How To Fly
July 27th, 2008 | Dean Arrindell
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Lately, I've been contemplating the state of air travel. The high price of oil is leading the airlines to cut back on flights and services, while raising prices and adding fees. Everyday, it seems flying gets worse. As it stands, after finding an expensive flight, you get to the airport two hours ahead (at least), wait, get your bags, shoes and yourself scanned, wait some more, get on the plane, wait on the runway, and then take off. You may not get a movie or a meal. And you may not arrive on time.
Oh, and did you offset your carbon footprint?
Friday, I rode Amtrak from New York to Washington, DC. Two hours before the train departed, I was packing in my apartment. I got to Penn Station 25 minutes before the train departed and still had a few minutes to stand around before boarding. I arrived on time and didn't feel I had to pay a huge amount of money for the journey. Not bad.
If this trend in air travel keeps up, Americans will have a difficult time going anywhere other than Canada and Mexico. Cars, trains and buses can only go so far. And and those kinds of transportation are already getting pricey because of the cost of oil.
Yes, comparing trains and planes is like comparing apples and oranges, but there must be a better way to travel overseas. I considered ships, but that wont' work. A transatlantic cruise from New York to Southampton, England takes 6 days on the Queen Mary 2. Fares for a voyage next month start at $1395 and go to a seasickening $23,395. Other cruiseships cross oceans, but you might have to fly to an embarkation city or they journey to several ports of call. There isn't just one destination.
Sometimes when you're on vacation, it's not about the journey. It's about the destination.
Where does this leaves the average traveler who likes to go to faraway lands? You could make more money. You could get a job that allows you to travel to great locations. Or maybe you could start your own Manhattan Project with the goal of finding a quick and cheap mode of transcontinental travel.
What do you think? How are you managing to travel long distances in the face of increasing prices and hassles?
Related Topics: Air Travel, Money
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Dean Arrindell | Comments Off
How To Fly
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
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