Changing Travel plans

Is it just me or is anyone else here thinking about changing their travel plans over the next few weeks?

We are scheduled to fly a week on Monday to SFO, but I am seriously considering driving to France instead and just forgetting the US trip. I am a very nervous flyer at the best of times, this seems to have pushed me over the edge.

Am I the only completely irrational person here ?[:#]

[Decker]

We're still going ahead with it - just worried about a bored 5 year old - but now we seem to be able to buy books etc at the airport I'm less worried.

Theoretically at least you're now a LOT safer than you were 2 days ago - you just didn't know how unsafe you were two days ago .

[HighFlyer]

No change here either! I'll still continue to fly, albeit slightly grumbly with the hand luggage restrictions, but i imagine those will lessen with time.

You are not irrational at all, as you say yourself, you are a nervous flyer and hearing of the recent threats must make it a darn sight worse. The way i see it, i'm not letting these recent developments stop me from living my life.

Thanks,
Sarah

[Neil]

I agree with Decker, I would imagine that this is the best time to be flying from a saftey point of view. Security will be at its highest so I would stick with your original plans.

Neil:)

Agree with Decker - surely it has to be the safest its ever going to be?

I think as he says that its likely to be more hassle at the moment though!

And I do not think its irrational at all to change your plans - you should do what you feel comfortable doing. After 9/11 my wife didnt want to fly to the States on 4th July because of the significance ofd the date and the fact that spomething might happen again!


We are going on 1st September so I am hoping everything wil be more organised at that point - even if thsy are not back to "normal"

Originally posted by Decker
We're still going ahead with it - just worried about a bored 5 year old - but now we seem to be able to buy books etc at the airport I'm less worried.

Has something changed then? We can now buy books and take onboard?

Originally posted by Decker
Theoretically at least you're now a LOT safer than you were 2 days ago - you just didn't know how unsafe you were two days ago .

Security will be as tight as it's ever been over the next few weeks.

If the stop you travelling that is a moral victory for them - I feel comfortable travelling and won't be changing any of my plans.

[Decker]

Well the official statement from the DOT includes this

"n addition to the above, all passengers boarding flights to the USA and all the items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, must be subjected to secondary search at the boarding gate.

Extra time

Any liquids discovered must be removed from the passenger. "

Italics mine.

We're going tomorrow on the basis that you can't let the B*****S win.

Miopyk

[Decker]

If terrorists don't terrify they lose their power - guessing they just become irrelevantists or vaguelyannoyingists.

Originally posted by Decker
Well the official statement from the DOT includes this

"n addition to the above, all passengers boarding flights to the USA and all the items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, must be subjected to secondary search at the boarding gate.

[Italics mine.

Mmmmm, but it's not on the prescriptive list. Bit of a grey area. I also wonder about 'necessary' travel documents. Yeah, passport and tickets, obviously - but we keep our paperwork together - does this mean we'd be expected to put other paperwork, apart from passport/ticket - in the hold? And if they airline kindly loses all that? I do take the precation of making sure all my relevant stuff is remotely stored online - but can you imagine the hassle of trying to find some internet cafe to retrieve and print it all - before getting your car, for example? You'd need a confirmation for that, but it isn't a passport or an air ticket.....


Blimey, I wish someone would step forward with some positive guidance.

[Neil]

Originally posted by Decker
If terrorists don't terrify they lose their power - guessing they just become irrelevantists or vaguelyannoyingists.

Never heard terrorists called that before!:D - I agree, they want to cause as much disruption as possible, and if we all start changing our travel plans then they are winning, if we all go about our business as normal then they have failed in what they set out to achieve.

Originally posted by catsilversword
Blimey, I wish someone would step forward with some positive guidance.

Well, as it's a complete "knee jerk" reaction to the situation, so I think you'll be waiting a long time for that positive guidance, Cat.

Mike

Not changing anything in the slightest - have trips booked for over the coming couple of months, and I'll be buggered if some idiots on a suicide mission get to disrupt my travel plans [V]

Non illigitamus carborundum!

Cheers

Michael

I don't believe you are being irrational at all, my step sister is currently in Canada with her family and is due to return next week. Like you she is a nervous flyer and last night was seriously considering coming back by ship from New York instead.

However, looking at it another way (without sounding to be over dramatic) statistically you are more likely to be involved in some type of incident driving to France than you are on a Plane to the US.

As everyone has commentated so far, security will be so tight you are probably as safe now as you have ever been.

-Steve

[8D]

and miss my summer holidays??? - no way am i changing my plans...

Non illigitamus carborundum!

Thanks for that one [y]

[preiffer]

Absolutely no change for me - sod 'em. (The terrorists, that is)

Originally posted by preiffer
Absolutely no change for me - sod 'em. (The terrorists, that is)

Yep, I think that's the way the vast majority of us feel! [y]

Well, I have just cancelled a short-haul business flight because of all this.

It is nothing to do with fear of flying, it is the fact that for work I simply cannot be without my laptop and the data on it. I can manage without working in the business lounge and on the flight, but I am not risking putting it into the hold - I may never see it again!

If 9/11 was anything to go by, there should be plenty of cheap fare deals to the US in the coming months.

[Decker]

We're just debating this - whether we check our laptops next Thursday... not happy with the idea as Amex travel insurance only covers laptops up to £750. Wonder if Plat is better?

Originally posted by PatDavies
I am not risking putting it into the hold - I may never see it again!

If 9/11 was anything to go by, there should be plenty of cheap fare deals to the US in the coming months.

Well to be fair, everything on your laptop can be backed up onto another machine before you go... so I'm guessing the trip couldn't have been too commercially important?

I have to take my laptop on Tuesday to GLA and have weighed up the importance of the meeting with the inconvenience of checking the laptop in .... oh and expensed a new hard case for the laptop so its properly protected... and double checked my insurance.

As for heavy discounting? I doubt we'll see half of what was on offer after 9/11. For one thing, nothings actually happened. Most of the current draconian security measures will soon be reduced... and most travellers are pretty 'terror numb' these days. I'm amazed how few cancellations we've had and future loads are holding up.

Of course VS is a point to point carrier... I'm guessing BA must be suffering much more, after all, connecting pax have more choice and may very well choose to use LH/FRA, AF/CDG etc in the future rather then BA/LHR.

Originally posted by PatDavies
Well, I have just cancelled a short-haul business flight because of all this.

It is nothing to do with fear of flying, it is the fact that for work I simply cannot be without my laptop and the data on it. I can manage without working in the business lounge and on the flight, but I am not risking putting it into the hold - I may never see it again!

Me too, was going to Amsterdam next week and am usually quite good at getting to Gatwick North with little time to spare and speeding out the other end with laptop bag and nothing else. So, the need to add plenty of time for security checks, then waiting for bags makes it a trip I can rearrange for a 1 hr meeting. Adding the fact that who knows what shape the laptop will emerge in ...

I agree, im due to fly from MIA-LHR in a few wks and i am to a nervous passenger but there is no way im gonna let those idiots be the cause of me loosing time i will be spending time with my daughter while im in england.

We've cancelled almost all short-haul, short-trip business air travel - not because there's any company-wide order to do so, but because we can't be arsed with all the additional security and dealing with the delays, just for a short trip.

Where possible, we've transferred to rail service, both for the UK, and Europe - an associate (not one of our employees) who got caught up in the chaos yesterday, texted me to say he is heading for Madrid by rail.

Some of us are looking at Eurostar to Lille/Paris, transfer to CDG, and flying out of CDG to avoid the chaos in the UK, for destinations further afield.

I'm even looking at the options for canx-ing a Virgin booking for next month, and replacing it with AF out of CDG, or KL out of AMS (as I'll already be on the continent beforehand), in case the ott security continues.

Cheers,
Mike