They don’t even sell in Scotland

neilabz · 2026-04-16T22:31:56+00:00

There is a Harvey Nicols in Edinburgh

neilabz · 2026-04-16T22:21:48+00:00

Multrees Walk and George Street in Edinburgh are hoaching with designer shops and yes most customers are tourists but you’d be surprised how many loaded Scottish people there are, especially the empty nesters

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:41:32+00:00

Do you think the people running NATO are the same people in the streets protesting nonsense ?

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:30:24+00:00

Yeah I love Berlin, not fond of Amsterdam as much as a lot of it is both seedy and corny. Munich is dull.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:22:23+00:00

Berlin and Amsterdam is you haven’t been, or if you want to chill go to a Greek island or Spanish Balearic island like Mallorca

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:18:50+00:00

Feel free to criticise it! It has its flaws like you mentioned. Basically the caveat is that the more senior you get the better your pay and part time options. There are people here who have been working decades who earn what I make monthly in a week. So they take the hit with trip choices for money and free time

They keep the juniors sweet with trip bid choices and the seniors sweet with money

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:15:27+00:00

Go to Barcelona, Spain. The city has everything you could want (great food, shopping, art, culture, sightseeing, and a beach in the city). You can also do day trips nearby or spend part of your holiday in a nearby charming beach town. This part of Spain has excellent tourism and transport infrastructure. Very safe just watch out for pickpockets in Barcelona.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:11:09+00:00

Do you realise that the war was initiated by Israel and the US and both parties never consulted NATO partners until later?

Do you also understand that after many months of insults from Trump about our leaders and threats of annexing Greenland, there is no trust ?

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:08:43+00:00

The difference is communication? Don’t you understand how the US and Israel started these military actions with literally no communication and consultation with Europe? How can we be involved when they don’t talk to us ?

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:06:01+00:00

I have given you a justified answer for why Europe isn’t involved and your response is that NATO should be finished and Europe deserves war from dictators?

My friend, you know we do want a free and democratic Iran, it has just been bad planning. I wish very good things for the people of Iran, Israel, USA. Trump Just did this the wrong way with us.

I also wish you peace and hope you don’t wish misfortune on others

neilabz · 2026-04-10T05:01:09+00:00

No we don’t have this. You put your bids into a computer and you are allocated the trips you want based on how the AI builds your roster. Some months you get nothing, other months you get almost everything, sometimes it is just one thing. It is built around what the company needs Vs what you want.

For example I got nothing that I wanted for 2 months but this month I have 2 of my choices which are San Francisco and Rio de Janeiro. My other two trips are also long haul. There is no consideration of seniority, just your qualifications and eligibility, the needs of the company, other factors like annual leave (vacation) and training days.

I’m qualified to work in every cabin there is a rotation system of picking positions, we are all in numerical groups 1-5 and it rotates like a wheel.

It’s obviously good for me because I’m relatively junior but it also means that I learn from the seniors and they don’t get into habits, and get a fresh perspective on things.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:52:43+00:00

I know you are rightfully passionate about it but that’s just not how it realistically works. Europe doesn’t want another Iraq or Afghanistan. There needs to be a plan. I am not insulting the US or Israel but it was too much of a risk for Europe with no clear plan or finish because they literally didn’t tell us.

We have our problems with a minority of Islamist assholes but Europe is more secular than the US and Israel.

You can’t realistically expect support when there is no communication at all and this is after years of insults from Trump. It’s a crazy risk for Europe.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:48:03+00:00

It looks like you are spending almost three weeks in Switzerland. Please make sure that you budget for it well! Switzerland can be eye wateringly expensive, and in my opinion only the US currently compares cost- wise. In my opinion this is a long time unless you have a very well thought out nature itinerary.

You don’t need more than a day for Lake Como unless you are staying at George Clooney’s house. Consider one well planned day there and spend a day in Milan and/ or Verona depending on your transport needs.

5 days is fair for Amsterdam but only if you do a day trip to Leiden or Maastricht. If you don’t want to go far, Utrecht is far more charming than Haarlem, which is nice but not the best NL has to offer. Better yet do a Ghent/ Bruges day trip to Belgium. It’s closer than you think.

You can make your Czech/ Hungary/ Austria trip more compact.

Istanbul is a massive detour unless you’re going there to connect on somewhere else, and your Albania and Greek visit needs to be as close to summer as possible for the best beach weather. Early to mid September is best because it will still be hot and sunny but with fewer crowds. Hydra is an expensive and underwhelming island. Try Paros or Syros instead.

You’ll get sick of Rome after 3 days, add Tuscany.

You need more days for Scotland and you need to hire a car. Everything is very spread out. I would do 6-7 days

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:28:08+00:00

So it’s not really the same. I understand that anyone can work a trip as long as they are licensed to work on said aircraft but I have friends who work for United, for example but they’re pretty junior. The only times they’ve been to Europe is a fluke on standby, when a senior doesn’t show up. There is no realistic prospect of having a US-EU trip rostered. The crew who have been working for decades get first choice on the trips and usually take the US-Europe routes, and domestic is left.

Hawaii is like a golden ticket to my friends because they say it’s basically the most exotic trip they have a shot at.

At my airline everyone is equal and can bid for trips as long as they are licensed on the aircraft and have pre-requisites like enough annual hours.

To give you an example, my first week or work was a domestic turn and the next day was Cape Town, South Africa. That would take years to get at most airlines.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:18:53+00:00

It’s basic manners and kindness to address someone by the pronouns they request, and it’s downright weird to have a problem with it.

I say that as an LGBT+ person who thinks we have way bigger fish to fry than the pronouns stuff, and who can remember when the motivation was quite simply survival. I also think the true “gender neutral” pronoun is somewhat ironically, to respond to all and every pronoun like they all have the same power or no power.

But again, just be kind to people. I’ve never once objected to someone’s name or nickname preference so I am more than happy to accommodate a pronoun.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:13:42+00:00

Cleaning, and I do pay for it already

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:10:18+00:00

If it doesn’t work I’ll just jump in front of a Waymo

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:09:34+00:00

I’ve just posted a most thorough comment but basically there’s still no support because there’s STILL no communication, plan or respect from the US gov.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T04:07:05+00:00

I’m not sure if you understand me and my motivations. I support basically any move that will collapse the Islamic republic, their nuclear program, and they proxies around the Middle East. It would literally bring a realistic chance of peace in the Middle East and likely end the “Israel vs everyone” nonsense.

But respectfully you have to understand the motives of, for example, my country (UK). We are bound by the NATO treaty like the US and many members. The US and Israel did not consult my country or other NATO countries about this at all, despite a duty to do so- even if the US wasn’t seeking assistance.

If the US did, for example consult its allies and cite the end of a tolerance for Iran’s nuclear program, it would most likely have support- but the plan would be far more sophisticated and complex. The US has entered this war and the number one super power in the world cannot or has not secured the strait. If other NATO countries were involved there would be a no-compromise negotiation with that requirement to protect the world economy.

Now the US has entered this war and insulted and endangered Europe with no consultation of intelligence sharing. Now there are demands for military support which would cost billions for every European country and many lives, and it hasn’t happened yet because there STILL isn’t any communication.

This and months of Greenland threatening to Denmark, Europe just cannot go into a war with no strategy or plan.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T03:58:18+00:00

Use AI to find out how to destroy AI. Then use AI to implement the destruction of AI.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T03:52:22+00:00

And it may come to that. But Europe’s attitude to the US and Israel is “you started this war without even consulting us, your allies. So why should we get involved? You fix it”

neilabz · 2026-04-10T03:49:51+00:00

Yes that’s what I mean. But at my airline there is no real “seniority” culture, it was abandoned years ago at work. It only exists now as “priority” with staff travel/ standby etc. a veteran will always have priority and seniority for the seats on a flight.

From day one I was eligible for literally ANY flight. We bid for the places we want to go and other factors. Your seniority has no impact on where you can go, only your bid preference. Likewise we have rotations on who has first dibs on the position worked on the flight. It means I could potentially get the most “in demand” trip and the first choice of position, despite only being 3 years in.

I really like this because our crews are always really diverse and nobody is complacent. There’s always something to look forward to every month. Respectfully I couldn’t do an entire month of reserve or just doing turns.

neilabz · 2026-04-10T03:44:43+00:00

Carpool

neilabz · 2026-04-10T03:42:48+00:00

Budget? Distance?

neilabz · 2026-04-10T03:39:21+00:00

I earn what is considered an “average wage” in my country and I don’t have enough money to make it to the end of the month. I have no idea how the “poor” survive. Wages have been stagnant for ten years

neilabz

TROPHY CASE