Just wondering if some of the aviation experts can offer an opinion.
There seem to be several countries between us and Europe which are either bombing each other, or getting bombed. Now, I would assume most airlines wouldn’t want to lose $300m worth of aircraft, even if they don’t give a shit about the passengers, but that apparently didn’t dissuade Malaysian from reckless routes a few months back.
Specifically, do you think it’s safe to fly through DXB or AUH?
Bear in mind when replying that if I do find myself falling to earth in a SAM-induced fireball, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.
Flying in an airplane is the safest mode of transport althought there is a chance that you’re on the wrong plane at the wrong time above the wrong country with the wrong fellow passengers, a probability being hit be a meteorite or getting shot down is as winning the lotto … KLM from AMS to TIA flew over Finland, Siberia, via China … safely landing in TPE. That’s why I’m able to post you this … hm, post.
Flew through Doha on Qatar Air and the steward have me a newspaper with stuff about poss Isis strikes from Iraq. Only Qatar are flying over there, apparently.
Flew to Prague via Dubai on Emirates. We mostly avoided Iraq except for a very small part of the northeast to get from Iran to Turkey. We stuck to the southern shore of the Black Sea and stayed the hell out of Ukraine.
Yup, but those countries aren’t at war. I was specifically thinking of the route across the Middle East, where aircraft do get shot down just for the fun of it.
Hokwongwei: thanks, I was thinking of either Emirates or Etihad.
Ermintrude, IMHO, is probably a suicidal nutcase who would be screaming “yippee-kay-yay, mutherfuckers!” and cackling manically on the way down.
What else would you do in a plane crash? Chances are, there’s no way to take any action to prevent a fiery death, so why rage? I’d smile and say ‘thank you’ for my life, to the clouds.
No, I agree. I don’t have any great objection to exploding in a fireball at 20,000 feet. It’s better than ending up in an old people’s home waiting for people to change my diaper and remind me what my name is. I’d just prefer that it doesn’t happen, like, now, especially not courtesy of some inbred retard who’s just figured out that if he presses this button here, a missile come out this end. Hur hur hur.
Anyway, thanks for the info guys. I’m going to book Emirates. So if I’m not back in a few weeks, just bear in mind that it’s all Hokwongwei’s fault, and I shall expect the moderator to issue him a warning.
I flew Emirates to the UK in the summer but wouldn’t again. Unless you get one of the new Airbus planes the seats are really uncomfortable. They’re very straight-backed and the head rest sticks out, so you end up actually leaning forward. Plus the flight breaks halfway through so you never get time for a proper sleep. And I’d never fly Qantas again, even if they paid me. Appalling service.
My range of acceptable airlines narrows every year.
Anywhere in the UK. No worries, I already booked. Went for Etihad after all because they have better timing, and I found some press releases indicating that they specifically avoid Iraq and Ukraine. I suppose that’s good enough.
I just flew EVA business class from Taipei to Paris and back. The first leg went over China, Russia, and Finland. The smoothest flight I’ve been on in years. Slept almost the entire way (take the midnight flight if you’re going to Paris). The return flight flew south over West Asia, but avoided Iraq. Not as smooth, but okay.
I have several friends and contacts who work for EVA, including a pilot. The company is driven by its principles, number one of which is to keep passengers safe. I fly EVA or Cathay for most of my air travel. They will get you there in one piece.
It was fine for me as I am tall and I could stretch all the way out.
I only mentioned it because finley like to travel business if he can.
I had a good experience, save for the idiot next to me who thrashed and stirred the entire return flight, shaking me awake 20-30 times, but idiots with no self-awareness are not EVA’s fault.
Thanks guys. I must say I’ve not had very good experiences on EVA. Clunky, functional, bit rough round the edges. And they sprayed me with insecticide. Can’t be doing with that.
Maybe they’re different lately - I think the last time I flew EVA was 6-7 years ago.
I take Eva to Japan and have flown the hello kitty plane a few times.
I have a growing collection of hello kitty paraphernalia, it could be dangerous if you have an allergy to cute stuff.
There is a reason for having two different paths: the basic idea is to fly a great circle route, to keep the flight distance as short as possible (this means you pass some territories in far northern latitudes). But on west-east flights a longer route may be advantageous if it matches (all or in part) the route of the jetstream (extremely strong wind blowing from a westerly direction that would be “pushing” the plane). And since the jetstream sort of meanders and does not take the exact same route every season or year, it is a bit unpredictable what routes planes will actually take, so we need to take our past flight experiences with a grain of salt…
If you are taking Biz class , EVA Biz is near as you can get to First Class. It really is what First Class used to be, just about. And you get DOM . NOw how bad can that be? Just drink plenty of DOM.
EVA are pretty careful so you should be ok. Although , unconfirmed reports were that a Singapore Airlines as well as an EVA jet was only minutes away from the MAS plane that got shot down. But those are just rumours.
Still try to get the 777 instead of the A330 because of the new Biz Class. I think Vienna is the only Euro destination still using the Airbus. The rest you are in the triple 7.
