jamest wrote:I once went on a coaching holiday around half of Europe. Never again. Planes from now on.

Takes too long these days with all the extra security. More expensive flying even travelling first class in the train is cheaper. Seldom go to Ireland these days which is the only country I have to fly to.

It might be true on mainland Europe but it's still quicker and easier to fly from over here, especially from up north. It's 3hrs on the train just to get out of the country if everything runs smoothly and then you aren't guaranteed a seat due to season ticket holders hogging the seats reserving them day in day out. at least on a plane you get a seat and most of Europe is reachable in under 4 hrs. Either that or I'll drive, be in control of my journey and have better access to anywhere I want to go, when I want and not be at the mercy of train routes and timetables. I get superb mileage out of the car on a long steady run, knocking on 70mpg if i'm not too heavy on the throttle. I get over 700miles on a £50 tank of diesel. Throw in a cheap ferry crossing in the middle of the night and I can be midway through France for around £100.
Think it depends what suits your budget and lifestyle. Public transport only really works if you commute into major cities but if you want to travel the rest of the country, you could waste literally years of your life waiting for connections and walking from station to station just to get from A to B on trips you can do in a fraction of the tiime in a car. I've just driven home from work in 25 mins. Wouldn't have even set off towards home on public transport in that time since its a 30 min walk to the train station and then wait for the train to start a 2 train plus a bus journey home which usually runs to just over 2 hrs.

Different countries different infrastructures. Commuting to normal work here is paid by your employer. Using a car he does not have to pay you that much. Maintenance is for your cost. Any job requiring visiting clients or attending meetings you would be offered a lease car which would cost every month €100 -€500 or more depending on your position further it does not cost anything. For petrol you get a card. There is no maintenance and if the car breaks down you get another in its place. You can use it on holidays as well. Every two years you get a new one.

People here do tend to have rather long commutes. I used to do 1.5 hours over mine which was a tram/train/bus and a 10min walk which was through woods and fields. I bought a sandwich, coffee and a paper at the station which I ate on the train. The was always room especially as I travelled after 9'o clock. My office had flexible times you just had to make your hours.
The few times I did use my car I had to leave at 6.30 in the morning to avoid the worst of the traffic jams (files in Dutch). It would take at least an hour and be very stressful.

Train is always the option for me as I live two tram stops from the station. You only need one ticket which is topped up automatically for inside the country for every form of public transport.

Most people who live within half an hour of their work and kids to school use a bike.

That long public transport commute just isn't an option for me. I work 12 hr shifts (12hr 40 including breaks), throw on a 2 hr trip each end and that gives me best part of 17hr day out of the house7 hrs left to sleep between shifts, just not remotely doable. The set up just doesn't work in my favour. Sure I could live closer to work but then I don't have a chance to have the kids stop over on school days since I'd be faced with a crazy school run instead of the 10 mins it currently is. Them moving with me closer to work and school that way isn't an option.

Then, like I say. Simple day to day stuff like going elsewhere, shopping etc isn't geared up remotely conveniently for using public transport. Every trip somewhere would involve doubling, trebling and more, the journey time. It's a choice between spending huge amounts of time sitting around waiting for buses or trains or just getting in the car and getting there and back in a fraction of the time. Why would I choose to waste so much time achieving so little? So many trips I could do the whole return journey in less than the time it would take to get there by public transport. Day in day out, I'd lose ridiculous amounts of time hanging around and travelling slowly instead of getting the job done and having time to get more stuff done. It really is a no brainer.

If you've ever stood on a flat surface on which a straight line joining any two points would wholly lie you've been on a plane.

I love planes. I get in the queue early and I race for the window seat and as long as I flying over land (nothing in the sea to interest me) my nose is pressed against the pane. I love mile high sunsets which leave the World on one side of the plane in light while the other is left in complete darkness. I love coming across the vast mushroom cloud of miserable rain which hangs over Ireland as you approach from Spain. I love passing through the clouds from above and being treated to a full circle rainbow as you break through.

As I said monkeyboy different countries different infrastructures. Here a car is becoming less of a good idea. Money people are not using them anymore. Public transport is less stressful and is not wasted time.

If you've ever stood on a flat surface on which a straight line joining any two points would wholly lie you've been on a plane.

Such a brane ..

Meanwhile, sometime yesterday, Air France Flight 66, LFPG-KLAX ended up in CYYR (Goose Bay, Labrador)...



Someone on the flight was heard to say (with some élan) "Looks like that engine's seen better days."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundl ... -1.4315132

Another fan of flying lost. Pun fully intended.

Rolls Royce will NOT be pleased.....

Back at the end of 2013 I finally decided to take the missus on the holiday she deserved after 30 years of marriage, raising three great kids, and me working like a dog and missing out on a lot for years. We decided to go to Las Vegas for 8 days for our wedding anniversary and to "dip our toe in the water" of going overseas on holiday.
We were both 48 years old at the time, and while I had been on a trip to New Zealand when I was 10, and been on plenty of small and mid-sized passenger planes, the wife had never, ever been on a plane before. So this was kind of a "thrown in the deep end" moment for her.
We drove to Brisbane, where we were to hop on an A300 airbus to go to Sydney, then onto a 747 to fly to San Francisco and then onto another A300 to go to Vegas. I was quietly a little worried, and she was nervous.
We'd made sure to book a window seat on all flights, as I thought it might help. We stood looking out the boarding area window at the A300 and I think the size and modernity of the plane reassured her. We got on and she was still a little nervous, and wanted me to take the window seat. The engines wound up and we taxied out to the runway. She was holding my hand and I honestly thought I may be in danger of having a few broken bones by the time we took off. She kept glancing out the window at the back of the wing and the engine which we could see if we looked forwards, and when the thrust came it turned out she was more thrilled than scared. As we took off, she looked out the window and was enthralled by the view as the city fell away and we headed south along the coast.
She loved it.
At Sydney, the 747 was waiting, and she was interested in all the little details. This time she was reassured by the sheer size of the thing and all the little details of the plane. Once again, all the way on the 13 hour flight she was interested in looking out the window (even though at 11,000 meters there wasn't much to see) and checking out the wings and the engines again, especially the sights as we came in to land at San Francisco. She can't wait to go again...most likely next year when we are planning a three week trip to the USA She's got the flying bug now.

Rolls Royce will NOT be pleased.....

oops - GE engine

Sorry dont have time to attach youtube link, this recorded a few years ago in a Turkish Airlines plane. Lightning hit one of the engines and as you see at the begining engine was on fire, then lights went out.

Guy who recorded the video must have eaten lion heart prior to getting on plane because he's saying "calm down nothing will happen, this plane have 4 engines" He's right but still anything can happen, pilot have the chance of turning that engine off and even fuel flow to it right, but those sparks and thinking that wings are full of fuel is blood freezing.

https://youtu.be/35LbvaupjAk

Catastrophic failures like this can slice off a wing or penetrate the cabin/fuselage. This was pure luck to not have ended far differently.

RS