How do Americans do holidays?

[Champagneforeveryone]

We've just flown to Venice for a few days, and I was reading the guide book which says that flights arrived only from a couple of US states.

Which got me thinking how very little I know about this and it seems I have a huge amount of preconceptions 🙄

I imagined that you could fly from every state to anywhere in the world - obviously not! So I'm guessing there's a large number of internal flights? Are they expensive? Are they as time consuming as taking a flight abroad, or are they similar to taking a bus.

Also, does this limit how you holiday? I had always imagined that the US was similar to us and people holidayed abroad frequently (ours would be mostly Europe with the occasional long haul "big" holiday) Do you fly to different states or do you leave the US?

TIA for filling the gaps in my knowledge while DH showers 😉

I thought they got loads of bank holidays but little annual leave.

There are bank holidays, not everyone has all of them off but they exist in copious quantities.

CDG is my local airport and it knocks spots off every airport I've been to in North America tbh.

CDG and Manchester can also figure out how to transfer your luggage onto your connecting flight. (As indeed can every other airport I've been to anywhere in the world outside the US.) Why can't JKF or Atlanta? It's logistics, not rocket science.

The Delta lounges are absolute cack compared to their European counterparts as well.

Correction to my post: Thanksgiving and Christmas are federal holidays, but not always on a Monday.

She is Spanish. 🤣🤣🤣

So no Brit has ever been arrogant????
I don't live in either country, but find the majority of Americans who visit here are very polite and friendly. I won't say what the English are renowned for.

Right. Never visit the same country too often because you might end up changing your origin through consumed experience 😂

Yes, just another examply of ignorance. Just because they are called bank holidays in the UK doesn't mean the rest of the world calls them that - we all have our holidays, just under different names!

I won't say what the English are renowned for.

Oh, go on, tell us. Drunken hooliganism, perhaps?

*example

I am aware of what you call public holidays. There are still no bank holidays in the US - correct the US citizen who claimed there were, not me. I am perfectly aware of what federal holidays are thanks. Apparently they weren't.

I did not say that. But I'm not English, although I also wouldn't describe all English as one thing. That's why I used the word "some". It means a few, a number, not all. And you're describing British and English as interchangeable. As have others. FYI, I hold tri- citizenship. British (not English), Irish and US! Try looking up the user of the word "some".

My friends in LA have almost all of their family in NYC. They use up most of their holiday allowance visiting them. It's a similar flight time for them to JFK as it is for me.

Well, the banks are closed on federal holidays, as well as post offices, so I'm sure the bankers consider them bank holidays.

I've traveled transatlantic probably 15 or so times in the last 20 years...only once have I arrived at my final destination without my bags arriving with me, despite virtually all of my flights having US connections. The one time my luggage did get lost...those titans of efficiency at CDG. 🤷‍♀️

They certainly do.

www.chicagofed.org/utilities/about-us/bank-holidays

Is this what we call a distinction without a difference?

How you say… cucumbre…

🤣🤣🤣

Well this thread went on its way very predictably.

It always gets trotted our about how many Americans don’t own a passport and have never left the USA, but it’s so big, that’s like sneering at people who have never left Europe. Many people in the UK go abroad every year but stay within Europe. This is similar geographically.

I would presume most Americans going to Italy would fly into Rome then change flights if they were going to Venice (or possibly tag a day or two either side to visit Rome. )

Most Americans I’ve worked along side have had 3-4 weeks annual leave, and the option to buy more. 2 weeks is minimum but few companies only offer minimum to the sort of people who could afford regular long haul holidays anyway. There is, however, a culture of short holidays (so even those getting 6 weeks off would break that into 1 week at a time or less), and long haul is for culture and touring around, not relaxing. (Because if you want to just sit on a beach, why cross the ocean to do that when your own coasts are so lovely ?)

😂Like clockwork!

Whereas Florida and Michigan aren't going to be that different culturally.

Hahaha you have no idea

🙄At least she has been consistent with names.

Your luggage arriving at your destination without you having to reclaim it from the first plane and put it on the second plane should be the norm. It shouldn't even be worthy of a comment. This is the case everywhere in the world I've ever flown, except in the US where apparently it is too complicated.

Last year I was supposed to be travelling home via JFK on a business class ticket with a fairly short layover in JFK. My outbound flight was delayed which meant I wouldn't be able to make my connecting flight, so instead I had to jump on an earlier flight to Atlanta without having time to eat first, sat in economy behind the business class passengers where I couldn't get even a measly glass of water until all the business class passengers had been served their meals and there wasn't even so much as a sandwich available to purchase, then spent four hours kicking around in Atlanta (more like one hour once I'd put my own luggage on my flight to Paris and been through (the extremely unpleasant, aggressive) immigration controls, went to the lounge for a bit where I discovered that you actually have to pay for drinks in there because Delta/Atlanta don't appear to understand the concept of a lounge, and then an overnight flight in economy to Paris. Absolutely zero compensation from Delta. Not even an apology, despite the fantastic American customer service I've heard so much about.

There are but her point was about international flights from those airports. Many of those are for domestic flights to connect the country then majority of international flights are out of major airports in bigger cities.