Booking Airfare: Why is price relative? Our guide to choosing flights.

Whenever someone tells me that they found "cheap" flights to a destination, especially abroad, I immediately question the value. It blows my mind in our culture how we get so focused on price when making a buying decision and blind to everything else. Cars, consumer electronics, vacations, clothes - you name it and we let companies manipulate us to their advantage when we put on our purchasing blinders. The same goes for airplane tickets. There are so many variables when it comes to flights that price should only be a piece of the pie and far from the most important slice. For me, flying sets the tone for a trip and enhances the travel experience. Instead of thinking of it as a burden, I try and optimize my time and in-flight journey, so that I enjoy myself and arrive as rested as possible. Balancing this experience with cost is the key to buying airfare. Here are the things I consider when booking in order to maximize the value for my money. 

1. Number of stops and duration of travel

This one's easy. Avoid long and multiple layovers when booking. You're time is the most important and valuable asset when travelling. One stopover alone introduces risk into our schedules when flying, however it is generally necessary in order to reach specific destinations, or make a trip financially feasible (remember, cost isn't everything, but it certainly is part of the equation). However, two stops is only worth it in a small percentage of bookings (ie HUGE savings, or remote locations). At the end of the day, is $100 worth it to you to lower your risk of missing a third flight and sacrificing a day of your vacation? The same goes for length of layover and length of flights. I am careful when choosing because I want to avoid 3+ hour layovers and flights that take me WAY out of my way for my destination. For example, if I was traveling to London, it wouldn't make sense for me to save a couple hundred bucks to travel through Istanbul with a long layover. I'll fork over the extra money in a heartbeat, in order to get my vacation started sooner. 

2. Service

When you see negative airline reviews, this is usually the cause. In my mind, there are a few reasons for this. I'll touch on two in this section and then the third will be mentioned in #4, the legroom section. I wanted to mention legroom here because for many reviews that I have read, comfort is a major driver of service and sets the tone for a flight. It doesn't really matter how great the service is, if people aren't comfortable, airlines are going to get a lousy review (Google Air Canada Rouge reviews).

As for the other two drivers of service, I'm talking about availability of food/beverages and overall customer service. The first seems obvious, but we have actually flown on a 10 hour flight where all they served were snacks (Again, Google Air Canada Rouge). When we went to order our dinners (commonly complimentary on long haul flights) we found out that not only did they not provide the free meals, we couldn't even order them if we paid. This was a major bummer, especially for a 20-week-along pregnant woman :). Needless to say, I do a little research about what is offered on flights before I book them. Meals? Complimentary beverages? Snacks? And then if the price is still too good to pass up, we simply plan ahead by bringing plenty of food with us. Something of note here, when we flew Emirates to Thailand, we were served all complimentary meals, snacks and drinks in economy. Not only did we receive free meals, we were presented with a menu prior to serving, so that we could choose what we wanted to eat. Now that is service in the sky! 

Overall customer service isn't generally something we think about when flying. If you are strictly a domestic flyer, this may not be on your radar because the flights are too short for you to get hungry or thirsty more than once (with the exception of cross country legs). But on 6-7+ hour day flights, it's a huge kudos to service when food and beverage are at your disposal. Not to mention if they are high quality items that taste good too. To take it a step further, imagine if the staff also welcomed you with a smile and treated you like the loyal customer base that you are. Now that is service. On our 7 hour Emirates flight from Dubai to Bangkok, we sat in the front exit row seat in economy (see #4 for tips on getting exit row seats) and our stewardess went above and beyond to ensure we had the best experience possible. Want water? Here's a 32 oz bottle and two cups to drink at your leisure. Hungry? Let me see if we have any more of those mini pizzas to snack on (she gave us 4). Oh it's the little things...

3. Entertainment

This is becoming less and less relevant, now that we all have laptops, tablets and phones when we travel. However, I think it is still worth a mention. Most long haul flights currently have seat back entertainment, including live TV, movies, music and games. I usually research and factor this in when making an airfare purchasing decision. I like to be able to pass the time when I can't sleep and there really isn't any better way to do so than watching a few movies. With that being said, I think most airlines will be transitioning to exclusively "stream your own device" from an entertainment standpoint. This really won't be a burden on the passenger, as we all have our own devices already. The key will be to make sure that the flights we book offer these internet and streaming opportunities free of charge. 

4. Legroom

For us "tall drinks of water", this one is big. When I book a flight, I always search for flights on a third party site such as Kayak, Orbitz, Skyscanner etc. Once I decide on my flight, I then go directly to the airlines website and run the same parameter search. Generally, the price is exactly the same. So what is the advantage you might ask? With most companies (no not Southwest), you can then choose your seat on the aircraft. You generally aren't able to do this on the third party site. In addition to seat selection, you can pay a fee to sit in an exit row. When Kailah and I flew to Greece, through Montreal, we paid $100 a seat for exit rows. Sounds expensive? Trust me my tall friends, on a 10 hour flight, you will be kicking yourself if you don't cough up the extra cash. If this strategy falls flat (usually because of a specific airline's seating operations), I arrive at the airport 3 hours before the flight because this is when the ticket counter opens. At this point, no one else has been assigned the exit rows because I am first in line. I then ask the gate agent for an exit row seat and secure my legroom. Ticket in hand, it's time for a beer! 

5. Plane size:

This one actually holds little weight, but I figured it was worth bringing up. I check the size of the plane before I book long haul flights (6-7+ hours). As a timid flyer, I like to know that I'm flying on a larger plane for a couple reasons. First, I've read that you feel less turbulence on large planes, so why not? Second, I like the freedom to be able to get up and move about comfortably. It's nice to be able to have the extra space to stand and stretch at your leisure and not be in the way of food/drink carts, or other passengers. In fact, on some of the 777s and A380s we've flown on, there are large open areas that several passengers at once can stand when they are sick of sitting. 

6. Price:

Alright, alright. Price holds its weight as well. We all have budgets when we travel and depending on the length of your stay, flights can be a large portion of the expense. Since time is more important than money for me, I balance all of the other factors above against dollars. What am I willing to pay for the flights that meet my criteria (layovers, flight duration, seats/legroom, service, entertainment, plane size). Am I willing to sacrifice any of these variables for my hard earned money? These are the questions I ask myself before booking airfare. On every. Single. Trip.

As you can see, we put significant thought into our flights because they bookend our itineraries and set the foundation for our adventures. At the end of the day, a flight strategy is defined by the traveler. What balance is right for you and your budget? If you need help deciding, we would be more than happy to talk through your plans with you. Simply fill out the contact page or shoot us an email directly at kyle@nowhereonearth.com.

Happy flying!

Kyle

I'm Scared to Fly

Yep, it's true. I'm a big wuss when it comes to flying. It terrifies me. There's something about getting in a heavy, enclosed, metal tube and hurdling through the air at 400+ mph that makes me flat out sweat. The worst part about it is that I love to travel. This means that my passion for travel requires me to face my biggest fear in order to enjoy it. Oh the irony.  

I think the comforting part is that I know I'm not alone. Many people have a fear of flying on some level and we all have similar questions. How safe is flying? How dangerous is turbulence? What happens if a plane loses an engine? What about both engines? What do those chimes and dings mean during flight - is something wrong? Fortunately for us, "Knowledge is Power" (thank you Sir Francis Bacon). What I mean is that the more we know, the less we have to be afraid of. Did you know that a full size passenger jet can take off with only one engine? Or that during almost every flight your plane actually glides without thrust from the engines (Don't worry the engines remain on). I knew none of this until I started reading. My favorite resource so far is called "Cockpit Confidential" by Patrick Smith. It not only changed my perspective on air travel, but also started to weaken my fear of flight. Patrick is a commercial airline pilot who operates out of Boston Logan and he wrote his book to clarify this industry and any myths that inevitably come along with it. For those of you who don't feel like thumbing through the 280+ pages, I figured I would jot down a few of the most significant points that I learned. With that being said, he covers so much more industry related content that I would encourage everyone to read his book cover to cover. 

For me, turbulence is petrifying. I can't stand the thought of a giant machine getting tossed around mid-air, while I'm sitting helplessly in my seat, powerless. Luckily for me, the truth helps big time with this part of flying. Turbulence is not easy to predict, but it isn't dangerous. The plane is meant to move and adjust to the forces that turbulence puts on it. Can a freak accident happen? Sure. But it is EXTREMELY unlikely. According to Patrick Smith, there has only been one commercial airline disaster ever that has been linked back to potentially being caused by turbulence (it certainly wasn't turbulence alone for that matter). With around 100,000 flights a day worldwide, that puts our chances way to the right of the decimal point. Does this mean people haven't been injured? Nope. You will have people who refuse to obey the seat belt light and inevitably end up injured during rough air. But that's on them - not the aircraft. As for prediction of where the rough air is and when it will hit, things get a little more fuzzy. Pilots have a good idea where smooth and choppy air should be, but just like our local weather channel, things change. The captain will usually adjust altitudes in order to find smoother air, not because the aircraft is at risk, but rather to provide a better customer experience for us. To summarize and as Mr. Smith so bluntly put it, it's easy to picture the captain white knuckling a steering wheel, covered in a thick layer of perspiration, as he fights his ship against a relentless storm - the truth of the matter is that he is probably just irritated that his orange juice is spilling into his cup holder. 

Who needs engines? Seriously though - hear me out. Pilots are trained for the worst case scenarios and drill on these multiple times per year. This includes catastrophic equipment failure. As a result, every take off and landing is planned with the worst case scenario in mind. For example, the following is a simplified look at the most dangerous part of a flight - takeoff. As every plane travels down the runway, it is heading towards a predetermined point at which a decision is made to either depart from the ground, or toss on the brakes and come to a stop. If it gets to the coordinated take-off distance, without any issues, the plane will depart as intended. If something happens before this mark, which could cause danger to flight, the take-off is aborted and there is enough runway remaining to safely stop the aircraft. So what happens if there is a technical failure after the point of no return? Like I said, these situations are planned for and drilled on. If an engine completely fails after the decision to take flight (and with no room to brake) the plane will still have the ability to safely ascend. Planes can take off with one engine - who knew?! In addition to takeoff, (and as I mentioned earlier) every plane glides without thrust at some point during flight (Mostly during descent). The engines do remain on and stay idle, but there is no push being utilized. This means that even if both engines were to completely fail, the airplane could still fly...and for around 100 miles at that! 

Why do I hear dings or chimes followed by a flight attendant answering a phone call? Is the pilot trying to tell them something is wrong? There is almost a zero percent chance this is what those calls represent. Most likely, the captain has to pee, or the flight attendant in the back of the plane ran out of napkins. Don't fret, this communication is normal. 

Lastly, and probably most importantly for us nervous fliers, air travel is safe. Go play the lottery - you have a much better chance of striking it rich than dying in a plane crash. Patrick Smith cited a 2003 University of Michigan study published by American Scientist magazine regarding the following. The study conservatively measured the number of take offs and landings (the times where flight carries the most risk) and compared this to rural highway data (safest driving environments). They still found that a passenger is 65 times more likely to die in a car accident! Do catastrophic failures still occur involving airlines? Sure. But you could also choke to death on a chicken bone tonight at dinner...Finally, air travel has only become safer over time. We have doubled the number of passengers world wide since 1980, yet our safety records have proved five times better than they were back then. 

Well there we have it. For my fellow uneasy flyers, I hope this helps and that you continue to fly and explore new places. I promise to continue doing the same, as I'll embark on my longest flight duration yet, when we take the Boston to Dubai leg on our way to Thailand (12 hours). Who knows, maybe I'll even fall asleep :) .

Cheers!

If you are interested in Patrick's book, it is available on Amazon in paperback. Even if fear of flight isn't a worry for you, I would highly recommend grabbing a copy, as he has vast knowledge regarding a very confusing and seemingly hidden industry. 

Packing: 16 days, 2 countries, 1 backpack

We packed one backpack each when we visited Ireland and Italy in April for 16 days.

Why?

Because on our first trip to Italy we broke every travel packing rule known to man. Here were a few of our grossly overloaded stats:

- 2 large suitcases, 1 medium suitcase, 2 carry ons and 1 camera bag (7 bags?!?)

- 20 pairs of shoes (I won't tell who brought the majority...)

- 15 pairs of clothes each

- a blow dryer, hair straightener, beard trimmer, tablet and laptop (trimmer and blow dryer got fried on day 2 - thanks to poor 220V conversion)

In addition, we packed so inefficiently that while we were sitting in the Rome train station, we were able to re-arrange one of the large suitcases and fit the medium one inside of it. Mind blowing. 

So like good humans, we learned. We vowed to never travel like that again. Especially given our travel style - going location to location - it made moving by train, plane and automobile formidable at best. In fact, we decided to swing the pendulum so far, we would only allow ourselves one travel style backpack per person. 

Our packing philosophy: The question is not "how do we shove as much as possible into a smaller bag?". Instead, our goal is to make less go further by packing as efficiently as possible. We can wear shorts more than once. We can wear sneakers to dinner instead of dress shoes. We can even do our laundry. The idea is to think practically and not get caught going down the "what-if" scenario rat hole. There will always be a time where a raincoat is convenient, or a pair of pleated slacks would look nice at dinner. The truth is, street vendors everywhere will be begging to sell a $7 umbrella and the best restaurants don't require dress clothes. Moral of the story, we pack light and worry about the rest when we get there. It never fails that Kailah "conveniently" forgets items at home, which leaves room in her suitcase for the return journey...

Our gear: The travel bags that we use are Rick Steve's Europe brand, but there are many others on the market. We use these packs because they offer adequate space, useful pockets, compression straps and arm straps which allow us to wear them like a traditional backpack. They can also be compressed down to "carry-on" size for air travel, which means we never wait at the baggage claim and our bags never get lost on a layover. This can be a pretty big win when we don't feel like hunting down a shopping mall on our first day of travel. At the same time (and as you can imagine), some of our most memorable experiences seem to happen when we unexpectedly need something in a foreign culture - so we don't stress! Last but not least, backpacks are just plain convenient - they are easier to maneuver on and off trains, they fit into the trunks of those tiny European rental cars and they make walking from transport to transport a breeze.

Kyle's list: As an example, here is what I would pack nowadays for a week in Italy in June. Notice how simple it is. The most important items are probably my trip documents, as I generally can't reproduce those.

- Toiletries (toothbrush, tooth paste, floss, razor, deodorant and Q-tips). We either use the soap/shampoo from our accommodations, or buy these things when we get there.  

- 7 days worth of socks and underwear. If we are going for longer than 7 days, laundry is in our future (or shopping - This past April I got a few pair of local wool socks from a shop in Dingle, Ireland)

- 3 pairs of khaki shorts and 1 pair of dark jeans. Don't forget a belt!

- 7 t-shirts and 2 light golf shirts.

- 1 sweatshirt/sweater

- 1 pair of sport shorts for sleeping or relaxing.

- 1 pair of sandals and 1 pair of comfortable sneakers (I always wear the sneakers on the plane to save room in my bag). Sandals aren't necessary, but they take up minimal room and are easy to slip on and off around the accommodations.

- Power adapters specific to convert Italian outlets to 120V  (to charge cell phones, tablets etc)

- Lastly, I bring my camera bag as my carry-on and include any books or electronics I want for the plane ride, plus all documents that need to be brought along (train tickets, copies of passports, itinerary etc)

In our minds, our "learned" packing strategy is an integral part of enjoying our trip. The key is to not stress and as I alluded to earlier, it is the unexpected adventures that tend to leave us with the longest lasting impressions.  

Happy Travels.