International airline travel comfort tips and discussion thread

[WhoIam]

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I hate flying a lot, but apparently I'm going to europe in a few weeks. Is Xanax really the magical cure to my hatred/fear of flying?

Because that would be awesome.


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I can only speak from my experience, but I can't imagine giving a damn about anything when I take this. Seriously, though, don't have more than 1 or two drinks because each increases the effects of the other. If I remember correctly, the effects of xanax start to become noticeable at 20-30 minutes and reach peak effect at about 90. So if you take one when you're boarding and have a glass of wine or something when drink service first comes around yous should be fine.

IIRC, Xanax is the only effective treatment for panic disorder (random panic attacks), so if it can prevent full-blown panic attacks, your fear of flying probably won't be a problem [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

This should not be construed as medical advice and you should consult your doctor before taking any prescription medication, etc. etc.

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

i think the seats with leg room cost more.

[Slow Play Ray]

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i think the seats with leg room cost more.

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only if you try to get them online in advance. if you check-in at the aiport early, they are a free upgrade if still available.

[7ontheline]

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IIRC, Xanax is the only effective treatment for panic disorder (random panic attacks), so if it can prevent full-blown panic attacks, your fear of flying probably won't be a problem [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]



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This is not true, not that this thread is about treatment for panic disorder.

[meep_42]

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But First class is a total waste of money when traveling internationally, its designed for rich execs to bill their naive company, thus its a highly inflated price.

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It's designed for people who are willing to pay a lot of money not to sit next to a family with seven screaming kids for 20 hours.

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When I flew back from Paris in Business last month there were twin infants having a screaming contest. No, not in coach, the back row of Business class. That was awesome.

-d

[TxRedMan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hate flying a lot, but apparently I'm going to europe in a few weeks. Is Xanax really the magical cure to my hatred/fear of flying?

Because that would be awesome.


[/ QUOTE ]
I can only speak from my experience, but I can't imagine giving a damn about anything when I take this. Seriously, though, don't have more than 1 or two drinks because each increases the effects of the other. If I remember correctly, the effects of xanax start to become noticeable at 20-30 minutes and reach peak effect at about 90. So if you take one when you're boarding and have a glass of wine or something when drink service first comes around yous should be fine.

IIRC, Xanax is the only effective treatment for panic disorder (random panic attacks), so if it can prevent full-blown panic attacks, your fear of flying probably won't be a problem [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

This should not be construed as medical advice and you should consult your doctor before taking any prescription medication, etc. etc.

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i've only taken this stuff once, and i fell asleep at about 2AM and wokeup around 4PM. i think i took half of a bar. i slept really, really hard, but felt groggy and strange when i wokeup.

[TxRedMan]

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But First class is a total waste of money when traveling internationally, its designed for rich execs to bill their naive company, thus its a highly inflated price.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's designed for people who are willing to pay a lot of money not to sit next to a family with seven screaming kids for 20 hours.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I flew back from Paris in Business last month there were twin infants having a screaming contest. No, not in coach, the back row of Business class. That was awesome.

-d

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this sucks. i'm booking a flight from DFW to LV for the end of this month and a round trip first class/business ticket is $850. coach is $350. i hate spending $500 for an extra 3 hours of comfort each way, but [censored] me I hate coach. i'm 6'2 and weigh about 235, and last time i flew coach (two weeks ago) i was sitting next to a very large woman who was spilling over into my seat.

meh.

i reccomend flying first class if you're my size or bigger, and i also reccomend buying an ipod video. they're great for flying.

other than that, i'd reccomend using the bathroom before you get on the plane, and not flying USAirways. USAirways is fine until something goes wrong, and then you get to deal with their foreign country outsourced CS department and their total lack fo giving a [censored] about their customers when they get screwed.

[Rhone]

Has anyone tried sites like this or this that claim to offer discounted first and business-class fares? Any thoughts?

Also, if you buy your tickets through one of the online fare sites like Expedia, can you go to the airline afterwards and get an upgrade using your miles?

[Analyst]

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Has anyone tried sites like this or this that claim to offer discounted first and business-class fares? Any thoughts?

Also, if you buy your tickets through one of the online fare sites like Expedia, can you go to the airline afterwards and get an upgrade using your miles?

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Second question first, should be no problem as long as it is an upgradable fare. The definition of the latter depends on the airline, but the tickets that you buy on Expedia/Travelocity/Orbitz come from the same fare buckets as those you get on the airlines' sites (not all tickets you can buy directly from the airlines are upgradable). Just be sure to check with the airline to see which fares are upgradable, but most are (at least on American; United is somewhat more restrictive).

You can get a good fare with a discount shop, but be careful. My experience with one of these shops was a royal pain. I was flying from SF to Europe, routed through Dallas - I found out the hard way that they had booked it as two separate tickets, meaning if there was a problem getting to Dallas (and there was), I was hosed on the next leg. AA didn't have to help, but they did.

Note that the business fares sold by the discount shops are usually *not* upgradable.