Zach1213

I'm not going to get involved beyond just pointing out that most of us who post regularly on this board either (a) practically live on planes, (b) work in aviation, or (c) both. 6rugrats is definitely one of the heavy hitters on this board.

Okay, good. I was hoping you weren't limiting yourself to Southampton Airport. It's lovely, but the nonstops to Heathrow/Gatwick definitely win out in my book. It wouldn't surprise me that Orlando-London flights fill up quickly with all of the holiday travel between the two destinations. That being said, seat maps are notoriously unreliable for a couple of reasons and should not, on their own, be used to judge how busy or quiet a flight is: - Tickets can be booked without seat allocations, making it look emptier than it really is - Seats can be set aside for codeshare partners or for other reasons, making it look busier than it really is I am not sure how open you are to driving a few hours, but keep in mind there are also flights to London from Tampa and Miami.

No idea how it actually works, but it can't be any less reliable than a walkie talkie in a big metal ship.

I transit through Charlotte a decent amount as an AA frequent flier. I've had many 40 minute layovers. I've made all but one or two. It's busy but efficient, and if you're mobile, it doesn't take too long to get around. No time for the rocking chairs or Bojangles, though. There are always going to be people who missed their 40 minute connections, but most will make them.

I'll echo the "who knows" sentiment, unfortunately. There's really no magic time...if there was, everyone would book it then and it wouldn't be magical 🙂 You mention flying in to Southampton. While that is definitely possible on KLM via Amsterdam, I do hope you're also looking at London Heathrow and London Gatwick as those will offer many, many, many, many, many, many more flights (including nonstops from Orlando) and they're not far from Southampton.

I definitely appreciate that you're referencing the ability to finish your journey by train. That's something I do quite frequently in Europe because it's generally quite enjoyable. London, Paris, Brussels, and even Frankfurt (which has an extremely handy long distance train station right at the airport) are good options to fly in to and continue by train to Amsterdam. Alternatively, one good option is to fly in to London, spend a day or so there, and finish with a flight out of London City airport to Amsterdam or even Rotterdam.

Having family in ATL definitely gives it an edge, I get that. As far as better days to check for fares - no, not really. Anyone who says there is ("Tuesday at 11:42am when it's sunny") is mostly full of it.

FlyerTalker is spot on. I understand feeling like you need to fly DL out of ATL because they're the biggest, but plenty of other airlines (both US-based and Europe-based) do fly out of ATL and that results in many, many opportunities to find a good balance between schedule, comfort, and price. The more filters you put on to it (needs to be Skyteam/DL/AF, needs to be nonstop, etc.), the fewer options you have to choose from.

I'm a guy from the desert of subsaharan Africa, nothing fascinates me more than flying over places like Greenland or Siberia in the winter and seeing nothing but ice, snow, and rock as far as the eye can see. It never gets old.

Eh, I disagree with this...if I understand what you mean by "sell visas". There are companies that act as "visa couriers" for lack of a better term. You basically send everything needed to them (your passport, invitation letter, application, etc.) and they do all of the work with the Embassy/Consulate to procure the visa and send it back, with an extra fee of course. These folks are usually great, if you do your research ahead of time. My company does a lot of international travel and needs to procure business visas regularly; however, we don't live anywhere near embassies/consulates. So, we use these services many times each year and have good success.

Damn, I read that way too quickly and thought you were promoting her OnlyFans page.

Interesting, thanks. I have been to some pretty darn small airports where everything is pretty manual and had never seen it before or since, so I am particularly surprised that it was with Air France at their CDG hub. But hey...I kind of like not completely knowing the story behind it 🙂

1 pair of shoes for running/gym, which I also use for port days when we walk/hike a lot 1 pair of water shoes and/or sandals depending on our plans for the trip 1 pair of casual lace-up shoes IF there's anything unusual planned, like a more strenuous hike/offroad or a particularly nice dinner, I'll pack an appropriate pair for those. But yeah, I am also a 30-something guy.

When I was about 16, I was sitting on an Air France A340 waiting for a flight out of CDG. I looked at them loading the bags, and noticed one guy just standing there, with mine (and only mine) next to him. Right before we left, he threw the bag in, closed up, and we departed. When we landed at ORD, I had a tag that said "Last Bag" on it. To this day, I have never seen a tag like that again, nor do I have any idea why my bag had that. 20+ years later, I still have the tag as a souvenir...somewhere.

The point of this is to get the inside of the aircraft as close as possible to the outside of the aircraft when it comes to lighting conditions. That way, should you need to evacuate, your vision is as close as possible to the exterior lighting conditions and, thus, have minimal need for you to "adjust" as you try to get away from the aircraft. Regarding window shades - I will say that, in the vast majority of times I fly (which is a lot), the flight attendants are still very adamant about making sure shades are open for takeoff and landing.

If you're purely looking for cheapest fare, check out Flair Airlines from Toronto to Ft. Lauderdale nonstop - $219 roundtrip on those dates. Keep in mind there will be additional fees, and they are a low cost carrier with limited options if something happens. But it's definitely cheap.

While still crazy, it's pretty easy to find DL nonstop DTW-FLL on those dates for...a bit cheaper. And still decent times. $852pp for an outbound leaving at 1:45pm (nonstop to MIA), and an inbound leaving at 4:55pm (nonstop to DTW). For four people, that adds up to a savings of $1600ish compared to the fares you're listing above. To each their own, of course, but arriving a few hours later and leaving a few hours later is worth $1600 to me 🙂

Frankfurt is the next tier of efficiency, in my experience. Not quite as good as Munich, but pretty darn close. CDG...that's somewhere I don't connect through often, but it's definitely another step down in efficiency and you'll want extra time there.

Munich is one of the few airports in Europe that I would feel comfortable with this connection, so I am a second vote for "You'll be fine". Right up at the top of the list of most efficient major hubs in Europe, in my experience (along with Helsinki and Zurich).

Hey it depends on the airport. HKG or SIN - I'll sit around all day! Kansas City? Hard no. Maybe when the new terminal opens... 🙂

Have the airlines gotten better? Yes, generally. Will you get a nonstop? Who knows. There's a chance you will, and a chance you won't. Only way to know for sure is if you had booked your own flights with the airline directly. Should you go the day before? Absolutely. It's an extra expense, but a worthwhile one to me. Let's say you're spending $4,000 on your vacation (cruise + air + excursions + meals + drinks + activities + souvenirs + whatever else). Adding a $200 hotel and $100 of meals only raises your vacation cost by about 7%, which is a small cost (to me) to give a lot more comfort and padding in your schedule.

Back in my younger days when I really started traveling for a living, and before I mastered my anti-jet lag routine, I learned "what not to do" the hard way - flew from the US to Germany on the earliest flight possible (landed in Frankfurt at 5:30am), and took a mid-afternoon nap (because, well, I landed in Frankfurt at 5:30am). I was miserable the entire week because I didn't recover until the end when it was time to turn around and head back home having JUST acclimated. A few weeks later, I tried the "latest flight possible and no nap" method, landing at 1pm instead of 5:30am, and it made such a massive difference.

I've enjoyed Pirate Republic. Is it the best beer in the world? Nah...but is it solid beer in a great location when you're on vacation? Hell yeah.