To ask you to swerve vacations abroad on airplanes

[Happyone99]

Inspired by https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5433252-to-ask-you-to-swerve-shein-temu?page=24

As mentioned above, I personally don’t use Shein or Temu because they ARE terrible. However, why only change bad things lower income people happen to be involved with, rather than starting with things higher income people are involved with

Slave labour and poor working conditions are indeed terrible. So is the climate crisis, exacerbated by rich people flying on airplanes for vacations, and poor people in low-lying countries like Bangladesh suffer worst environmental consequences

Who are responsible for the most emissions and who are suffering the most?

It's more expensive to take the train. You can't take the train to the States or to Asia. So we fly

When when we go to Europe we fly. Did a flight within Schengen recently and it was so convenient. Would have taken longer on the train

Also many low income people, the only way they could afford to go abroad would be via low cost carrier airlines.

This is how I feel

I'm not keen on folk doing Extreme Day Trips, as this seems unnecessarily bad for the environment eg flying to Tenerife for lunch

But, for as long as business people regularly fly for a day's meeting, or commute to London weekly from Edinburgh, I don't feel too bad about travelling to France for a two week holiday once per year

My husband flies each month for work. (He has to. There's no train to Doha, Qatar). He gets to go in business and occasionally first class. Also the aviation industry contributes a lot in taxes and jobs.

How about we start with the royal family and bin their private jets and frequent long haul travel?
while we’re at it, it’d go a long way to solve some of the housing crisis if a fraction of their numerous vast estates were given over to build affordable housing…

They don't own a set of private jets. They fly military or private charter if they need to do for their royal duties.

It's their estates and their property. You're going to go buy it from them? Big cost to the taxpayer.

The internet emits more co2 than the entire global air traffic industry. Nvidia are going to build seven super data centres so Americans can ride in driverless taxis, and they are going to increase their use of fossil fuel powered energy in order to power them, so it's going to get worse.

So no, I'm not going to give up my 2 hour return flight to Nice once in a while.

I believe in renewables and all that. But I won't reduce my consumptions. Decarbonise the mode of transport but let people fly.

Actually they don’t own the Crown estates - the state in theory owns them.
Shouldn’t military jets be used for military purposes rather than ferrying the Windsors about?

The Crown Estate: A, 678,420-acre portfolio of marine, rural, and urban land belonging to the Crown (managed for the nation, not owned by the King personally), with assets worth roughly £15.8 billion

@Cielovista

Shouldn’t military jets be used for military purposes rather than ferrying the Windsors about?

The RF tend to charter civilian if they need it or use one of the general military transport aircraft such as Voyagers that politicians and more lowly individuals sometimes fly on...and if those aircraft aren't moving people they are often shifting freight.

I think (but open to correction) the days of a dedicated Queen"s/King's flight of military aircraft has long gone.

Legally the assets of the Crown Estate are owned by the Monarch "in right of the crown".

We already have an agreement where we get all the revenues from the crown estates, but they still own them.

Of course our royal family need military jets when they go abroad for official royal duties.

Yes. I've done it since 2020. We've had some lovely trips to France Italy Switzerland and all over the UK Inc Northern Ireland. I am wondering about a long haul holiday in about 3 years but that will be on the 10th anniversary of my last long haul flight. The flight free pledge makes you feel a bit less alone with it all

Of course our royal family need military jets when they go abroad for official royal duties.

In reality if it's small numbers in the party they may travel on standard commercial flights, if it's a major visit it's not unknown for them charter a whole aircraft and crew from the likes of BA or other operators.

What about the security aspect? I have a vague memory from 10 years ago that the UK PM recently got their own equivalent of "Air Force One".

Does that still exist?

I talk to a lot of aviation industry experts they are passionate about SAF

What about countries and communities who rely on people flying in and spending their income which provides them with jobs / homes / livelihood?!

As far as security goes, can't say much but if you think about it airports are some of the most screened places around.

Yes, there is a A330 painted up in union colours, does some VIP stuff but unlike the US Air Force One which is VIP only the UK one doubles up doing normal stuff. It was at our local airport a few months back shifting freight.

Thanks for telling me!

Do you mean "avoid holidays in aeroplanes?" Or are you American?

Its not unreasonable to question how we can lower our carbon footprint, but I refuse to be preached at.
We have one car, which is only used once or twice a week, I avoid single use plastic, recycle everything that can be, and dh and I both work in the renewable energy industry.
So no, I don't feel any guilt about flying abroad for my holiday in the sun once a year.

If you stopped frequent flyers say a maximum of one or two return flights a year, you would reduce flights by a great deal.

I would not restrict your once a year flight were I in power. It's things like going abroad for stag and hen dos, flying within mainland UK, private jets, and jollies to conferences that I want to see end.

Train to London £329, flight to Barcelona £69

From Google Gemini:

If you look at the numbers, a single person in Qatar emits enough carbon to equal roughly 24 family return flights to Spain every year. An average American emits enough for about 9 of those family trips. In comparison, the average person here in the UK emits enough for just 3.
It really puts things into perspective. Our daily "carbon footprint" is a fraction of the big polluters in the Gulf or the US, so ground-level changes here (like skipping a family holiday) are a drop in the ocean compared to the industrial-scale emissions happening elsewhere.

(Data sourced from the Global Carbon Project (2023/2024 estimates) and EDGAR (European Commission) databases.)

I haven’t been on a holiday abroad for over a decade for various reasons. But I will be in the next 18 months, and I won’t be feeling guilty about it.

I’d love to take the train on holiday but I live in Australia and our long distance trains are a joke and for many journeys don’t even exist. My cousin lives in Queebsland and is getting married this year. Flying is the only practical way to go to the wedding.