How often do you fly?

[PA-28R]

Hello,

I am a fairly regular reader of this forum, although I have not posted much before.

Yesterday I flew on my 300th flight as a passenger since I began keeping a record in January 2009. I started travelling a lot for work in late 2006 and estimate that I have flown on around 500 flights since then. I was just wondering how often other people fly as a passenger and how often you consider that you need to fly to be regarded as a frequent flyer?

Thanks,

PA-28R

[Lance Murdoch]

This year 16 flights for business and 6 for leisure. Most flights are UK to Middle East and back as well as short hops between the various Gulf States.
This is fairly typical for the last few years.

[Mr Mac]

PA-28R
So far this year have done following journeys:-

Work
Long haul 12nr with numerouse short haul attached to these probably approx 3-4nr per trip mostly to Far East & Africa and one to USA. One more trip to Far East to do before Christmas so figure will rise.

Short haul - too many but probably 30nr.

Holidays
3nr Long haul
4nr Short haul

Should bare in mind that most Long Haul staged through DXB/SIN so often 2 legs, so getting actual flight figure as in number of take offs could double number of actual flights. An approximate figure with out checking all Frequant flyer cards would be about 138 actual flights which sounds quite a lot but one trip to China can involve 8nr take off and landings. Being doing this level of travel since 1989, before that was predominantly holidays, bit of work, and commutes to school, first flight in 1963. :)

[radeng]

44 for this year. One L/H trip to the US, with 2 internal flights. Otherwise, all S/H in Europe. All work.

52 for last year. All work.

Too many!

Everybody I know who does a lot of foreign travel for work has high blood pressure - be warned.

[Mr Mac]

Radeng
Just done company yearly medical and BP is good but you make a good point :ok:. Could it be the level they are at in their company, or industry people are working in that contributes to the high BP especialy in recessions. I do not beleive it could be flying, as I find it either a bit boring, or mildly intresting deppending on company next to you/ book/movie what ever, but the view is always good out of the window when you gaze out on the little Blue planet :).

[obgraham]

Are you speaking here of "flights", or "trips"?

If it's 50 or more trips a year, you have my sympathies.
Me -- 32 flights this year, 7 trips. Plenty for me.

[radeng]

44 is the number of individual flights.

Even back 15 years ago, with people flying Business Class, several people I knew who were in their late 30s were on BP medication. These were guys doing 35 or 40 trips a year. It's possibly things like jet lag and time change that contribute, plus some of the awkward and dumb b*****s you have to deal with at international meetings!

These days, possibly because we're generally older, most of the people at international meetings are on BP medication. Stress is somewhat higher too. Of course, there are those who say you can meet electronically.... it gets difficult having an electronic meeting with people in Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow, Helsinki, Mainz, Paris, London, Ottawa, Washington and San Diego though!

[Basil]

This year: one: London - Sydney return - four sectors.
Go to Glasgow once or twice but, although we could use staff travel, I prefer to drive although, when up there in Largs, the rels prefer to drive us in their car.
It has been rumoured that my driving style is not sufficiently, how could I put it, tranquil :=

[pppdrive]

From 1968-1995 I was working in the industry and was able to fly as often as I liked for free. Now I'm retired and have to pay the normal fares, I limit myself to two trips flying to Isle of Man and a flight to New Zealand for some 4 to 9 weeks.

For those frequent flyers who may wish to keep records of their flights, I use flightdiary.net and find it covers most things I require. The one small problem is that it doesn't show routings on the map it uses, so only origin & destination of each flight is shown. Any stops on the way are not shown unless you enter each flight by sectors flown.

[Hotel Tango]

Hot on radeng's heels, today I completed my 44th flight for this year. 6 Intercontinental, 5 US domestic and a variety of short & and medium haul in Europe. My best individual year was 1989 when I flew 88 sectors. My running total (minus a dozen or so unrecorded flights in my very young days) is 1,967 sectors, many of which were on aircraft types you youngsters wouldn't even know ;)

[L'aviateur]

I'd say that anyone who travels one return trip per month or more is a frequent flyer in the eyes of the general public.
On the KLM Citihopper flights I often met people who commuted on weekly basis between mainland Europe and back, and I'm sure there are people that do the same transatlantic.
I do 60ish sectors per year, and consider myself at the lower end of the scale for frequent flyers.

[Load Toad]

The most I ever did was about 80+ flights in a year. I now do about - 30 odd.

I'll tell you what - airlines very quickly realise you are not as frequent a flyer.

[Donkey497]

Will hit 43 since May by the time I get home next Saturday.

2 took me to & from London:*
2 took me to & from Canada,:ok:
8 have taken me to Texas:)
& the remainder have taken me to & from Norway:{

4 got cancelled......:(

I considered myself a "real" frequent flyer when I was on first name terms with the US immigration agent that I got (every trip bar one) at ATL.

[Tableview]

In the last 12 months :

4 returns between SA and Europe and 1 Europe to Canada
About 20 domestic segments in SA
About 50 segments between UK/various points in Europe/Ireland

Added to which I do as much as possible of my short haul travel by train.

Frequent? I suppose it's all relative.

[Saintsman]

Usually one trip per month to the Middle East plus a couple of holidays in between,

On route to the ME, we stop on route but don't get off the aircraft. Is that one flight or two?

[Hotel Tango]

Saintsman, that's two.