[DavidGordon10]

What is the craziest day trip you have ever done?

Many of us will have gone from Europe to the East coast of the USA, and back in a day (or vice versa) so that hardly counts as crazy.

However, I have just been to Bishkek and back for less than a day at the destination, and I am about to do London – Costa Rica, also for about 24 hours. Have you done anything as extreme?

I am defining “day trip” as up to 30 hours on the ground (to allow for those places where there is one flight in and out each day and time for the plane to turn round). The measure of craziness should also include the unusual-ness of the destination

[MartynSinclair]

Ostend (6am departure, one fuel stop forget where) to Santa Monica – 20 minute taxi ride to LAX – VS back to Heathrow, 90 minutes later.

[DavidGordon10]

Dear Martyn

Scores highly on the craziness of the time on the ground, and low because of the non-obscurity of the destination… but were you the pilot on the outward leg? Should we only allow scheduled commercial flights in this competition?

Best wishes
David

[capetonianm]

MAD-FRA-CPT and back, leaving on Friday afternoon, back Sunday afternoon.
Also did 2x return trips in one day CPT-JNB-CPT-JNB-CPT-JNB in one day, and JNB-CPT-JNB-CPT the next day.
LIS-MAD-GVA-ZRH-VIE in one day.
PMI-FRA-BOG on Friday, BOG-FRA-LHR on Sunday.
CPT-MIA-FRA with a couple of hours on the ground in MIA.
Commercial trips, not as crew.

Greta Thunberg would love us!

[canucklad]

A couple , though neither will be contenders for craziest

1) Sisters 21st
Couldn’t get holidays so embarked on a weekend away for her party ….
PIK – YYZ (overnight stay)
YYZ -YVR (1st flight of the day)
Saturday night at her party ( we fell out due to me sneaking out for an hour to watch hockey night in Canada )
YVR -YYZ- PIK , departing Sunday afternoon

2) Belfast pub crawl
After my pal discovered the wonders of cheap flights on the internet , and then having his wife put the kybosh on an overnight stay , it was decided a pub crawl in Belfast would do as alternative. First flight (8.30) out and last flight back (19.30) , including taking in the 2nd day of a wake in a pub in Antrim . Bizarrely most of the mourners came outside to clap and wave us goodbye when we left for the airport.

[JonathanCohen09]

Hello DavidGordon10,

What a great idea for a thread.

I do not have a great story to tell in terms of a day trip other than London to LA where I spent 6 hours on the ground and then flew back but I would like to put the following trip forward as crazy.

Day 1 – London to New York then on to Miami -overnight.
Day 2 – Miami to Seattle then on to Tokyo Narita – overnight
Day 3 – Tokyo to Dallas then on to London after 3 hours on the ground. (This leg was interesting as in crossing the international date line I arrived in Dallas 2 hours before I left Tokyo.)

This is quite some time ago as the whole itinerary was on AA and I left from LHR and flew back into LGW. Also I was booked in J class but was AA Platinum at the time and they took such pity on me given my trip that they very kindly upgraded my whole trip to F.

For those who might be interested the aircraft used were 767, MD80, 757, MD11, MD11, MD11. Not very fuel efficient or green.

I realize that this was not a day trip but crazy enough that I thought it worth posting.

[TominScotland]

LHR – SIN, arrive early morning

Appearance as Expert Witness in court. Confirmed my name, other side declined to ask me any questions (ie. accepted my written evidence)

Evening flight back to LHR

1 user thanked author for this post.

EU_Flyer

[esselle]

LHR-SYD, landed early morning, shower, briefing, client meeting, back home on the evening flight.

1 user thanked author for this post.

EU_Flyer

[cwoodward]

Back in about 1994/5.

Sunday evening ex HK to London
Monday 6.30 am London to Manchester back to London to HK-arriving back Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday evening to Sydney. Wednesday morning about 9am back to HK – Wednesday evening back to London arrive Thursday morning – to Manchester and back to London and back to HK Thursday evening -arriving HK Friday.

All about contract signing.

I still have the beautiful large Christophel silver bowl and tray at Cathay gave that year.

[fatbear]

I once flew Brussels to Charlotte via London and Chicago on BA and American Eagle where the travel was much longer than the 8 hour meeting I attended – with travel back via Batimore and London on US Air and BA.

I’ve also flown to Warsaw and Slovenia from London to spend less than 10 minutes signing legal documents in front of a notary.

2 users thanked author for this post.

EU_Flyer, sailandfly

[mkcol74]

[postquote quote=983746][/postquote]

That’s exactly what my (hideous) ex did too. His meeting was done by lunchtime but there wasn’t an earlier flight back. Luckily for him he was in First.

[Thegoodolddays]

When I was used staff travel I went on the first AC flight LHR-YYZ and planned a weekend there however it was the film festival and all hotels were full so got the last BA flight home, so a 22 hour day trip.

[Huit-Six]

Some of you have had some truly insane trips!

The most intense travel I can recall whas when I was on a skiing trip in Hokkaido when my wife called to inform me her grandmother had passed just away.

This was December 29th so obviously flights out were either full or very expensive so we both decided I would keep my current booking back to Singapore and fly out from there. Not helping was the fact that the funeral would take place in a remote village in Thailand so litterally only a few daily flights to the nearby airport, all from DMK.

Since I flew to Japan via Tokyo on Vietnam Airlines to meet a friend and then we both booked a flight together from Tokyo to Sapporo, I also had to change airports in Tokyo!

My trip was in total:

Sapporo CTS > Tokyo HND
Tokyo NRT > SIN via SGN
SIN > Bangkok DMK
Bangkok DMK > Mae Sot MAQ
and then a couple hours ride on a particularly vintage model of Toyota Hilux to reach the final destination.

Total travel time was way above 30 hours if I recall correctly it covered about 2 full days as I had to stop to my apartment in Singapore change clothes. Would have been very strange to show up in Thailand with my skiing gear!

[ParselTongue]

1) LHR to Detroit with my boss, for a 30 minute meeting with a GM Executive, as the slide turner (1990s) so didn’t need to speak in the meeting at all. Back the next day, where the BA stewardess remarked that she recognised me from the previous day’s flight.

2) LHR – DUB – PHL – BOS – IAD. Drive from there to Orlando. MCO – MIA – DUB – LCY and tube to LHR to collect the car. This was a tier point run, and fails on the 30 hour rule, but I enjoyed it.

[esselle]

[postquote quote=983838][/postquote]

I was in F too; it was 2002 and in those days BA first was really rather good.

How things have changed.

[Author]

Posts