I was at a family meal on Saturday night and also there was my brother in law. We both travel a great deal, his weekly commute is LHR-YYZ and he's BAECG and LHSEN, I travel weekly LHR-DBX and am LHSEN and Skywards Gold so we both clock up a lot of premium travel. Neither of us has much need to talk about it and even if we do, we wouldn't emphasise it was in F&C as it's taken for granted.
At the next table was a rather loud gentleman who also seemed to travel a lot, he kept emphasising this to his dining companions who didn't seem interested and he didn't take any cues to shut up, he was also emphasising that he was just back from a trip to the US and he had been travelling in first and this must have been driven home about ten times to a point where we were laughing.
So, a question, do you feel a need to emphasise that you are a premium traveller or do you even feel the need to talk about travelling? Neither my brother in law nor I do, I think the last time I made a comment was whent he A380 was introduced and I can't remember him last raising the subject - it's not that interesting to other people is it?
Gin&Tonic - 30/08/2011 08:37 GMT
Sometimes family and friends are interested in what I may have seen or experienced at a destination, but they couldn’t care less how, with who or what class I used to get there.
RichHI1 - 30/08/2011 08:49 GMT
No interest whatsoever. Only people sad enough to discuss it are us posters here. Was this loud resturant patron drinking an expensive champagne by any chance?
The only time I talk about travelling is if anyone asks me where I've been recently and then I'll only talk about the places and sometimes the people I met.
With the caveat if a friend asks for advice on how best to travel somewhere, then I'll try and give them a few options.
As Rich says, it's good to discuss on here, as there are a lot of experienced travelers and someone can usually provide some useful info.
My thanks to KeaneJohn for the info on BA citiflyer, recently.
NTarrant - 30/08/2011 09:15 GMT
Simular to Disgusted, if people ask then fine and always happy to help with advice or share experiences of travel. Its good to talk on here.
@RichHI1 ROTFL, he was overly suntanned, wearing a shirt that was open too far down revealing so much chest hair that I think most guys would have reduced or maybe even removed it and the absolute horror of a large gold medallion! The drink was champagne and the restaurant was Indian. It was the best entertainment I've had for free in a while.
Bullfrog - 30/08/2011 10:24 GMT
Inevitably there is an element of snobbery with travel.
Look how many times luggage on the carousel has an inordinate number of destination / hotel labels. Passengers that leave the 'Upper Class' labels on their luggage, when on a 'low cost carrier'. Some will have been left accidentally, others deliberately.
Traveling for work is not my idea of fun even in the premium cabins. Even for pleasure it is draining.
Just like clothes labels & designer watches, discussing one's hotel & airline experiences can be part of 'keeping up' appearances.
RichHI1 - 30/08/2011 10:35 GMT
Bullfrog I notice that there is a difference. When the subject is possessions, the conversation tends to be my new R*lex is great, my new F***ari is great, my new A**le is great. However when discussing travel with FF's it is more Boy does Br***sh A****ys first service suck, A*****can A**lines food is terrible, Immigration in Ch***go O**re is terrible. Frequent travel is like the weather for the Brits, it is a natural fit.
Bullfrog - 30/08/2011 11:27 GMT
RichHI1
Apologies if I am going off track ...
... better not to talk about 'possessions'; friends, or so called friends see the new possessions at a later date.
I am known for my anecdotes ...
1. 'nice to be important, but important to be nice'.
2. 'Contentment is wanting what one has, not having what one wants'.
3. 'Money talks, but wealth whispers'.
I'm due in the US next week, & currently booked BA First Class to New York, and Club World from Montreal .. so I'll update the forum on my experience.
If anyone was following a previous thread about Air Transat, I'm choosing BA instead & hope to fly next week.
RichHI1 - 30/08/2011 11:42 GMT
I share your lack of interest in acquisition. For me the act of travel is secondary. What I enjoy is being able to live life across cultures and have a wider perspective on life. One reason why the xenophobic posts irritate me so much.
I am still a big kid at heart and usually end up talking to myself about travel experiences. All my wife is interested in, is when I will be home for social arrangements and my son, so I can take him to golf.
My circle of friends do take an interest in each others work so we tend to talk more about the destinations rather than how we get to the destinations.
For the last 5 years or so, 1 of my friends who is solicitor in the West End, commutes out to TLV on a Thursday evening and back to London on Sunday, 50 out of 52 weeks a year - and there are a hardcore of travellers doing the same.
I love travelling, but weekly, thats too much even for me.
PatJordan - 30/08/2011 14:40 GMT
Bullfrog,
your three anecdotes were simple but so very true. Very well said.
Pat
