Air travel: The Motor of Globalisation

Judith Roos — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 22:31:13 +0000

Air travel is globalisation. Globalisation is air travel.

However we turn it, fact is, that we want to feel connected. We want to meet people from all over the world. We love to travel and discover new places. Previously we travelled by train, today by planes. Our generation might be more aware than ever of the negative environmental impact of aviation but this seems to not affect the growth in air travel.

As globalisation is increasing, the air transport industry is growing, too. However, the prices we pay for a flight are going in the opposite direction – they decrease and allow more people to fly. What are the reasons for that? What is it that often allows airlines to be the cheapest travel method at least within Europe?

Travelling has become easy

According to Sir Tim Clark, President of the airline Emirates, we influence the travel industry: “The way people travel, their decisions for travelling, the amount of money they’re prepared to pay, new entrants coming to market, long-range single aisles, it’s all changing.”

Nowadays, we can reach almost any destination easily. We desire to be fast in getting from place A to B. Taking a plane is often the simplest way. However, travel time alone does not always determine our decision.

Often the price becomes the determinant in the end. During the years, air travel has become more affordable for a growing number of people, often being cheaper than train tickets.

Advantages for airlines

According to the climate activists website 1010uk.org, airlines profit from some important and influential advantages. One simple reason is the fact that pilots, crew and airport staff work for a shorter amount of time than railway employees when compared to the same travel distance. The railways must be maintained and so must the signals, junctions and trains themselves.

Also the competitive factor makes a difference. While there is often just one train company in a country, customers usually have multiple airlines to choose from. This is why airlines try to compete with each other by having the lowest ticket prices.

Airlines also get support from the government. If an airline is government-owned, an airline can automatically be cheaper. According to a list from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), especially the cheap airlines are more government shared than others.

Technology has made the buying and selling of tickets easy. They can be accessed online or via phone, further lowering costs. There are no travel agents to pay, nor printing or shipping fees. Furthermore, budget airlines fly to airports with lower landing fees and they use the same type of planes to reduce their maintenance costs.

Flying is more

What we need to keep in mind is that flying is not just a cheap way of travelling. It is first of all a way of connecting two locations. Flying is also saving time, allowing us to allocate resources for other things. It is feeling free, being somewhere where human beings are not typically supposed to be. Flying is feeling secure, trusting the pilot that he will guide us safely to our destination.

It does not surprise me that flying is so popular in a fast living world. However, we should still remember to stop and think. Why not take the time to decide if a cheap and fast flight is really what we need? When going on a holiday is it not the goal to slow down?

By Judith Roos

Photo credits:

Rüdiger Stehn, Altenholz Schleswig-Holstein Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0

oddharmonic, Denver International Airport Colorado United States, CC BY-NC 2.0

bratispixl, 4 Triebwerke, CC BY-NC 2.0

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Iran: Photos From The “Forbidden” Middle East

Sascha Simon — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 22:27:22 +0000

When I told anyone about my plans of traveling to Iran, the first reaction was always scepticism. They were concerned if it was safe to go. After a lifetime of mostly negative news from the Middle East, I wanted to go myself and see if I could dispel the narrative. That was the main reason for me to visit. Iranians are painfully aware about their country’s reputation abroad and that only amplifies their hospitality, which is unlike anything I have ever experienced anywhere else. If a foreigner has a confused look on his or her face, it will result in multiple pedestrians coming to offer help. These people have extended their kindness and I was invited to dinner more often than not. Some have even become my impromptu guides and accompanied me around their cities, like showing me the backdoor entries of mosques. They would always insist on paying for my expenses and refuse to take any of my money for buses, restaurant bills or taxis. In the beginning this makes a guest sometimes feel quite uncomfortable, but the argument quickly becomes tiring and pointless so one should just accept their fate of constantly being invited.

Considering the swamp of negative news coming out of Iran since the 1979 Revolution, it was remarkable to me how safe I felt. I could walk the streets until dawn. Apart from my friends and family worrying about my safety, the most prominent worry they also had was me supporting such a government as Iran’s by simply visiting. While I cannot and do not want to dispute that, I would argue that actually going there encourages average civilians that the rest of the world still appreciates them even if their government is flawed (something Iranians frequently speak out about in private), and spending money in the tourism industry can only help with the struggling economy.

Apart from politics, the sites in the cities, like Isfahan and Shiraz, are breath-taking, as are the dunes of the Varzaneh desert or the alien-like colourful rocks and sands on Hormuz Island. Transportation from A to B is easy and accommodation and food are comparatively cheap. The Middle East does not have many countries to choose from if you want to travel within the region, but Iran ought to be on the top of everyone’s list. In my opinion, traveling is the best way to challenge Islamophobia and the predominant negative reputation of the Middle East and its people.

Photography by Sascha Simon

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Air travel: The Motor of Globalisation

Iran: Photos From The “Forbidden” Middle East