I love aviation and everything about it – airplanes, airports, frequent flyer programs. And, of course, I gather data about my travels for the last 15 years. Earlier this year, I reached a milestone – 1 000 000 kilometers of air travel. So, here comes some numbers and insights I acquired during this years and kilometers.
Numbers
466 flights, 101 airports, 52 countries and 50 airlines. It equates to 0.6 flights per week during every year, every week starting from 2012. That is 63,5 days of flight time in total.
An average flight I had was 2 200 kms, which is roughly a flight distance between Amsterdam and Lisbon. The shortest flight was 123 kms (Stockholm – Mariehamn) and the longest – 12 547 kms (Hong Kong – Toronto).
70% of all my flights were business trips and 30% for personal/leisure reasons. The average age of an aircraft – 7 years old, 57% were Airbuses.
Insights
- Airports. There is no reason to stress about short connections. You either make it or not. If you travel via large transport hubs, like Istanbul or Dubai, the possibility that there are other people on a plane that will take the next flight with you is very high. Airlines and airport staff are incentivized to bring you to the next flight. And they make this decision even before your plane lands, so it is mostly outside of your control.
- Lounges. If you travel more often than once a month, get yourself a lounge access. Even one meal at an airport today costs 20-30 EUR, that’s a half of a monthly subscription to Revolut Ultra which I use today. Totally worth it.
- Delays. They are statistically inevitable. 70% of all my flights had late departures, but only 50% had late arrivals. So, you have to plan for that. Early mornings flights are usually on time, simply because an aircraft is parked for a night at the origin airport.
- Seats. Aisle seats close to the exist are the best, even if you planning to sleep on a long-haul flight. People are not comfortable to disturb others, so unlikely somebody will wake you up. Plus, it is faster to get out of the plane.
- Jetlag. As soon as the aircraft in the air, change your time zone to the destination. Accept the new time and just live according it. Don’t consume alcohol in the airplane and try to eat properly before boarding the plane. Trust me, it is better for your digestive system.
- Clothes. Probably, a personal choice here, but buy yourself compression socks and wear them on flights longer than 3 hours. Your legs will thank you for that.
- Luggage. Don’t do check in luggage unless you have to. Airlines deliver people to destinations with 9 sigma, but luggage – only with 3 sigma. The most unreliable part of any airport is luggage handling. 55x25x25 trolley bag will fit even in a small Embraer 190.
Pro tip #1: Always carry with you protein bars. Nothing is worse than to get hungry in the middle of the night in a random hotel.
Pro tip #2: Amsterdam Schiphol airport has a shortcut after the security check, so you can directly get to the lounge area.