AIBU to think I haven’t flown much

[Florraine]

I had a rather odd discussion yesterday about travel with a friend and have been left feeling a little glum. They travel everywhere and seem to think that I travel less than the average Brit, which I always thought wasn’t true.

they are a bit up themselves I must admit!

I’ve just turned 29 and having given it some thought, I have been on 91 flights in my life time (counting one trip as two flights - outward and return). Mostly in Europe but several in Africa and the USA.

I can’t seem to work out we’re they joking or being serious when they said I need to get out more.

were they right? Is it unusual not to have flown much by my age (29)?

its got me thinking about mine now... i didnt fly until i was atleast 18.. at a rough guess i've had one abroad holiday a year from 18 to 54 so thats 36.. from 54 to now ive been a bit more adventurous and i'd say 3 flights a year.. so thats another 9...

41...

@Florraine is this about the number of flights though - or number of holidays?
I have a friend who has been on holiday to France at least 20 times - but has never flown there once.

good point... because we also holiday without flying!

I've flown a lot less than once a year. But my daughter currently flies to and from her job about once a month, and I guess I'm responsible at second hand for her carbon emissions.

I’m just asking about flights. I’ve been to France, Germany and Ireland lots of times without flying.

I never really got how individuals flying impacts CO2 emissions THAT much. I mean, if the plane is already flying anyway then how much extra CO2 can one more person bring? I always thought that the avaiation industry contributed to climate change through the sheer number of flights on offer (some routes with multiple flights per day) rather than planes being full when they fly? I never really got how one more person on a plane adds to CO2. Maybe you can all enlighten me?

I've been on a plane twice😬

I’m in my 30s and have never been on a plane, and have only been abroad twice.

That's the problem: everyone thinks that their flight doesn't make a difference. If everyone started thinking their flight did make a difference, only a couple of hundred people could make the difference between a flight going or not going.

(I confess I'm part of the problem too.)

Sounds like an obscenely high number to me - what have you done to offset the carbon? Have you considered holidaying in the UK instead of jetting around all over the planet doing irreparable damage?

HOLIDAYS! seriously! why would you do all this damage for personal leisure?

You/we - are all part of the problem if we actively choose planes - take the train and stop with the glibness

Absolutely this. It’s an awful thing to compete about and the idea of judging someone by the number of flights they’ve taken is really grim.

Travel - if you’re going to be snobby about it - isn’t about how many places you’ve been, or flights you’ve taken, or any tedious tally like that - it’s about what you’ve learned or experienced and how that’s changed you as a person. And even then it’s only one way of experiencing life, anyway.

91 flights before you're 30 considered not well travelled? Really? I think you need a reality check.

can I ask why? I would love not to fly!

91 is awful for the environment- but I'm sure you know this 😬

I'm almost double your age and have taken 12 flights in total

#smug

This has got to be a wind up

@Florraine

I never really got how one more person on a plane adds to CO2

How long have you got?

Very very simplistic answer is that if you increase an aircraft’s weight, even by a tiny bit, you need the engines to run at a slightly higher power than at the lighter weight to get airborne, climb and then cruise along at a set speed. That increases fuel consumption, i.e. you burn slightly more fuel per mile of flight, that in turn generates more CO2.

OP is a real bragger

@notimagain Ah, I see. Physics was never my strong point. I’m super light so wouldn’t think that my weight would make all of the difference given that the plane itself must weigh tonnes and tonnes!

@SittingBackAndWatchingTheClowns Well this thread has certainly enlightened me.

If I’m a bragger you ought to meet my friend then!

Is this a joke?

To give you an idea of orders of magnitude:

If you add an extra 100 kg to the mass of an standard passenger aircraft (so something like one adult plus bags) the aircraft will burn an very roughly extra 4 kg of fuel ( roughly 5 litres) per hour of flight..

@thisfilmisboring123 i am not sure what you are referring to. I don’t think that poster would have much luck in stopping people flying abroad for leisure - the airport was really busy last time I was there and I didn’t see signs of demand slowing down.

I don’t get though, given that there are THOUSANDS of flights PER DAY, the difference that one extra person goes on a seat that would have been empty - whether or not they have done this 91 times.

every year there are millions of flights.

Maybe by, “you need to get out more,” your friend was commenting on how odd it is to have counted the exact number of flights you have been on in your lifetime?

If that was their exact phrasing then I think you may have interpreted their comment too literally!

91 is an insane amount of times!! I’m 43 and I’ve just counted I’ve been on a plane 22 times- so 11 holidays/excursions

edited to add: the people talking about environmental impact- I always thought it was mad that when Covid grounded planes they saw a slight fixing of the ozone! Thought it was nuts (and sad that yes, our habits absolutely are effing the whole planet up)

I'm late 40s and I think I've flown 26 times (13 trips). 91 sounds absolutely loads!