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MeramJert posted:I'm overweight. lol (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Feb 21, 2014 13:11
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synertia posted:lol You're a good goon and this isn't the LAN thread. Don't do that 
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Feb 21, 2014 14:29
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Things should be chill
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Feb 21, 2014 23:27
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peanut posted:Things should be chill Come now, sir... It's already been established that China is pretty chill if you're not a moron. China is also pretty chill if you're me or Jimmy Little Balls.
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Feb 22, 2014 01:46
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BadAstronaut posted:Come now, sir... It's already been established that China is pretty chill if you're not a moron. China is also pretty chill if you're me or Jimmy Little Balls. China was pretty chill in my 28 loving degrees classroom this morning.
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Feb 22, 2014 02:27
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So Trip Report (literal report of the trip itself): Beijing Airport continues to stun me with how loving efficient it is, right up until when the security guy takes my computer/electronics bag and x-rays every. single. piece. This is because he has never seen a recording microphone before, I'm certain. The Air China leg of the trip was decent. United Airlines, is garbage compared to all the other Star Alliance members, but their reputation is such that they are held to be the best of the America-based airlines. There was no booze (last time I flew into Beijing, with lufthansa, who got me positively wasted for free last time I flew with them) and the food was, well, it made me miss instant noodles. The air stewards/esses were a battle-hardened crew of people who looked like aunts I had growing up, who treat every passenger with a mixture of disdain and despair. The flight was on time though, but my connection flight with United was half an hour late in arriving and half an hour late in departing. So yeah, Airline Chat: United Airlines is really, really no-frills, at a regular price. If you have the odd habit like I do of getting all your plane tickets using reward miles/points, consider a longer, more inconvenient itinerary that takes you with European or Asian Carriers over American ones (Air Canada being the exception to this-they're pretty solid whenever I fly with them).
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Feb 22, 2014 07:10
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Ceciltron posted:United Airlines, is garbage compared to all the other Star Alliance members, but their reputation is such that they are held to be the best of the America-based airlines. There was no booze (last time I flew into Beijing, with lufthansa, who got me positively wasted for free last time I flew with them) and the food was, well, it made me miss instant noodles. Your experience with United is completely the opposite of every United flight I've ever had. Hell, I usually seek out United specifically because their flights have been that much better than, say, Delta, which has consistently been nothing short of terrible. Also the "I hate you and hope you die young" attitude is in fact the resting state of all stewardesses, and one can hardly blame them for it. Welcome home. When the immigrations guy reached for your passport, did you threaten to sue him? blinkyzero fucked around with this message at 08:27 on Feb 22, 2014 |
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Feb 22, 2014 08:25
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For all NA-Asia flights you get the old grizzled veteran flight attendants. Doing like 3-4 round trips gives them all the hours they need for a whole month so every flight attendant tries to get on these routes, and they give them out based on seniority. And I've not been on a single flight with free booze in economy on any airline in any country, guess I'm missing out 
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Feb 22, 2014 08:42
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If you aren't flying Korean Air you aren't doing it right.
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Feb 22, 2014 10:27
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I could fly to Indonesia in April using Korea Air. They good, then? Other options are Singapore (good but pricey), Air Asia and Malaysian Airlines.
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Feb 22, 2014 10:31
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goldboilermark posted:If you aren't flying Korean Air you aren't doing it right. Asiana is pretty good as well. So are most Arabian airlines.
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Feb 22, 2014 11:43
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Emirates is the best airline I've ever flown on, and that was in Economy
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Feb 22, 2014 11:45
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Anyone got opinions on Air Asia, Juneyao or Mandala/Tiger?
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Feb 22, 2014 11:58
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simplefish posted:Emirates is the best airline I've ever flown on, and that was in Economy Emirates is great. I might pop back to the UK this summer for month (we're sending some students there for a summer school program at our partner and I suspect that some kind of hand holding may be required) and I am going to experiment with Aeroflot because I am normal size and I don't care about service very much as long as the beer is free and the uniforms cut off slightly above the knee there's nothing like a pilot in short pants.
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Feb 22, 2014 11:59
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BadAstronaut posted:I could fly to Indonesia in April using Korea Air. They good, then? Other options are Singapore (good but pricey), Air Asia and Malaysian Airlines. Go Korean Air if the price is right. You definitely won't regret it.
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Feb 22, 2014 12:59
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Korean air are good. Good service, and you get the feeling they actually have trained pilots and check their planes. It helps if you hit turbulence and you go thank god I'm not in Air Gurada, Laos Air, etc. The only downside is you have to go to Korea.
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Feb 22, 2014 13:07
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BCR posted:Korean air are good. Good service, and you get the feeling they actually have trained pilots and check their planes. Yeah, it's not as simple as that I think: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_incidents_and_accidents A subsidiary of what is now Singapore Airlines used to run helo-transit routes during the late seventies/early eighties across SE Asian oil spots. One of these killed an uncle of mine (I never knew him) and to this day nobody in my family including myself will fly Singapore Airlines. These days pretty much any airline that flies out of a major hub is just as safe as another though. I wouldn't personally differentiate airlines on safety records but if I had to then I think that the rate of hire from ex-military aviation would be the best judge of pilot competence and on that score British Airways and Virgin are the top, followed by some of the American airlines. Simple flight time alone is not enough: only military pilots have been put through truly exhaustive emergency training and, indeed, have likely experienced an emergency of their own in past. I haven't got sources for this (maybe they exist, I don't know) but I have had some personal involvement with navyation during an early mid-life crisis which saw me go through officer training in the RN. Airframe age is alot more important though and, of course, you should always have a Pratt and Whitney under the hood  .
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Feb 22, 2014 13:30
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Virtually every Korean Air / Asiana pilot is ex-military, as that's the only real way to get some flight experience there.
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Feb 22, 2014 13:35
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Jeoh posted:Virtually every Korean Air / Asiana pilot is ex-military, as that's the only real way to get some flight experience there. Are they/Is it? Like I say, I don't have any statistics on this but my argument such as it is stresses that the thoroughness of military training is what truly prepares a pilot for emergencies. I suppose total flight hours, average length of service (maybe shorter in Korea?) and the nature of the training would play a part in things as well. I suppose on balance we could subtract the number of incidents in which poor radar coverage and approach control contributed to an accident as I don't image that BA and Virgin would fly some of the more interesting routes in Asia. But that is more effort than I am willing to put into this. Like I say, if it flies out of a major hub I don't really care. Airframe age and so forth are probably more important and unless he/she has a full beard (Fleet Air Arm) or the clipped mustache of an inveterate public school boy and occasional homosexual (RAF) then I wouldn't say the pilot is any better or worse than another by "feel". In the latter case it's probably inadvisable anyway. [edit] I was once on a flight in heavy weather, almost twenty years ago it must be now, in which people actually applauded the pilot after the landing. It wasn't "you saved our life you're a hero" applause either it was more of a "I say, nice way to take on the bunker there old boy" kind of business. Anyone else ever had that? GuestBob fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Feb 22, 2014 |
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Feb 22, 2014 13:42
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Applauding after landing is an activity only reserved for people flying to Ibiza or Mallorca, or for landing in a plane under AA fire in heavy weather on an empty stretch of land.
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Feb 22, 2014 14:04
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BadAstronaut posted:Anyone got opinions on Air Asia, Juneyao or Mandala/Tiger? Took Juneyao for a domestic flight during Chinese New Year out of sheer desperation (missed our original flight due to China). It was pretty cheap especially considering it was last minute right at the start of CNY, and I got beer and hot dogs (or what they pass off as hot dogs in China) during the flight. One of the flight attendants did not look quite as depressed as the rest and even managed to smile once, I think. Also we did not crash and burn. So overall Juneyao is pretty good.
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Feb 22, 2014 14:06
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GuestBob posted:Airframe age is alot more important though and, of course, you should always have a Pratt and Whitney under the hood You mean a pair or two of Rollers, surely? P&W are a  outfit.
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Feb 22, 2014 14:14
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Looks most likely that I'll be going Spring to HK then Mandala to Bali. Cheaper than the Korean flight, and gives me about 4 hours or so to hang out with HK goons on a Friday night.
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Feb 22, 2014 14:15
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simplefish posted:You mean a pair or two of Rollers, surely? P&W are a You know I always assumed that "Rolls Royce Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines" where all British. Look at me with egg and tomato on my face.
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Feb 22, 2014 14:18
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Jeoh posted:Applauding after landing is an activity only reserved for people flying to Ibiza or Mallorca, or for landing in a plane under AA fire in heavy weather on an empty stretch of land. It was somewhere in Turkey or Crete I think but I get what you are saying. On the note of flying into the danger zone, on a whim I actually sniffed at a job in Kurdistan the other week but the university was really small and possibly private so I gave it a miss. Also, I don't have a webcam and they didn't like that when it came to the interview. But it all reminded me that I'd recommend this guy's book Occupational Hazards. Even though one would reasonably expect him to be a complete tosser, it's actually quite good.
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Feb 22, 2014 14:28
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blinkyzero posted:Welcome home. When the immigrations guy reached for your passport, did you threaten to sue him? No no you've got me all wrong. I never actually threatened to sue anyone, my old boss included. I just consult lawyers frequently. It's more of a mental state of being prepared for any litigational situational development. Edit: People clapped upon landing when I went to Greece, and once more when I flew to Crete. I think it's a Mediterranean thing. Ceciltron fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Feb 22, 2014 |
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Feb 22, 2014 15:15
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I had the exact opposite experience at Beijing's airport. Slow as hell, never had a flight be on time, always took off late as hell, missed connections galore due to being late as poo poo, etc. The one time I was at Kunming's airport it was pretty sweet though. They had to issue me a special visa to enter the terminal because I was on the way to Hong Kong for a renewal and I didn't have any entries left. They thought my Chinese (which at that time was pretty asstacular) was OMG SO GOOD and one of the employees hung out with me and bullshitted for a while, probably to make sure I didn't make a run into the country and to take me to where I needed to be when my flight showed up.
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Feb 22, 2014 15:28
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Ceciltron posted:Edit: People clapped upon landing when I went to Greece, and once more when I flew to Crete. I think it's a Mediterranean thing. If Greek airlines work anything like the Greek government, I suppose I'd be ecstatic too.
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Feb 22, 2014 15:37
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I also applaud taxi drivers in China when I arrive at my destination without dying.
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Feb 22, 2014 15:51
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blinkyzero posted:If Greek airlines work anything like the Greek government, I suppose I'd be ecstatic too. You'd better hope Lufthansa do in flight refueling.
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Feb 22, 2014 15:52
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BadAstronaut posted:Anyone got opinions on Air Asia, Juneyao or Mandala/Tiger? Never heard of Mandala, but Tiger is awful. Hope you're getting a good deal.
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Feb 22, 2014 16:55
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Jeoh posted:Virtually every Korean Air / Asiana pilot is ex-military, as that's the only real way to get some flight experience there. This is also true in the US to a certain extent. Jeoh posted:Applauding after landing is an activity only reserved for people flying to Ibiza or Mallorca, or for landing in a plane under AA fire in heavy weather on an empty stretch of land. My only flight like this has been San Francisco which as recent history as shown is actually pretty dangerous.
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Feb 22, 2014 17:28
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The Turks and Greeks often applaud on landing. Also true for flights with lots of people who haven't flown much. I have flown a LOT. I would both a radiation calculator and a special relativity calculator that can be used with respect to flight time over the course of a life. For many years Emirates was my favorite. Singapore is also very good. Either of these are good for going to Australia from any place East of the US East Coast. They are great long haul carriers. The Aussie carriers are ok for domestic, but I didn't like them for long haul. Do they still exist? Pretty much any US carrier is a crap shoot in terms of equipment and in-flight experience. United can be great for long haul, but when it is bad it is really bad. Delta has one of the best maintenance programs around, but I avoid them at all costs, particularly for long haul. Flying back and forth US-China I started using Air Canada and mostly liked that. Very vanilla experience and only one real delay horror story in several years, even with bad weather. Air Korea can be a decent in-flight experience, but they have an atrocious safety record. This is not about the pilots as much as the equipment and safety culture related to maintenance. They have been known for this in the industry for a while and tried to address it, without complete success. They are last on my list usually unless I have to go to Korea or maybe someplace like Fiji from China. I have flown most of the Chinese carriers. One of the things about those is that the equipment is usually newer on their long haul flights. They aren't greatly distinct for me in terms of domestic service. I do not enjoy domestic Chinese flights. There does not seem to be any significant recognition that we are all crammed inside a giant aluminum tube together for the next few hours and therefore it is possible we might want to consider behaving accordingly. US domestic, particularly around holidays, is not much better really. I have been in airports so much that one of my favorite pastimes is to watch the various monkey behaviors in which we all engage. On the top of the list is when there has been a delay that cannot in any way be managed from the Gate. Apparently this fact is impossible for some people to process, so they break out their favorite strategy. Yelling, cajoling, bargaining, bribing, seducing - you really see it all as people try to effect some circumstance thousands of miles away by effecting a gate agent. Of course my favorite way to fly is to find empty-ish planes, if I can. Harder and harder to do. I have flown business (and even first class) a lot. Other people were usually paying, but by a certain point I literally had millions of frequent flyer miles spread all over the place and could just upgrade even if flying on my own dime. I flew US-China on these for free during much of the last decade. I have used or given them all away at this point I think. I honestly prefer an empty economy flight with multiple seats. Now, I pretty much avoid getting on an airplane if at all possible and always fly Econ when I do. Also, domestic routes where there is a Southwest type of model running in any country means that all the other airlines have to price accordingly. Don't fly the southwest model carrier, but consider flying those routes. Currently I like Jet Blue for coast to coast in the US. They are one of the only carriers that still does decent red-eye flights. US fleets are usually pretty old. You can look and see what the equipment is and this is not a bad criteria for choosing. If a US carrier has upgraded they are also likely to be paying attention to that plane, including in-flight experience. Also the US carriers typically have the worst offerings in terms of food and media. It's the profit model. Better on long haul sometimes, but still you aren't always getting your own system. Also, the US carriers will typically do anything and everything they can to avoid any responsibility for anything about your experience. You occasionally get someone who has not been crushed by working in that part of the business, but it is rare, If you are flying business then sort by equipment and route. The in-flight won't be all that different unless you get equipment with old seats. Lufthansa... I pretty much won't fly them. Good maintenance and ok in-flight, particularly long haul, but shockingly they can be inflexible about certain things, such as arriving at the checkin for a domestic flight literally 30 seconds after the cut-off. Go figure. Maybe Aeroflot has improved. After the collapse of the USSR Aeroflot was the destination of choice for out of work KGB. The thing was run by the KGB. Pilots were military and this often made for very dramatic, if professional landings. I think they got bored. The real thing though was the support structure. You could be in an airport for hours and the way they would handle it was: "Your flight has been delayed. There will be more information at 10:00.” 10:00 rolls around. "Your flight has been delayed. There will be more information at 11:00.” This could go on for hours. I have also flown a lot of Air France/KLM since I was living in Paris for a few years. Also a bit of crap shoot in terms of in-flight, but usually well maintained equipment not running on coal and steam, though the Air France fleet is getting old. British Airways... If your royalty, go for it. Virgin is almost always interesting and typically a decent in-flight for longer flights. Not so much for short hops, but who cares on short hops really. Look for who has the best on-time record to your destination and use them. When you get on a plane there is a metal registration plaque on the seal of the door. It will say when the plane was put into service. On US carriers and carriers buying used planes, like Air India, checking this plaque as you board is only for the brave at heart.
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Feb 22, 2014 20:07
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I flew United to America this time around because they were shockingly cheap and could route me through SFO rather than horrible LAX. I regret that choice. I wish I had paid $700 more to fly Cathay. United was that awful. How do you do a 14 hour flight without personal televisions in 2014?
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Feb 22, 2014 20:47
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I had that flight from SFO to Beijing back to China. Got on, saw there were no personal TVs, and in the row next to me there was a Chinese guy squatting on his seat that immediately started staring at me and told his friend "Look a foreigner". I hadn't even left the United States and I was well on my way toward China raging!
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Feb 22, 2014 22:22
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My experience with clapping on airplanes has been Turks, Russians, and noobs leaving the farm for the first time copying the Russian sitting next to them. Also lol @ Russians putting sugar in green tea
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Feb 23, 2014 00:43
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Bloodnose posted:I flew United to America this time around because they were shockingly cheap and could route me through SFO rather than horrible LAX. Wow, what shittastic airplane were they flying that didn't have personal TVs? Every time we've flown United intercontinental (like 6-7 times in the last 3 years) it's been a 777 with all the gizmos. Nice planes. I'd like to see the new Dreamliner when we go home this summer. Maybe we've just been really lucky with United. Delta's been consistently awful for me and some people in my family swear by that airline, so who knows.
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Feb 23, 2014 01:03
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peanut posted:Also lol @ Russians putting sugar in green tea Hey the Persian/Afghan green tea with sugar and mint is boss as hell, don't be hatin'.
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Feb 23, 2014 03:08
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GuestBob posted:It was somewhere in Turkey or Crete I think but I get what you are saying. Get a webcam
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Feb 23, 2014 03:22
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kru posted:Get a webcam But then I might end up in Iraq. Safety first.
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Feb 23, 2014 03:34
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