Travel & Holidays

Squee · May 11, 2019, 5:04am

Nothing. I tend to read, even on long haul flights with good IFE, or I might bring my Switch along and play games.

eddel · May 11, 2019, 5:12am

I sometimes watch a movie but it has to grab my attention quickly otherwise I get bored.

I also find TV shows pass the time faster.

Radiohead · May 11, 2019, 5:23am

I watch the Flight Tracker the whole way and listen to music on my phone.

I’m one of those who will try and get the window seat every time, and I just HAVE to know where I am.

pelican · May 11, 2019, 6:26am

Favourite memory of mine was flying to Europe for the very first time, going off to spend six months on exchange there, and looking out the window at sunrise and seeing snowy Turkish mountains stretching out for as far as I could see.

Super_SC · May 11, 2019, 7:45am

USed a flight tracker whilst listenjng to my music from my iPhone being connected to USB. (I used my iPhone earphones rather than flight headphones whilst listening to music)

Radiohead · May 11, 2019, 8:02am

Yes, the sound quality of the in flight systems that I have tried in recent years is awful. It was better in the 90s.

Herb · May 11, 2019, 10:51am

I chose TV shows, since looking out the window wasn’t an option.

Last time I flew to Tokyo I got to see Mt. Fuji out my window, that was spectacular.

JohnsonTV · May 11, 2019, 11:42am

On short domestic flights I usually watch TV shows.
Qantas’ inflight entertainment has gone backwards since it replaced its curated radio channels with podcasts of breakfast and drive shows from Nova, ARN and SCA (which are around 2-3 months old).

Karen_Cee · May 11, 2019, 8:20pm

I usually plug my headphones straight away when I board my flight,to listen to my tunes from my phone, so I don’t hear any screaming babies if any are nearby.A window seat is preferable,it’s only a pain in the a**s if I need to leave my seat to use the bathroom then anyone seated next to me has to get out of their seats

Radiohead · May 14, 2019, 9:42am

I am in Adelaide for the next 6 days.

Got a QANTAS flight from Sydney, being a 2 hr 10 min scheduled flight, there were no personal entertainment screens (for some reason I thought flights over 2 hours had them? ) so no flight tracker for me

Adelaide Airport is nice though.

Squee · May 14, 2019, 10:19am

IFE is always going to be a gamble on any route where Qantas uses 737s regardless of flight length. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes not.

Now that the fleet has in flight SVOD and will (eventually) have in flight wifi, they aren’t adding IFE to 737s that don’t have it when aircraft are refurbished.

JohnsonTV · May 14, 2019, 10:45am

Yeah, Qantas is relying on passengers to have downloaded its IFE app to their smartphones or tablets beforehand so movies and TV shows can be streamed to the devices.

Super_SC · May 14, 2019, 2:12pm

Any word if all qantas 737s have wifi on board?

Radiohead · May 14, 2019, 5:45pm

Mine didn’t (it was a 737-800).

When I looked at the Arrivals and Departures screens in Sydney, only a few did (they have the wifi icon listed there).

Given its free, I can imagine it would be painfully slow.

Chris · May 14, 2019, 11:17pm

I’m not one for anything too long on a flight as I usually like to watch something for a short time and then listen to music or nap or whatever. So on long overseas flights I usually bring my tablet and have a couple of shows downloaded and ready to watch on there. However if I’m turning on the in-flight entertainment it’s usually something short I can watch briefly such as Live TV World news and occasionally flick to things like flight tracker when food is coming around. I usually have a few random games on my tablet too just to occupy me when needed.

Squee · May 15, 2019, 2:51am

Eventually they will (but seriously, by 2021 IIRC. Same deal for VA).

Radiohead · May 16, 2019, 10:06am

I thought there was a Food and Drink thread somewhere, but couldn’t find it.

Since I’m in Adelaide for the first time, I thought I’d try a West End beer, since you don’t see that around in NSW unlike Coopers (also a SA beer).

Whilst it’s a draught beer, it’s not as good as a Tooheys NEW. West End has something of a sour taste to it to my liking.

Radiohead · May 26, 2019, 10:07am

What unusual (non medical) travel items do you pack when you go on holidays?

I usually take

An extension cord (since most places I stay at are stingy with power points).
Double Adaptor (as above)
And these days, a magnifying glass for my aging eyes!

If traveling by car, and depending where, I will sometimes take a Set Top Box and related equipment with me so I can DX some TV!

And a couple of radios!

Squee · May 26, 2019, 12:52pm

When going overseas a SIM Card Eject tool is essential. After spending time working in the arrivals section of an international Airport in recent years I’ve never seen people scramble for anything possible to do this as they never ever take a tool or similar item (paper clip) with them.

Microfibre cloth to clean devices im carrying with me. A powerbank or three.

Chris · June 3, 2019, 12:17am

Has anyone been to Jordan, Israel or Qatar? Any tips? Just booked a holiday to these places in September. 4 day tour around Jordan (mostly going to see Petra) followed by a week in Tel Aviv (and will do trips to Jerusalem) and seeing as flying Qatar airways decided to finish it off in a nice hotel in Qatar for a few days. A very different holiday for me but looking forward to seeing a completely different part of the world.