Be careful in South Africa
 

Sure makes the ‘burgs and ‘villes all that more appealing on the 717…

Yeah but Intl you get to say you were dead tired and messed your sleep up for 3 nights to spend a day in another country.

I like going abroad, I like doing it from a comfy seat in the back and going for a week.

To each their own, but the same could happen in the 'burgs and 'villes too. We all need to be aware of our surroundings and watch out for ourselves and each other on layovers. I hope that pilot is okay and can get back to work soon.

To each their own. I certainly don’t do it for destinations - exactly the opposite - even though some of the destinations are nice. I get to fly a 3-day worth over 30 hours - one leg over, one leg back vs a 15-hour 3-day with multiple legs, aircraft swaps, etc. I miss Caribbean turns, etc, but with the efficiency of int, that’s a lot of time off - and quite a bit more $, for WAY less work. And some of the shorter legs aren’t much longer than a trans con, but you’re augmented with a break - pretty ridiculously easy.

But you’re right, for the high efficiency stuff, if you’re a bad plane sleeper, it’ll be rough.

Yep for sure; best part of working here is something for everybody.

Yeah stuff can happen but I'm pretty sure there's no torturing in Burgville, USA.

BTK was from Wichita right, crazy happens everywhere even FBI using enhanced interrogation techniques.

Boston,
Baltimore,
Burgs,
Bottom of Africa,
Boeing doors…
Beware the B’s!

BTK was a lone serial killer. This was a gang of thugs kidnapping and torturing to rob. There are more than just this one.

Here's a quote from the report: "Kidnappings have been on the rise in South Africa in recent years, with South African Police Service statistics suggesting they have more than tripled in the space of a decade, rising from 4,306 cases in 2014 to nearly 15,342 in 2023."

There's a difference.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b2476810.html no pay wall

Ah crap. My next trip is on a Boeing with a B Boring and we have layovers is Boston, Boise, and Bellevue…. I might B sick just in case :D

I agree there’s a difference, but I disagree that it’s limited to South Africa or even far away locations.

Most fleets go to Mexico which has numerous reports of kidnappings and killings, but this was about the 717 so..
https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-have-the-highest-murder-rates/

Sadly much of the 717 range has seen murder rates dramatically increase over the last decade.

There was a comment about the 717 seemingly being a safe bid. Maybe it’s safer, but not by as much as we would like it to be. All of us need to be aware of our surroundings.

The map says 2021 numbers, and yes all the highest states are a 717 flight from ATL. It also has New York as one of the lower, well below Georgia. Massachusetts is in the lowest catagory. I don't know what those rates are compared to international rates but it would be interesting to look. Maybe it's just my feel but I think we are safer domestically. We at least have one less reason: Americans... I originally commented on torture not homicides but it's all violent crime.

That Delta pilot in Boston got his room broken into by the FBI and tortured in the bathtub… soooo

Was he tortured or detained and interigated for about an hour?

NO WHERE near the same.

In this day and age, everything can be redefined.

The fragile types would probably consider being cuffed to a crapper as "torture".

Any updates on that situation?

My sentiment is just that smalltown, USA doesn't necessarily gurantee saftey vs South Africa. One could get caught in one of our many mass shootings here in the states or perhaps the BA pilot could have avoided getting kidnapped by declining to help the old lady who set him up. The main thing is to be safe and aware wherever you are.

depends on how they interrogated him. Obviously they weren’t going to F him up like the BA pilot was but it wasn’t just a chat.

Meh....the article said he was "roughed up" but that could happen in NYC, LA, Chicago or Boston. Some unnamed "source" in a Daily Mail article (synonymous with sensational journalism) says he endured hours of torture. I'll take that anonymous hearsay with a grain of salt.

It was bad enough to be relieved. Jamaca and Mexico could be just as bad. Are you saying the risk is more or less flying to our international destinations?

when you read the layover guide for Bogota it seems like you'll be assasinated as soon as you walk on the street. I wonder if the Avianca layover guide for ATL says don't walk around downtown with expensive watch after dark?

The risk is the risk. Location is irrelevant.

my common sense tells me don't walk around downtown Atlanta with an expensive watch. But in fairness I wouldn't walk around many cities in the US with an expensive watch.....or ever really.

This is a good reminder that, even domestically, taking off your watch and using a layover wallet (in a front pocket), with limited things like a dedicated low-limit credit card, a photocopy of your passport photo page, and/or a little cash is a prudent.

I walked 4 miles each way to Monserrat first time I was there a few months ago. Seemed…okay. It was during daytime though but did walk through “livelier” neighborhoods than where the Hotel was.

As an aside; one thing that was kind of sad was seeing little groups of street children. The US has a fair share of poverty but generally you don’t at least see little kids living on the street.

Agreed! While all poverty sucks, US poverty is heads and tails above poverty in 3rd world countries. Go to BOM and see how low humanity can go. It is heartbreaking. Even if you help one, there are literally a million behind that one.

Some locations are riskier than others.

and in America you have to worry more about getting shot by a cop.. or anywhere in public

The location determines the risk. Madison is not equal to Bogata. There are more locations outside the U.S. with higher risk IMHO.

it’s really not this dramatic lol

you’re just as tired doing a long domestic day with a long duty day. Come home from work. Crash that night. Boom no more work for weeks. Both have pros and cons but 3 nights of messed up sleep? Nah. You’re on a 24-30 hour layover not a 90 hour layover where you get acclimatized to their time zones like your vacations

no matter how you slice it, you lose a sleep cycle every 3-day trip. I’ve never lost one on a domestic trip since I got senior enough to avoid redeyes.

Depends where in Bogota and where in Madison you are.

Joberg is statistically one of the most dangerous places we fly to. I'm always surprised why we have armed transport in Lagos but not in Joberg.

I take it you’ve never been to Memphis, St. Louis, Oakland, Chicago, or Detroit?

I'll put the worst area of each up against each other any day. I can't think of a single domestic city where we have armed escorts to our lodging.

It's a host nation jobs program. 😁

When were you in Joberg without armed transport?

This is key. I may have early mornings, or later nights, depending on the trip, but I never lose a nights sleep cycle.
If you start adding 6 day trips into the equation, that’s even worse. Not even accounting for 6 days to western Europe pay pretty close to 6 days of domestic.

They have done a lot if work on the waterfront in Detroit, it’s a lot nicer and more patrolled than it used to be.

I must of been told wrong.