am
#42
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,791
From the age of about 3 I used to travel from Newcastle to Christchurch (NZ) between the 2 farms my family owned. Apparently it was at least one, more usually 2 return trips a year, though I really don't remember it very well. At the age of 11 I inherited the NZ farm, and from that point on I worked on the NZ farm in my school holidays, so at least 6 flights a year between UK and NZ, and I went unaccompanied most times, to the occasional shock of some fellow passengers.
Fairly early on the process I worked out that I don't allow my sheep to live in Y conditions, so CW, or its equivalent, became the norm.
I still do that, and hold down some other part-time roles, that has made me a longterm inmate of BA, Cathay, KLM, Lufthansa and Qantas.
Fairly early on the process I worked out that I don't allow my sheep to live in Y conditions, so CW, or its equivalent, became the norm.
I still do that, and hold down some other part-time roles, that has made me a longterm inmate of BA, Cathay, KLM, Lufthansa and Qantas.
Dec 6, 2011, 12:38 pm
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: The Hague, NL
Programs: GMLFL, Life 2.0 - Mucci Premiere Classe & des Chevaliers Toulousiens
Posts: 22,911
