Q and A

Q & A with Simon Feuillade

Q: How much do you fly?

A: Everything is relative. Compared to other travel bloggers, I don't really fly that much. But I flew a lot more in 2017 than I'd ever done before, and it looks like I could top both number of flights and miles flown in 2018, thus setting new personal records for the second year straight. In 2017, I flew a little over 35,000 miles (almost 57,000 km), or 1,4 laps around the globe.

My predictions are that 2019 will be a lot calmer, though. I'll try to fly less frequently, so I'm guessing that 2018 will be my most intense year (travel wise) for quite a while.

2018 so far...

Q: How many airlines have you tried, and which is your favourite?

A: Since I started logging my flights in December 2013, I have flown on 25 different airlines. (I started logging in 2013 because that's when my wife and I got married, and I wanted to keep a journal of our trips.) Before I started logging the flights, I know I tried SAS and Ryanair, and maybe a few more airlines, but I think I've flown most of them after I started my flight log too. I also flew with one charter airline when I was a kid (I think it was Novair) that I've never flown again, so I guess the "real" number might be 26. My favourite airline is Lufthansa, but I think Austrian Airlines might be a serious contender for the top spot if I gave them some more chances. (But they are part of the Lufthansa group, so in a way, they only prove that Lufthansa is the best airline...)

A triple seven from Emirates, another great airline in my opinion

Q: How do you write your trip reports?

A: As I'm flying, I take constant notes (usually on my cell phone, but otherwise in a notebook of some sort). I prefer to take photos with my Nikon D3300, although occasionally I use other cameras as well. The D3300 is a little conspicuous, so in the long run a GoPro might be a better option. The D3300 takes great photos, though (and all photos on the blog are my own). When I get back home, I start writing the trip report, and thanks to my notes, it's easy to recall the flight even a couple of weeks afterwards. I'm often working on a certain blog post for a couple of weeks, and I'm often in the process of writing several posts at the same time. I usually have 2-4 finished posts in the pipeline. That way, I can keep posting for some time before having to write anything new, if my 9-5 work should get more intense for a while, or something like that.

Q: How do you afford travelling?

A: Priorities. When I was a little younger, I spent quite a lot of money on movies, books and clothes. I don't anymore. I have enough movies and books to last me a couple of years, and I buy new clothes when I really need to, and not for the sake of it. I don't go out much. I try to bring a lunch box to work. That's how I don't spend a lot of money on other stuff. The other side to the coin is, naturally, not to spend a lot of money on travelling either. I try to find cheap airfares, and I'm also a loyalty member of a couple of airlines. I currently have enough miles to use for tickets on both SAS and Norwegian, so in the future a couple of my travels will be for free (or nearly free, as some taxes still have to be paid). Many airlines are members of alliances that co-operate. SAS is connected to Star Alliance, along with the Lufthansa group and some 20 other airlines across the globe, so even if I fly different airlines, I still get miles to my SAS loyalty programme. Many airlines also have credit cards, where you get miles/points when you use them. Norwegian's credit card has no annual fee, for example, so it doesn't cost anything to see if you can gather enough points for a free trip.

Q: Have you ever flown business or first class?

A: Yes. I've flown domestic first class on Hawaiian Airlines between Kailua-Kona (KOA) and Lihue (LIH). The first class fare was only $50 more than economy class, and since first class included checked in baggage (worth $25), the difference was not that big. It was totally worth the extra $25 to skip the lines at check in, security and boarding, getting lounge access and getting more comfortable seats.

I had my first business class flight in June this year, on Croatia Airlines between Zagreb (ZAG) and Copenhagen (CPH). Intra-European business class is not that exciting compared to intercontinental flights, but it was still a really nice experience, and I might absolutely try more business class flights in the future (especially if I fly less frequently, as stated above). I also hope to be able to redeem some earned miles for long haul business class tickets sooner rather than later. Stay posted!

Flying domestic first class in Hawaii

Getting ready to board this B717 at Kona Airport (KOA)

Q: What's your favourite aircraft?

A: I'm a big fan of the Embraers (preferably 190-195). I like the 2-2 configuration, and they are really sleek and slender. But I generally prefer to fly on wide-bodies (planes with two aisles), and I also like to try new types of aircraft whenever I can. Right now, I'm looking forward to fly the "whale jet" for the first time, the biggest passenger aircraft in the world. Review of the A380 is coming later this year!

Q: What's your favourite airport?

A: Frankfurt (FRA). The queues in transit can be bad, but the airport in itself is just great. I love plane spotting, and FRA is great for that. Other favourite airports include London Heathrow (LHR) for plane spotting, Beijing (PEK) for design and Kansai (KIX) for efficiency. But even though I like airports, I'm definitely an aircraft guy. I'd much rather sit in an airplane for five hours than an airport.

Q: What's your coolest flight yet?

A: That depends on what is meant by cool. I always find it fascinating to fly to a place with great natural surroundings, such as Hong Kong (HKG) or Kaua'i (LIH). Those landings were both spectacular. Another really cool experience was taking off from Miami International Airport (MIA) in the night, with all the city lights spreading out as far as the eye could see.

Honolulu, as seen from a Hawaiian B717 shortly after take off from HNL

Q: What flight do you wish you had written a review about?

A: I guess it would have to be a flight with an airline far from ARN (thus less likely that I'm going to fly them again), such as Hawaiian Airlines or ANA. Another choice would be one of my flights with Air Berlin, since they are now defunct. But if I only got to do one flight again, just to be able to write a trip report about it, it would be BahamasAir flight UP325 between Nassau (NAS) and Freeport (FPO). I sat glued to the window for the entire flight, not wanting to leave the Bahamas. It would have been great to have some more photos from that flight!

Onboard a Bahamasair Dash 8

Ready for boarding at Freeport (FPO)

Q: Do you have any aviation related stuff on your bucket list?

A: I wouldn't call them bucket list items, but there are some things that I'd really like to do. Such as travelling to LAX to plane spot at the iconic In-N-Out Burger restaurant. I'm also looking for fifth freedom flights (such as Royal Brunei Airlines between Dubai and London - how cool is that?), and other cool routes to try new airlines and different kinds of aircraft. For example, it would be cool to fly on a Fokker before they disappear completely. At the moment, there are actually a couple of Fokker 50:s used on a domestic route from Stockholm, but the tickets come with a hefty price tag, so I'm still wondering if it's worth it or not.