Fbgdavidson From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 3687 posts, RR: 32 Reply 1, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 2209 times:
Have to say I rather like writing trip reports, there is a limit though. I think I've written enough trip reports on BA Club World between LHR and IAD so no longer bother! If I try a new combination of airline, route or class of travel then I'll write a report otherwise it is just a repeat.
I have gone on to write another 15 reports most unremarkable alhtough a couple of my reports seems to have a fair bit of staying power: BA First: London Heathrow-Washington (with Pics) (by Fbgdavidson Oct 4 2005 in Trip Reports) - 22,300 views and 79 replies. (4th most viewed report in A.net history)
This is partly skewed by the fact some people email me about my reports (usually not a.net members) and ask questions and I feel for the sake of completeness they are best served in the thread themselves so they are occasionally bumped.
"My first job was selling doors, door to door, that's a tough job innit" - Bill Bailey
Krje1980 From Norway, joined Feb 2006, 192 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 2204 times:
First time I wrote a TR was when I flew from Norway to Manila in december. I did not include pictures, but still got quite a lot of nice replies. This encouraged me to write another TR about my flight to North Daktoa, also starting out in Norway, that I took very recently. I included pictures this time, but few people responded, so I felt the effort was not quite worth it this time. However, this might because my TR was a pretty standard economy class report which I figure most people know about anyway. It is not like those fancy business class or first class reports with pictures of delicious food, fully-reclined seats etc. Also, I took quite a lot of pictures in CPH, but two other people posted trip reports featuring pics of CPH just few days before I posted mine, and, admittedly, my pictures were not as nice as theirs. I intend to write another TR when I go back to the Phils in december again though, but I hope this report becomes more popular than the last one
Jafa39 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 2196 times:
Took a while for people to start replying to mine but it took off after a while and I had a good run of them (19 in all) but there is only so much you can say about NZ domestic flights, unless something funny or weird happens, so I haven't done any for a while.
The "read by" count is as important as the replies.
No pics and unspectacular won't get you many replies, a.netters have high expectations.
BUT...if you put some of your thoughts and emotions into it and try to go beyond "Gate 4, FA was hot, FL360, departed at 13:15 + 20 secs, TSA Morons" mindset it will get those like me, who crave the oddball TR's, responding.
NO PICS OF FOOD!!!!!!! The people who get off on these scare me!!
Keep at it, hone your craft and make your mark.
Failing that, fly a 727 or 707 in Africa or Iran....guarranteed to get a response or 10!!!
Crox1 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2005, 302 posts, RR: 3 Reply 4, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 2184 times:
Hi
I have been put off writing a trip report by the lack of feedback from other A.Netters, you see loads of people read them, but, hardly anyone seems to leave feedback, if they do, it seems to consist of " great trip report" and the like.
Hardly inspiring
Andy
Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute
DeltaGuy767 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 633 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 2182 times:
Quoting A342 (Thread starter): To my first TR only one user replied. Granted, it had no pics and wasn't spectacular at all, but still I'm disappointed.
Same here my friend, but usually the more spectacular the TR, the better the response rate. Having pics and videos help tremendously.
A342 From Germany, joined Jul 2005, 4655 posts, RR: 4 Reply 7, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 2157 times:
Quoting Jafa39 (Reply 3): The "read by" count is as important as the replies.
I know, and I was also disappointed because of that. When the report was at the bottom of the first page, it seemed that it was the report that the smallest number of people had read.
Quoting Jafa39 (Reply 3): No pics and unspectacular won't get you many replies, a.netters have high expectations.
Quoting DeltaGuy767 (Reply 6): Same here my friend, but usually the more spectacular the TR, the better the response rate.
I also knew that before, but I don't know if I should bother writing another one, particularly as nothing spectacular is on the horizon.
Only some time after I had flown MUC-JFK-SFO-LAS-IAD-MUC I became a member of a.net. I decided not to write this TR, don't know why.
Quoting Jafa39 (Reply 3): BUT...if you put some of your thoughts and emotions into it and try to go beyond "Gate 4, FA was hot, FL360, departed at 13:15 + 20 secs, TSA Morons" mindset it will get those like me, who crave the oddball TR's, responding.
At least I tried:
"This time check-in took a while. We went straight to the departure area. A check of passports and boarding cards followed. Where is security ? I asked myself. Should BRU really be a dream for both pax and terrorists ?
We walked back the long way that we already knew. But then security came. I went through the metal detector and beep, off it went. The security guy said: "We´ll do a search with you" and it was done quite properly. My parents could hardly prevent laughing. I wanted to ask the guy how they could even consider a 15-year old boy a terrorist, but then I thought I´d better shut up. "
Jafa39 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 5 days 10 hours ago) and read 2151 times:
Quoting A342 (Reply 7): particularly as nothing spectacular is on the horizon.
Spectacular is a bad thing when flying, boring is good, it gives time for character assasinations and flights of fantasy about your fellow pax, such as.
"But the flight was marred by a constant nudging and poking from behind me as some over-achiever wrestled with the minutiae of industrial growth management or some such boring stuff and there isn’t much room on the tray tables so his portfolio kept digging me in the spine. I didn’t look back to see who it was but built up a mental image of some OCD Accountant with a fetish for green pencils, scribbling furiously… at one point a rhythmic pulsing started and I was convinced he was masturbating…all mental images stopped immediately and I concentrated instead on the earthy beauty of NZ flight attendants and the wonderfully, chainsaw-raucous tone of their voices, a cracked, husky and ultimately sexy (to me) lilt that has a suggestion of late nights, whiskey and a no-nonsense down to earth sensuality. "
Let your mind wander and seize the the Zen moment of oneness with your fellow travellers.
Quoting A342 (Reply 7): I wanted to ask the guy how they could even consider a 15-year old boy a terrorist, but then I thought I´d better shut up. "
That was a very wise thing to do! I wanted to transit LAX going AKL-LAX-LHR with my right hand in plaster so they can't take my fingerprints properly but felt this would end up with me being sent back to AKL.
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 9, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 5 days 10 hours ago) and read 2149 times:
Quoting Fbgdavidson (Reply 1): My first report was:
BA Club World: LHR-SFO-LHR September 2004 (by Fbgdavidson Oct 13 2004 in Trip Reports) - 5000 views and 17 replies
I have gone on to write another 15 reports most unremarkable alhtough a couple of my reports seems to have a fair bit of staying power:
BA First: London Heathrow-Washington (with Pics) (by Fbgdavidson Oct 4 2005 in Trip Reports) - 22,300 views and 79 replies. (4th most viewed report in A.net history)
BA First: LHR-CPT-LHR (w/pics + Video) (by Fbgdavidson Feb 23 2006 in Trip Reports) - 12,700 views and 54 replies. (18th most viewed in a.net history)
Hmmm - do we detect a pattern here ? Somebody is taking the notion of "loyalty program" a little too seriously. Live a little, how about flying on *gasp* an airline that ISN'T British Airways ? Or will your hard-wired Telegraph-reading brain blow a fuse at the notion ?
(just kidding ! I'm sure you read Private Eye as well, like a good cynic )
I am waiting to get my pictures back from my Indian Ocean marathon - if they are reasonable, I may astound the masses with a literary oeuvre of my own. No promises, mind.
Fbgdavidson From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 3687 posts, RR: 32 Reply 10, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 2140 times:
Quoting JGPH1A (Reply 9): Hmmm - do we detect a pattern here ? Somebody is taking the notion of "loyalty program" a little too seriously. Live a little, how about flying on *gasp* an airline that ISN'T British Airways ? Or will your hard-wired Telegraph-reading brain blow a fuse at the notion ?
The choices make me sweat a little much. UA C? VS J? AA via JFK? ....
Either way BA give me pretty good benefits so why bother flying an airline where I have no status?
"My first job was selling doors, door to door, that's a tough job innit" - Bill Bailey
Lordanmol From India, joined May 2005, 441 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 2139 times:
My first and second trip report was a failure, then my third and fourth got one reply altogether, but the one reply was good. I could probably figure why it didnt recieve anymore as the title was simply 'SIN-DEL'
RoseFlyer From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 8737 posts, RR: 52 Reply 12, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 2132 times:
My first trip report was somewhat popular with 9 comments and 2600 views. It was a special trip since it was on United in Transpacific First Class. However it wasn't that great compared to my current ones. I now include a lot more detail and sometimes post pictures.
Nowadays I only write trip reports for tips that I feel are special. That usually means that they are in first or business class, long haul, or on a unique airline. My good trip repots tend to average 2,000-5,000 views, but the number of comments widely varies. I personally like hearing feedback and try to offer it on the trip reports that I do read. A good trip report takes a long time to write, so it is polite to offer feedback in my opinion.
My most popular trip report in terms of number of views was my trip on Hooters Air that has over 10,000 views, but still only 13 comments. The most number of comments that I have had is 30 about a recent trip on Aeroflot.
If you have never designed an airplane part before, let the real designers do the work!
LH492 From Germany, joined Jan 2006, 208 posts, RR: 13 Reply 13, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 4 days 15 hours ago) and read 2116 times:
My first trip report was about a trip with LH and UA from Germany to San Francisco and back and it had like 7 responses, which were pretty positive.
My latest trip report is also my most succesful one, it is about a trip from europe to Hawaii and it has 35 responses so far (I do not think that any more are coming, since it is at the bottom of the page).
I put a lot of effort into it and it really paid off, it is a lot of fun, writing those reports and getting the chance to share experiences with other people.
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 15, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 2101 times:
Quoting Fbgdavidson (Reply 10): Either way BA give me pretty good benefits so why bother flying an airline where I have no status?
It's not about status - if you are a true red-blooded anorak, you should be keen to try other airlines, if only to confirm your worst suspicions about them. OK if you will insist on going to Washington, yes your choices are limited. You could always (and here's a radical concept) ermmm go somewhere else ? I suppose you are a bit blighted having to fly from LON - no fun selection of European capitals to hub through. I used to travel a lot from NCE to BOS, and I had a huge choice, and tried them all, pretty much. LHR (BA), LGW (VS), AMS (NW), CDG (AF), JFK(DL), ZRH (LX), FRA/MUC(LH), MXP (AZ) - some were MUCH worse than others, but it's all educational.
Fbgdavidson From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 3687 posts, RR: 32 Reply 16, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 2100 times:
Quoting JGPH1A (Reply 15): It's not about status - if you are a true red-blooded anorak, you should be keen to try other airlines, if only to confirm your worst suspicions about them. OK if you will insist on going to Washington, yes your choices are limited. You could always (and here's a radical concept) ermmm go somewhere else ? I suppose you are a bit blighted having to fly from LON - no fun selection of European capitals to hub through. I used to travel a lot from NCE to BOS, and I had a huge choice, and tried them all, pretty much. LHR (BA), LGW (VS), AMS (NW), CDG (AF), JFK(DL), ZRH (LX), FRA/MUC(LH), MXP (AZ) - some were MUCH worse than others, but it's all educational.
Well since the girlfriend (now wife) lived in the area I'd probably have been given grief for avoiding the place on a regular basis
Either way I'm a creature of habit and so change isn't a good thing! I grew up flying BA to LAX between four and nine times a year and when I started my own flying career I carried on flying them. I liked BA so stuck to it, as the saying goes 'If it ain't broke don't fix it'
I guess I'm not a very good anorak, which is a good thing
"My first job was selling doors, door to door, that's a tough job innit" - Bill Bailey
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 17, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 2074 times:
Quoting Fbgdavidson (Reply 16): I guess I'm not a very good anorak, which is a good thing
Hmmm - base and immoral confessions like that are grounds for immediate and sustained banning !! Stone the blasphemer !
Seriously though, there are other good ones out there that you might like, and lets face it your gold FQTV status with BA is in no danger whatever happens. Live dangerously
BritPilot777 From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1075 posts, RR: 3 Reply 18, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 2068 times:
Btriple7 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 1139 posts, RR: 9 Reply 19, posted (6 years 11 months 1 week 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 2062 times:
My first and only trip report is this one (Sorry my pics are no longer there): BWI-SNN-DUB On Aer Lingus EI118 (Pics Included) (by Btriple7 Sep 10 2005 in Trip Reports)
10 Replies (Not including my own) and read 1185 times, not bad if you ask me.
Anyway, one trip report that sticks out in my mind is this one: Virgin Nigeria To Ghana From LHR (Pics) (by Soups Aug 28 2005 in Trip Reports)
This was Soups's first trip report. 37 replies and read 2421 times. That's pretty good for a first trip report. I don't know why I like this one so much. I think it is because it is out of the ordinary and is well written. Two thumbs up, Soups.
LAX, LHR, JFK, FRA threads get rather boring after a while. I usually only read them if I am about to take a trip and want to find out what the airlines/airports are like.
Pictures do not always make the report better, but they do keep the reader's attention more. A well written report sometimes does not need pictures. If you're not a gifted writer, however, pics do always help.
Being the most popular with just over 2900 replies.
They are bloody hard to write; you really need to take a note pad with you to write down all the important details. Pictures also help.
I enjoy reading a good trip report, more exotic the airline the better. I am also interested in why people went on holiday, so I want more than just the flights themselves.
BNE From Australia, joined Mar 2000, 3156 posts, RR: 13 Reply 22, posted (6 years 10 months 4 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 1955 times:
Quoting A342 (Reply 21): You surely mean views, don't you ?
Of course, and I should have been more specific, my most popular viewed trip report, nothing is going to come to Mirrodie's trip report. The Concorde Experience In Minute Detail (by Mirrodie Apr 15 2003 in Trip Reports)
Sponsor Message: 
From Germany, joined Jul 2005, 4655 posts, 
From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 3687 posts, 
From Norway, joined Feb 2006, 192 posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
"
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
.... 
From India, joined May 2005, 441 posts, 
From UK - England, joined Oct 2005, 3184 posts, 
From Australia, joined Mar 2000, 3156 posts, 
Printer friendly format 
