Ragnarok

*Apologize in advance re/ the use of the make up word "premiumly"

Miles and Points allow one to fly comfortably in F/J and having nice beds to sleep in after a full day of sightseeing. It makes the getting there part immensely enjoyable in addition to the destination itself.

However in a recent trip I noticed the social factor of traveling seems to have taken a hit from the miles and points style of travel.

Staying in the lounge instead of striking up a conversation with fellow passengers at the gate area while waiting for a delayed flight.

Laying back in the flat bed in flight and straight to a western chain hotel room after getting off.

If I have a choice, I will pick F/J + heavenly bed every time over Y + dorm room, but I wonder is there a way to add back just a bit of that social factor.

I am not sure why, but it just seems rude to try to chat up with someone in a lounge but not at the gate area. Same thing with chatting with a seat mate in F/J vs chatting with a seat mate in Y.

Any thoughts?

Annalisa12

I'm not in to social travelling then!

Whilst I am not rude and would say hello to a seat mate and an occasional comment if something comes up but I would not go out of my way to chat to someone. I work hard and am surrounded by people not stop and when I go on holidays I want peace and quiet and possibly those around me want that too.

jahason

I know what Ragnarok means. I travel a lot on business all over the world and one of the things I most enjoy is getting to know people, where they are from and what makes them tick. This is harder in premium class, and of course, I would want to respect the wishes of the many who would not want to strike up a conversation.

So what I do is often go to low end cafes and restaurants. Very often I will also find better food at these places.

LondonElite

As a general comment, I'm not sure what miles or western hotel rooms have to do with chattiness, but I think you are projecting a hypothesis on the basis of selected anecdotes. I don't believe that the incidence of striking up a conversation is any lower in business class over economy (barring the obvious physical limitations of many modern 'suites'), or in the lounge over the gate.

Personally, I don't want to talk to people, because chances are pretty high that I don't want to hear about their job as a vacuum cleaner salesman, their last fishing vacation, or their grandkids. If anything, I'm much more likely to speak to someone in a lounge or business class if I overhear that there is a possibility of professional overlap, than I am at the gate.

I recall many years ago a flight to Florida where I sat next to a Tammy Faye Baker lookalike real estate agent from Ft Lauderdale who couldn't shut up the entire flight about her 'dream listings' and how I should invest money with her. I actually fell asleep with my headphones on and she was still talking when I woke up 30 minutes later.

Hoch

If flying in BA's CW cabin it is very easy to be sociable unless the divider is up. Otherwise, I always say 'hi' to those around me but never try to force a conversation.

I certainly agree that travelling in Y is more likely to lead to a socialable environment. Some of my best conversations onboard were in Y. Then again, that was a long time ago and I was younger

H

lhrsfo

It's almost by the nature of Business Class cabins that the majority of occupants are on business, and therefore focusing more on themselves / their work, than on the social aspects of travel. But the benefits in terms of comfort are worth their weight in gold. In terms of airlines, however, I find it more interesting flying the airline of my destination rather than my home airline - you will experience at least a little bit of that destination's culture (as well as fewer of your fellow countrymen, which can be an advantage at the Immigration queue).

However, with hotels, it's a different calculation. Don't stay in western chain hotels - they're overpriced usually, and they are full of uninteresting people. Find a local hotel with a bar. If you are into loyalty, then use Hotels.com for its effective 10% discount. You'll be much more comfortable and you'll at least meet more intrepid travellers, if not locals who, of course, don't stay in hotels where they live.

Q54701

I don't think we should draw generalizations about people's willingness to engage in conversation based on the class of service they are in, however at the same time I think it's very important for people to learn how to pick up the cues that somebody would rather not talk

tmorse6570

The last two times I tried smiling and saying hello, I got an ear full about their entire divorce proceedings. One a female on an hour and a half flight and the other a male on the return. Now I just keep to myself.

manneca

Whether I'm in business or economy, I almost never talk to anyone. Whether I'm in the lounge or at the gate, I almost never talk to anyone. And most of the time, I'd rather they not talk to me, either. Not everyone is a social butterfly.

TravelinSperry

I travel similarly to the OP but generally find I can strike up some nice conversations in the lounges at the Western style hotels. There everyone is in a good mood due to the free drinks and food and all you have to say is... where are you visiting from? People love to talk about themselves so starting them out with such a question works well.

Also - when in the city you are visiting I find it easy to meet people when doing tour activities rather than seeing a sight solo. So doing a free walking tour of the city you're in for example.

I don't care whether it's First or Eco I rarely chat with anyone on a plane. I generally prefer to sleep and read.

KRSW

That's the nature of premium cabins and the people they attract.

I've seen this in my own life. The higher end the property, the less I seem to know my neighbors. At one point my girlfriend was living in a rented condo that was at the lower/mid levels of the market. There were a few Section 8 renters. BUT I ended up knowing about 75% of the people in the building and I wasn't there all that often. People thought nothing of knocking on a neighbor's door and asking to borrow something or for extra cooking ingredients if they ran out. At the other end of the spectrum, one of our clients had a ~17,000 sqft house I was working out of earlier this year. Other than the major league sports player living next door (who was a nice guy!), I never met anyone in that neighborhood, and I was out in the neighborhood quite a bit.

...and to be honest, it's a reason I'll often choose premium cabin space -- I want privacy and want to be left alone. I'm not anti-social and I have met some great people on planes, but the airplane is one of the few places I can unplug and relax. No phone calls, no e-mails. My car is a mobile office and I can do just about everything off my phone & external keyboard.

Worst / funniest case of this happened to my mother. B6 flight, E190 aircraft (2-2 layout). She sits down, a man sits next to her with no carry-on items, not even a coat. Plane takes off. He looks around for awhile, now realizing he doesn't have anything to do for the next 2 hours and proudly says, "Well, I didn't bring any headphones or a book to read, so I guess we're stuck talking for the next two hours." To which my mother's response was, "Well, I did", as she put hers on and proceeded to focus on the TV screen in front of her.

Oh lord... If you said she's from Tampa I would have thought she was the agent I had to work with on a case this year. Now I'm horrified to know there might be TWO of them out there!

txflyer77

I don't really like talking to people in-flight because if things go bad, you're trapped. If your seatmate decides to ramble on about his last colonoscopy on a full flight, your only recourse is to fake a stomach ache and hide in the lav until landing.

Lounges are different since it's easy enough to get up and move if someone is a bore or just can't pick up on social cues. And you never know who you might meet, I've certainly made professional connections in odder ways.

On personal travel, especially in Asia, I've had great luck meeting people on food tours. In Seoul two years ago on a night food tour I met Conor Powell and his wife who covered Afghanistan for Fox News and MSNBC, respectively. That was an interesting conversation!

HelloItsMe

I travel almost exclusively for pleasure and one of the things I love about it is meeting and speaking to people from around the world.
However, on a plane I really just want to catch up on movies, read, and stare blankly. It's one of the few times I have to veg out and kind of shut down.
And I agree with others who have been "burned" a few times by ending up listening to stories that I just don't care about.
In a cafe I can find a way to gracefully bow out of an unwanted conversation. But in an airline seat on a long flight it's obviously a bit more challenging.
I hate the idea of hurting someone's feelings so I typically feign interest while wishing my heart would stop beating.

DaveBlaine

Um, wouldn't it be better to wish that their heart would stop beating?

VivoPerLei

Yep. I have absolutely no interest in small talk either