2020: Your Travel Year In Review
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: HKG/YVR/NYC
Programs: AC 75K, A3*G, AS MVPG, AA LT Gold 1MM, JL/JGC (OWS) , Marriott Titanium, Hertz 5*, Avis PC
Posts: 3,697
2020: Your Travel Year In Review
It's the Holidays so I'll jumpstart this thread for 2020
Slowed Down for 4th Year in a Row, what an Effed-Up Year this turned out to be
- A Lucky Blessing I even got New countries visited in 2020, Country Count up to #114 from #112 at the End of 2019
- Sitting on a Long Haul Flight with Single Digit Passenger Load Factors
- Last Time I flew under 50K BIS in 1 Year, I was still in High School!
- No Thanks to Virus, I'm still 24K from crossing 3 Million Miles flown Lifetime
New Countries (2): Guatemala, Honduras
New Airports (2): CJU, GUA
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: YVR-SEA, 127 Miles, Funny this keeps being on the list
Longest Flight: DOH-YUL, 6466 Miles, Another thing I wouldn't have expected in 2020
Total Airports: 16
Total Flights: 20
Total Miles: 44,488 Miles
Most Memorable Travel Experience
Volcán Pacaya, Guatemala, Country #113 (Mar 2020)
*There's just something rewarding about hiking up a Volcano
Copán, Honduras, Country #114 (Mar 2020)
Indian Head Cove, Ontario (Jul 2020)
*Canadians aren't the Greatest at Social Distancing
Most Inspiring Photo of the Year
Lake Louise, Alberta (Jun 2020)
*Sunrise Photo with No One Around at Lake Louise
The Once-in-a-Lifetime Photo you'll never get again
For other photos, I'll save it for the TR
The 2020 Pandemic Chronicles - North America Chapter
Slowed Down for 4th Year in a Row, what an Effed-Up Year this turned out to be
- A Lucky Blessing I even got New countries visited in 2020, Country Count up to #114 from #112 at the End of 2019
- Sitting on a Long Haul Flight with Single Digit Passenger Load Factors
- Last Time I flew under 50K BIS in 1 Year, I was still in High School!
- No Thanks to Virus, I'm still 24K from crossing 3 Million Miles flown Lifetime
New Countries (2): Guatemala, Honduras
New Airports (2): CJU, GUA
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: YVR-SEA, 127 Miles, Funny this keeps being on the list
Longest Flight: DOH-YUL, 6466 Miles, Another thing I wouldn't have expected in 2020
Total Airports: 16
Total Flights: 20
Total Miles: 44,488 Miles
Most Memorable Travel Experience
Volcán Pacaya, Guatemala, Country #113 (Mar 2020)
*There's just something rewarding about hiking up a Volcano
Copán, Honduras, Country #114 (Mar 2020)
Indian Head Cove, Ontario (Jul 2020)
*Canadians aren't the Greatest at Social Distancing
Most Inspiring Photo of the Year
Lake Louise, Alberta (Jun 2020)
*Sunrise Photo with No One Around at Lake Louise
The Once-in-a-Lifetime Photo you'll never get again
For other photos, I'll save it for the TR
The 2020 Pandemic Chronicles - North America Chapter
#2
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA 1K, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,048
I was wondering when someone was going to start the thread this year.
As for me:
New Countries (1): Saudi Arabia
New Airports (1): JED
New Airlines (1): SV
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: LAX-SLC, 590 Miles
Longest Flight: JED-LAX, 8332 Miles (taken on January 3rd)
Total Airports: 11 (CMB, JED, LAX, EWR, JFK, MSY, SLC, MCO, PVR, CDG (transit), RAK)
Total Flights: 18
Total Miles: 44,415 Miles
As for me:
New Countries (1): Saudi Arabia
New Airports (1): JED
New Airlines (1): SV
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: LAX-SLC, 590 Miles
Longest Flight: JED-LAX, 8332 Miles (taken on January 3rd)
Total Airports: 11 (CMB, JED, LAX, EWR, JFK, MSY, SLC, MCO, PVR, CDG (transit), RAK)
Total Flights: 18
Total Miles: 44,415 Miles
#3
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: OTP
Programs: AF/KL platinum, Turkish gold, QR gold
Posts: 1,572
My 2020 travel highlights:
- Sunset on the Mekong River in lovely Luang Prabang, Laos. Awesome city & country! I really managed to totally relax there, conveniently just before the pandemic hit Europe.
- First time visit Japan, unfortunately way too short as it was only a Tokyo stopover.
- Some excellent long-haul J flights on JAL, Garuda & Saudia.
- Island hopping in an almost deserted Greece this summer. I especially enjoyed Astypalaia and Kastellorizo.
- Meeting up with old friends in Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic.
- Maintaining AF/KL platinum & TK gold until well into 2023.
New Countries (2): Laos and Japan, bringing the total to 80
New Airports (15): ETM, JED, VTE, LPQ, NRT, TGD, FMM, JNX, KZS, RHO, HAM, OPO, MLO, MMX, ARN
New Airlines (2): JL, WE
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: MLO-ATH, 91 miles
Longest Flight: NRT-IST, 5586 miles
Total Airports: OTP, ETM, ATH, JED, KUL, VTE, LPQ, BKK, CGK, NRT, IST, CRL, DTM, DBV, TGD, FMM, MUC, CDG, TSR, JNX, KZS, RHO, HAM, WAW, OPO, FRA, MLO, MMX, ARN, DUS (30)
Total Flights: 47 (-25 compared to 2019, or a 35% decrease)
Total Miles: 47,706 miles
Overall certainly not a bad year, although there was an obvious decrease in flight activity (both private and work, although those often are related/can be combined being a freelancer). Given that I have a lot of flexibility generally in life, I still managed to max travels in February-March, as well as in the summer/early autumn. April and May however saw zero flights due to a strict local lockdown (we weren't even allowed to leave our own neighbourhood in the first month, and were restricted to our municipality in the second month). Also this December again had zero flights.
Mekong sunset, Luang Prabang, Laos
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Kotor, Montenegro
Kastellorizo, Greece
Astypalaia, Greece
- Sunset on the Mekong River in lovely Luang Prabang, Laos. Awesome city & country! I really managed to totally relax there, conveniently just before the pandemic hit Europe.
- First time visit Japan, unfortunately way too short as it was only a Tokyo stopover.
- Some excellent long-haul J flights on JAL, Garuda & Saudia.
- Island hopping in an almost deserted Greece this summer. I especially enjoyed Astypalaia and Kastellorizo.
- Meeting up with old friends in Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic.
- Maintaining AF/KL platinum & TK gold until well into 2023.
New Countries (2): Laos and Japan, bringing the total to 80
New Airports (15): ETM, JED, VTE, LPQ, NRT, TGD, FMM, JNX, KZS, RHO, HAM, OPO, MLO, MMX, ARN
New Airlines (2): JL, WE
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: MLO-ATH, 91 miles
Longest Flight: NRT-IST, 5586 miles
Total Airports: OTP, ETM, ATH, JED, KUL, VTE, LPQ, BKK, CGK, NRT, IST, CRL, DTM, DBV, TGD, FMM, MUC, CDG, TSR, JNX, KZS, RHO, HAM, WAW, OPO, FRA, MLO, MMX, ARN, DUS (30)
Total Flights: 47 (-25 compared to 2019, or a 35% decrease)
Total Miles: 47,706 miles
Overall certainly not a bad year, although there was an obvious decrease in flight activity (both private and work, although those often are related/can be combined being a freelancer). Given that I have a lot of flexibility generally in life, I still managed to max travels in February-March, as well as in the summer/early autumn. April and May however saw zero flights due to a strict local lockdown (we weren't even allowed to leave our own neighbourhood in the first month, and were restricted to our municipality in the second month). Also this December again had zero flights.
Mekong sunset, Luang Prabang, Laos
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Kotor, Montenegro
Kastellorizo, Greece
Astypalaia, Greece
Last edited by Romanianflyer; Dec 27, 2020 at 3:32 pm
#4
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: DC
Programs: UA1K
Posts: 137
I'll bite. A very slow year here, I think my slowest since maybe 2002 or 2003? My agency shut down all non-emergency travel in mid March and still hasn't started it back up yet. However, I got out the door a couple of times.
Total flights: 14
Total miles: 6,261 (ha!)
New Countries: nope.
New airports: 2 (RAP, CUT)
New aircraft types: nope.
Best experience: I got to spend a few weeks with Black Hills Helitack (a US Forest Service helicopter crew) during fire season in South Dakota. I had never been on a fire assignment in the Black Hills before, and it was a great time with a fantastic crew.
Total flights: 14
Total miles: 6,261 (ha!)
New Countries: nope.
New airports: 2 (RAP, CUT)
New aircraft types: nope.
Best experience: I got to spend a few weeks with Black Hills Helitack (a US Forest Service helicopter crew) during fire season in South Dakota. I had never been on a fire assignment in the Black Hills before, and it was a great time with a fantastic crew.
#5
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Long Island, NY
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold
Posts: 732
2020
About 60,000 BIS miles flown.
28 flights (AA, B6, BA) nothing exotic here
New countries visited: Costa Rica (here now and loving it), Dominican Republic
Countries visited: France, Brazil, DR, CR, Dubai.
New airports: LIR (Liberia, Costa Rica), POP (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic), DFW (i think it was my first time, could be wrong)
Longest flight: CDG-DFW 4942 miles
Shortest flight: LHR-CDG 217 miles
28 flights (AA, B6, BA) nothing exotic here
New countries visited: Costa Rica (here now and loving it), Dominican Republic
Countries visited: France, Brazil, DR, CR, Dubai.
New airports: LIR (Liberia, Costa Rica), POP (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic), DFW (i think it was my first time, could be wrong)
Longest flight: CDG-DFW 4942 miles
Shortest flight: LHR-CDG 217 miles
Last edited by zip10001; Jan 1, 2021 at 6:59 am
#6
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: AC MM E50 , Former SPG, now Marriott LT Plat
Posts: 6,261
the first year travel was so curtailed that I can calculate these easily:
New Countries 0
New Airports 1 - SZX ( not counting the one time I made an emergency typhoon landing there and did not exit the aircraft)
New Airlines 2 - HU ( Hainan Airlines) and TR ( Scoot)
New Planes 0:
New Ferry: HKG-SHK
Shortest Flight: XMN-HKG 309 miles
Longest Flight: YYZ-HKG 7810 miles ( and reverse)
Total Airports: 10: YYZ, HKG,SZX,PVG, SHA, XMN, CGK, BKK, SIN, YUL
Total Flights: 11
Total Miles: 22,310 Miles
All flown in January 2020
New Countries 0
New Airports 1 - SZX ( not counting the one time I made an emergency typhoon landing there and did not exit the aircraft)
New Airlines 2 - HU ( Hainan Airlines) and TR ( Scoot)
New Planes 0:
New Ferry: HKG-SHK
Shortest Flight: XMN-HKG 309 miles
Longest Flight: YYZ-HKG 7810 miles ( and reverse)
Total Airports: 10: YYZ, HKG,SZX,PVG, SHA, XMN, CGK, BKK, SIN, YUL
Total Flights: 11
Total Miles: 22,310 Miles
All flown in January 2020
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: GM on VX, UA, AA, HA, AS, SY; Budget Fastbreak
Posts: 27,579
Sfo/ord
sfo/msp - nice discovery of gourmet donuts at msp terminal (most likely UAL arrivals)
different road trips to carmel / Sonoma / napa / somewhere North of Yountville
sfo/msp - nice discovery of gourmet donuts at msp terminal (most likely UAL arrivals)
different road trips to carmel / Sonoma / napa / somewhere North of Yountville
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM
Posts: 23,297
Obviously, as for many, this years stats are pretty dire. Did manage to complete our Jan/Feb/Mar intl vacations, but since then only domestic Canada ones in the summer time.
We had to cancel 10 weeks of intl travel that was already booked for 2020 and never happened, and forego other plans that werent booked yet.
Good news, my work related flying/travel did not take a hit at all in 2020! Still same as all other years - zero
Havent left the country in 283 days - longest since teen years, 1999
Havent been on a plane in 120 days - longest since 2004 (176 days), if I pass that, it will also be longest since 1999.
New Countries: 2 - total up to 157
New Airports: 4 - ITM,MBJ,PTP,YQB - total up to 262
New Airlines: none!
Shortest Flight: YOW-YUL 94 miles
Longest Flight: SFO-TPE 6169 miles ( and reverse)
Total Airports: 20 (lowest since 2006)
Total Flights: 30 (lowest since 2004)
Total Miles: 54,185 Miles (lowest since 2007)
We had to cancel 10 weeks of intl travel that was already booked for 2020 and never happened, and forego other plans that werent booked yet.
Good news, my work related flying/travel did not take a hit at all in 2020! Still same as all other years - zero
Havent left the country in 283 days - longest since teen years, 1999
Havent been on a plane in 120 days - longest since 2004 (176 days), if I pass that, it will also be longest since 1999.
New Countries: 2 - total up to 157
New Airports: 4 - ITM,MBJ,PTP,YQB - total up to 262
New Airlines: none!
Shortest Flight: YOW-YUL 94 miles
Longest Flight: SFO-TPE 6169 miles ( and reverse)
Total Airports: 20 (lowest since 2006)
Total Flights: 30 (lowest since 2004)
Total Miles: 54,185 Miles (lowest since 2007)
Last edited by rankourabu; Dec 28, 2020 at 9:48 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,494
Similar to most, significant cutbacks in air travel; averaged about 200K BIS in recent years, but barely made it past 100K this year. Clocked in 65K BIS in just the first two months+ of the year, thinking I was going to have a banner year. Oh well, have some epic trips planned right off the bat in Q1 2021, even if just in the US.
New Countries (1): Brazil
New Airports (3): AUS, GRU, YUL
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: LGA <-> YUL 324 miles each way
Longest Flight: FRA <-> SIN 6,389 miles each way (really SIN-JFK with a stopover at FRA, same flight no.; last year also flew SIN-EWR, longest commercial flight)
Total Airports: 11
Total Flights: 39
Total Miles: 103,801 miles
New Countries (1): Brazil
New Airports (3): AUS, GRU, YUL
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: LGA <-> YUL 324 miles each way
Longest Flight: FRA <-> SIN 6,389 miles each way (really SIN-JFK with a stopover at FRA, same flight no.; last year also flew SIN-EWR, longest commercial flight)
Total Airports: 11
Total Flights: 39
Total Miles: 103,801 miles
#11
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
By far, my slowest year since I graduated college. Work travel completely shut down for me in March and still hasn't restarted. Also, thanks to the pandemic, the GF and I got a new dog which led to a lot of road trips over the summer.
New Countries (0): None
New Airports (1): CUN
New Airlines (0): None
New Planes (1): B787-9
Shortest Flight: SHV-DFW, 190 Miles
Longest Flight: DFW-CUN, 1,028 Miles
Total Airports: 8 (ORD, DEN, DFW, DAL, MSY, BTR, SHV, CUN)
Total Flights: 16
Total Miles: 9,629 Miles
Most memorable trip: Watching my alma mater win a National Championship in New Orleans (January 2020)
New Countries (0): None
New Airports (1): CUN
New Airlines (0): None
New Planes (1): B787-9
Shortest Flight: SHV-DFW, 190 Miles
Longest Flight: DFW-CUN, 1,028 Miles
Total Airports: 8 (ORD, DEN, DFW, DAL, MSY, BTR, SHV, CUN)
Total Flights: 16
Total Miles: 9,629 Miles
Most memorable trip: Watching my alma mater win a National Championship in New Orleans (January 2020)
#12
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: LHR, DFW, J Cabins WorldWide
Programs: AA EXP, UA GS, FB Gold, AS MVPG, MR Titanium, VS Gold
Posts: 954
New Countries (1): Dubai - Actually left the airport this time!
New Airports (1): Taipei Songshan
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: YVR-SEA, 127 Miles
Longest Flight: ORD-DXB, 7241 Miles
Total Airports: 26; Lowest in 6 years
Total Flights: 60; Lowest in 6 years
Total Miles: 124,737; Lowest in 5 years
Year was off to a great start, then ofc Covid hit. At least I got 2 trip on EK F with AS/EK miles in, plus a single DFW-FRA-HKG in LH F before .... hit the fan. Havent spent this much time both out of the US and in one country in 6 years either.
New Airports (1): Taipei Songshan
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: YVR-SEA, 127 Miles
Longest Flight: ORD-DXB, 7241 Miles
Total Airports: 26; Lowest in 6 years
Total Flights: 60; Lowest in 6 years
Total Miles: 124,737; Lowest in 5 years
Year was off to a great start, then ofc Covid hit. At least I got 2 trip on EK F with AS/EK miles in, plus a single DFW-FRA-HKG in LH F before .... hit the fan. Havent spent this much time both out of the US and in one country in 6 years either.
#13
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: BTR/MSY
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LTP, Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,258
I've been on a downward swing travel-wise the last few years thanks to a new job, but 2020 was still a pretty massive drop off (50% less than 2019). And I'm super bummed out about missing out on the finest itinerary I've ever pieced together (Hong Kong, Cape Town, Dubai and Normandy).
New Countries (0):
New Airports (1): ORF
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: DCA-LGA, 214 Miles
Longest Flight: JFK-YVR, 2,449 Miles
Total Flights: 46; Lowest in 9 years
Total Miles: 37,503; Lowest in 9 years
Still some great moments, even traveling in the midst of COVID and despite the annoyance of traveling with PPE on.
Hitching one last ride on CX 865, right before it ended and COVID madness.
Visiting Moab, Utah and hitting up Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park (below).
Flying one of Delta's 772 retirement flights and then visiting N703DN in Victorville a couple of days later.
Renting a lakehouse in rural Virginia to co-work with some work friends.
Feeding my inner dork at Disney World.
And heading back to my hometown to watch the GOAT go back to work.
Other than that, i've been spending a ton time at home, enjoying the stuff I spent a ton of money on but never used while I was still on the road. Oh yeah, and smoking tons of meat.
New Countries (0):
New Airports (1): ORF
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: DCA-LGA, 214 Miles
Longest Flight: JFK-YVR, 2,449 Miles
Total Flights: 46; Lowest in 9 years
Total Miles: 37,503; Lowest in 9 years
Still some great moments, even traveling in the midst of COVID and despite the annoyance of traveling with PPE on.
Hitching one last ride on CX 865, right before it ended and COVID madness.
Visiting Moab, Utah and hitting up Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park (below).
Flying one of Delta's 772 retirement flights and then visiting N703DN in Victorville a couple of days later.
Renting a lakehouse in rural Virginia to co-work with some work friends.
Feeding my inner dork at Disney World.
And heading back to my hometown to watch the GOAT go back to work.
Other than that, i've been spending a ton time at home, enjoying the stuff I spent a ton of money on but never used while I was still on the road. Oh yeah, and smoking tons of meat.
Last edited by dat4life; Dec 6, 2021 at 12:20 am
#14
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Programs: Marriott (Lifetime Titantium), whatever other programs as benefits make sense.
Posts: 1,920
From a travel perspective this year, dismal. Only 7 days outside the UK this year, 4 in France as part of a ski trip over the new year (2019-2020) which we drove down for, and then one long weekend ski trip to Austria. Cancelled ski trip to Switzerland (mid-March), F1 in the Netherlands (April) and ski trip to Italy (December). Plus a planned but not booked trip to Canada (my homeland) either in the late summer or early fall). Other than the 7 days away from my home in London, the only other day away from my own bed was a night in Croydon in February. CROYDON!?!
New Countries (0):
New Airports (1): SZG
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: LGW-SZG (637 miles)
Longest Flight: SZG-LGW (637 miles)
Total Airports: 2
Total Flights: 2
Total Miles: 1,274
At least I got two ski trips in, my new years jaunt around Megeve, and a lovely ski trip to Austria at the end of February, though even then we were already talking about this virus in China...
Practicing the bumps at Verbier (day trip from Megeve)
Under the lifts at Kitzbuhel.
New Countries (0):
New Airports (1): SZG
New Airlines (0):
New Planes (0):
Shortest Flight: LGW-SZG (637 miles)
Longest Flight: SZG-LGW (637 miles)
Total Airports: 2
Total Flights: 2
Total Miles: 1,274
At least I got two ski trips in, my new years jaunt around Megeve, and a lovely ski trip to Austria at the end of February, though even then we were already talking about this virus in China...
Practicing the bumps at Verbier (day trip from Megeve)
Under the lifts at Kitzbuhel.
#15
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CGN
Programs: KL FlyingBlue Gold, AY+, MM FTL, TK*G
Posts: 348
In 2020 I:
* Took 4 flights, lowest since 2005 (when the number was 0).
* Flew to/from 1 new airport (LCA)
* Flew on no new airlines
* Flew on no new aircraft types
* Most frequent aircraft type: Airbus 321 (2 flights)
* Most frequent aircraft: D-AIQS (Lufthansa A320), D-AIDE (Lufthansa A321), OE-LBA (Austrian A321), D-ABKM (TUIfly/Eurowings B737-800) - 1 flight each.
* Longest distance aircraft type: Airbus 321 (4381 km, 2 flights)
* Flew 2 new routes (MUC-LCA and LCA-VIE)
* Busiest route: CGN-MUC, MUC-LCA, LCA-VIE, VIE-CGN (1 flight each).
Links to previous years:
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
* Took 4 flights, lowest since 2005 (when the number was 0).
* Flew to/from 1 new airport (LCA)
* Flew on no new airlines
* Flew on no new aircraft types
* Most frequent aircraft type: Airbus 321 (2 flights)
* Most frequent aircraft: D-AIQS (Lufthansa A320), D-AIDE (Lufthansa A321), OE-LBA (Austrian A321), D-ABKM (TUIfly/Eurowings B737-800) - 1 flight each.
* Longest distance aircraft type: Airbus 321 (4381 km, 2 flights)
* Flew 2 new routes (MUC-LCA and LCA-VIE)
* Busiest route: CGN-MUC, MUC-LCA, LCA-VIE, VIE-CGN (1 flight each).
Links to previous years:
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011