Thank you! And I’d say definitely made worse by design - certainly from my view in the UK. More strikes, lots of cancellations both individual and swathes of 1000s, planes being rerouted to other airports on return, having to go via unplanned airports to pick up staff and so on and so forth... and of course many far more expensive than BC.
Still, speaking about C, I counted a total of 3 people aboard the 4 flights I took in the past few days who wore face masks; I saw two more at one airport (can't remember which one) who wore the N95/FFP2 garden variety.
I stand, of course, corrected. There was a time when domestic flights in the US incl. service for regular travellers. I should have be a bit more precise by adding, e.g., something like 'in recent decades' or the like. Apologies.
Yikes. Last time I flew, there was a country called Jugoslavia.
Good service, properly polite and professional crew both in Sweden and Jugoslavia (despite most jugoslavs not being fluent in english back then, but german and/or russian worked fine).
No delays. No landings in-between. Same when flying to Greece or other nations in Europe.
Brother was travelling with family the other weekend. I told him: "Rent a car for a week, it's 5 000:- tops, including the gas, and you'll get your insurance deposit back when you return it".
Nope. Train it was. After 1 hour, they had to get off due to "faulty switches" (the railroad company uses a set of stock phrases instea of alerting passengers to the actual error, this because the occasional suicide or splattered animal). Four buses were to arrive shortly. After 2 hours in blazing sun and heat, one bus materialised. Another two hours and three more appeared.
Since they were supposed to change trains in Stockholm, they asked the train warden to phone ahead and swap their tickets to a later departure. "Not my job" was the reply.
In Stockholm they had to queue to manually swap to valid tickets. They got home at 01:30, towing a two-year old and an eight-year old. Had they opted to drive, they would have been home before 20:00 even allowing for several pit stops.
If anyone is going to travel in Sweden, avoid using the trains.
While my bespoke experience does't hark back that far (presumably), first time I flew there still was a country called Yugoslavia (c. 1998).
Back then there weren't too many people flying around, one would get reasonably good complimentary food (and metal cutlery), one could just ask the cabin crew to visit the pilots during the flight, and much more.
As to the car rental issue, well, a friend is visiting us in late July, and she's struggling to find a rental car that's not electric here in Norway. Sure, there still are some, but they're much more expensive (on the other hand, they'll also afford more freedom of movement, so, in strictly market terms, that's actually an understandable reason, but then again, this is all about nudging).
Trains and replacement bus services are a different beast everywhere (with perhaps the exception of parts of Switzerland, I'd add).
In general, though, you're right. Things to avoid, esp. when travelling with children, incl. airports, train trips that involve lots of changing connections, most restaurants, and electric cars.
If anyone is travelling in Norway, use a combustion engine-propelled car.
The electric car-thing seems strange to me for two reasons.
Here it is easier to find a diesel or petrol car than an electric rental, even in the countryside (or perhaps because of it being the countryside?). Price about the same, too. Especially since they got rid of "free municipal charging stations" and the 50 000:- subsidy for anyone rich enough to buy a brand new electric car. Oh, the wailing of the rich when they had to start paying for their electricity - "If we have to pay to charge, there's no point in buying an EV" is an actual quote.
Other reason being, Norway still (to my knowledge) has most of its roads in quite demanding terrain with just as bad winters as we do - as in, precisely the worst possible conditions for cars developed for conditions in southern California.
Also, we see legions of norwegian mobile homes every summer. They aren't electric, nor cheap. When it's mobile homes from Germany, Austria or the Netherlands, they are rebuilt trucks, lorries and buses or such about half of the time - seems to be popular to build your own mobile home?
As to EV sales, well, the gov't stopped paying VAT (MOMS) to the tune to 25% at the end of June 2023--result: expensive, top-line EV SUV sales are down considerably; at the same time, used gas/diesel car sales are through the roof. Like you said, now that 'Mr Market' is back, this is how many people want these cars.
As to the mobile homes, there's not much to add, with perhaps the exception that non-Nordics have these repurposed mobile homes as they are significantly cheaper than the regular ones…
My daughter was delayed 7 hrs for a 3.5 hr flight from small regional airport to Alicante, Spain due to mechanical prob they were told, originally 2 hr delay stretching to 7. As no other planes or flight crew spare to call on, the incoming flight from one of the islands was commandeered. The airport had received this flight's outbound passengers 2 hours previously and probably not yet told no plane for them. We have already had our newest regional airport close even though very popular. I too think it's by design. Robin Hood airport, Doncaster, UK was the one closed. According to some Uni policy doc, only 3 airports will be around by 2030- Heathrow, Edinburgh and Belfast, capital cities. By 2050 all closed until carbonless flights invented.
I hear (unofficially) that amputees are now working on Swiss Airline flights as cabin personnel. No qualms here in terms of qualifications etc., but could one rely on them to, say, open the emergency exits?
I also heard, again unofficially, that the Lufthansa Group must find ways around the fact that approx. 40% of flight staff no longer is cleared for take-off--which happened after spring 2021…
I've been following aviation policies and pilots not allowed drugs not fully approved and, been in use 12 months after that! Also, aviation rule makers have reduced the previous levels for heart monitoring which may/will allow medically unfit to remain flying. Of course many will also have left/early retired or found other jobs, cabin crew, during no flying periods. Most flight time is auto pilot. I worry about those air traffic controllers too!
A more than fair point about air traffic controllers.
I recall a conversation with a friend a while ago about these implications, and when I quipped something like, 'I hope not all nuclear engineers watching the plants got jabbed at the same time', he dryly replied: 'if the (conventional) power supply or the grid fail, it won't matter'.
Huhum, having just returned from Vienna, well, it was weird.
You could see the ongoing 'Disney-fication', with less and less small businesses lining the sidewalks; lots of food joints, cafés, places selling interior decoration to an upscale, left-liberal-voting population. Speaking about the latter, many changes, mainly the replacement of 'indigenous' people with more recent immigrants. Sure, historically, that's how cities grow, but the speed and scale are different these days.
Bottom line here: I've been there for less than 72 hours, and I'm glad I left before too long. Mind you, not because of the above-sketched issues, but because I also read the local papers: lots of crime in many parts of the city. Heck, I've even documented the take-over of parts of Vienna by Turkish immigrants, as admitted by police (and fiercely denied by politicians):
Thank you! And I’d say definitely made worse by design - certainly from my view in the UK. More strikes, lots of cancellations both individual and swathes of 1000s, planes being rerouted to other airports on return, having to go via unplanned airports to pick up staff and so on and so forth... and of course many far more expensive than BC.
Exactly.
Still, speaking about C, I counted a total of 3 people aboard the 4 flights I took in the past few days who wore face masks; I saw two more at one airport (can't remember which one) who wore the N95/FFP2 garden variety.
In July 2023.
I fear the muzzling will never end.
“… domestic US flights never included food and beverages for regular travellers.“
You’re very young and very wrong.
I stand, of course, corrected. There was a time when domestic flights in the US incl. service for regular travellers. I should have be a bit more precise by adding, e.g., something like 'in recent decades' or the like. Apologies.
Yikes. Last time I flew, there was a country called Jugoslavia.
Good service, properly polite and professional crew both in Sweden and Jugoslavia (despite most jugoslavs not being fluent in english back then, but german and/or russian worked fine).
No delays. No landings in-between. Same when flying to Greece or other nations in Europe.
Brother was travelling with family the other weekend. I told him: "Rent a car for a week, it's 5 000:- tops, including the gas, and you'll get your insurance deposit back when you return it".
Nope. Train it was. After 1 hour, they had to get off due to "faulty switches" (the railroad company uses a set of stock phrases instea of alerting passengers to the actual error, this because the occasional suicide or splattered animal). Four buses were to arrive shortly. After 2 hours in blazing sun and heat, one bus materialised. Another two hours and three more appeared.
Since they were supposed to change trains in Stockholm, they asked the train warden to phone ahead and swap their tickets to a later departure. "Not my job" was the reply.
In Stockholm they had to queue to manually swap to valid tickets. They got home at 01:30, towing a two-year old and an eight-year old. Had they opted to drive, they would have been home before 20:00 even allowing for several pit stops.
If anyone is going to travel in Sweden, avoid using the trains.
While my bespoke experience does't hark back that far (presumably), first time I flew there still was a country called Yugoslavia (c. 1998).
Back then there weren't too many people flying around, one would get reasonably good complimentary food (and metal cutlery), one could just ask the cabin crew to visit the pilots during the flight, and much more.
As to the car rental issue, well, a friend is visiting us in late July, and she's struggling to find a rental car that's not electric here in Norway. Sure, there still are some, but they're much more expensive (on the other hand, they'll also afford more freedom of movement, so, in strictly market terms, that's actually an understandable reason, but then again, this is all about nudging).
Trains and replacement bus services are a different beast everywhere (with perhaps the exception of parts of Switzerland, I'd add).
In general, though, you're right. Things to avoid, esp. when travelling with children, incl. airports, train trips that involve lots of changing connections, most restaurants, and electric cars.
If anyone is travelling in Norway, use a combustion engine-propelled car.
The electric car-thing seems strange to me for two reasons.
Here it is easier to find a diesel or petrol car than an electric rental, even in the countryside (or perhaps because of it being the countryside?). Price about the same, too. Especially since they got rid of "free municipal charging stations" and the 50 000:- subsidy for anyone rich enough to buy a brand new electric car. Oh, the wailing of the rich when they had to start paying for their electricity - "If we have to pay to charge, there's no point in buying an EV" is an actual quote.
Other reason being, Norway still (to my knowledge) has most of its roads in quite demanding terrain with just as bad winters as we do - as in, precisely the worst possible conditions for cars developed for conditions in southern California.
Also, we see legions of norwegian mobile homes every summer. They aren't electric, nor cheap. When it's mobile homes from Germany, Austria or the Netherlands, they are rebuilt trucks, lorries and buses or such about half of the time - seems to be popular to build your own mobile home?
As to EV sales, well, the gov't stopped paying VAT (MOMS) to the tune to 25% at the end of June 2023--result: expensive, top-line EV SUV sales are down considerably; at the same time, used gas/diesel car sales are through the roof. Like you said, now that 'Mr Market' is back, this is how many people want these cars.
As to the mobile homes, there's not much to add, with perhaps the exception that non-Nordics have these repurposed mobile homes as they are significantly cheaper than the regular ones…
My daughter was delayed 7 hrs for a 3.5 hr flight from small regional airport to Alicante, Spain due to mechanical prob they were told, originally 2 hr delay stretching to 7. As no other planes or flight crew spare to call on, the incoming flight from one of the islands was commandeered. The airport had received this flight's outbound passengers 2 hours previously and probably not yet told no plane for them. We have already had our newest regional airport close even though very popular. I too think it's by design. Robin Hood airport, Doncaster, UK was the one closed. According to some Uni policy doc, only 3 airports will be around by 2030- Heathrow, Edinburgh and Belfast, capital cities. By 2050 all closed until carbonless flights invented.
Exactly.
I hear (unofficially) that amputees are now working on Swiss Airline flights as cabin personnel. No qualms here in terms of qualifications etc., but could one rely on them to, say, open the emergency exits?
I also heard, again unofficially, that the Lufthansa Group must find ways around the fact that approx. 40% of flight staff no longer is cleared for take-off--which happened after spring 2021…
I've been following aviation policies and pilots not allowed drugs not fully approved and, been in use 12 months after that! Also, aviation rule makers have reduced the previous levels for heart monitoring which may/will allow medically unfit to remain flying. Of course many will also have left/early retired or found other jobs, cabin crew, during no flying periods. Most flight time is auto pilot. I worry about those air traffic controllers too!
A more than fair point about air traffic controllers.
I recall a conversation with a friend a while ago about these implications, and when I quipped something like, 'I hope not all nuclear engineers watching the plants got jabbed at the same time', he dryly replied: 'if the (conventional) power supply or the grid fail, it won't matter'.
Peace of mind, sort of, I'd say.
Huhum, having just returned from Vienna, well, it was weird.
You could see the ongoing 'Disney-fication', with less and less small businesses lining the sidewalks; lots of food joints, cafés, places selling interior decoration to an upscale, left-liberal-voting population. Speaking about the latter, many changes, mainly the replacement of 'indigenous' people with more recent immigrants. Sure, historically, that's how cities grow, but the speed and scale are different these days.
Bottom line here: I've been there for less than 72 hours, and I'm glad I left before too long. Mind you, not because of the above-sketched issues, but because I also read the local papers: lots of crime in many parts of the city. Heck, I've even documented the take-over of parts of Vienna by Turkish immigrants, as admitted by police (and fiercely denied by politicians):
https://fackel.substack.com/p/meanwhile-turkish-immigrants-take
Oh, lest I forget, speaking of hot summers, you need to show your ID upon entering public swimming pools; no-one bothered to check my passport.