You know how this myth goes. You are planning a trip with friends and debating which place to go. Various options are being considered and discarded for one reason or another, which is always enjoyable in itself.
A destination is finally settled on and someone pipes up, “That’s great – it’s only an hour’s flight away!”. Everyone agrees that this is a plus as the city is so close. You, my friend, have been a victim of flight time myth!
When Did It Ever Take An Hour?
Recently, it struck me just how long it takes to get anywhere when flying. A flight from Dublin to London is scheduled for 1 hour and 30 minutes and usually you are in the air for about 55 of those minutes. Sounds great, nice and close. Wrong!
I leave my house approximately 15 minutes before my bus is due to go as I must walk to the bus. Once the bus arrives, it is 40 minutes to the airport. You can see where I am going with this, can’t you?
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- Getting to the airport takes some time!
My time at the airport is usually about one and a half hours as I like to leave a little padding in case of traffic or unforeseen circumstances. After that is the flight.
Once on the ground, it is between 10 and 30 minutes before getting on a Tube depending on whether I am carrying baggage or not. Another 45 minutes riding into Central London and then say another 10 minute walk to get to my hotel to check in.
Flight Time Myth Busted!
Looking at the example above, you can see that the total door to door time is 5 hours and 20 minutes. God help you if you live further from the airport than I do, or if you have a longer flight, or if you have to travel further at the end. Any kind of flight connection will add hours to the above.
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- Sitting on board is the best part!
It’s funny how people refer to places as close because they have a short flight time. It’s a total myth. Some people get to the airport two hours or three hours early just to make sure they have time to get through security and all the rest of it. It makes you think!
Overall Thoughts
People referring to the day getting to and from a place as travel day are not wrong. No matter where you go, it really is a travel DAY. The myth of places being a quick flight away are really hampered by the realities of modern travel. Were airports in city centres and flights iike buses you could just walk on, things would be different. Alas…
Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Rolf Wallner via Wikimedia Commons.
Dublin Airport via Dublinairportguide.com. On board image via oneworld alliance.
Just came across this article – the only thing worse than the travel day, is the travel there and go to meetings and then come back day.
That makes for a very long day and is off the charts tiring! I imagine many people know exactly what that’s like.
The thing about this is that it pretty much the same regardless of destination.
Perhaps what you should factor in for those of us who don’t have lounge access (and don’t want to pay for crappy non-airline lounge access) is the quality of amenities an airport has on offer?
I like getting to an airport and just walking around window shopping and maybe having an over priced coffee (but sitting on a comfy seat).
That’s true! My Dad loves to sit around just people watching while having something to eat or drink. He’s happy doing that. Others like to shop, others like to sit – airports are always a good slice of humanity, aren’t they?
Thanks for the comment!
at least the longer your flight is, the average time spent goes down. ( if things go as planned)
Mmm you have a point! Thanks for the comment!
This is news?
News? Half of my posts are my thoughts, not necessarily “news” 🙂 Thanks for the comment!