New York - a given bucket list-destination for any old Friends-fan. Or? Photo by Oliver Niblett
For someone living in the UK, a trip to New York might seem like the ultimate celebratory thing to do. Anna Hughes at Flight Free UK has learned to see it differently:
For my 21st-birthday I went to New York with my twin sister. At the age when we were obsessed with Friends, we couldn’t wait to spend a few busy days absorbing the sights familiar from our TV screens: the Empire State Building, Central Park, Bloomingdale’s, Staten Island, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge. And the reality didn’t disappoint. We ate slices of pizza from a street vendor in Soho and tried eggs, bacon and maple syrup on our breakfast waffles, we walked for miles through the grid-like streets and took great pleasure in ticking everything off our list.
“We couldn’t wait to spend a few busy days absorbing the sights familiar from our TV screens”
So while it had everything we had wanted, in reality, it was very difficult. The flight made me desperately sick – I have vivid memories of throwing up in a bin on arrival in the hotel lobby. We were reprimanded by the police for ‘jay-walking’, even though we didn’t know what it was. We got lost. Our birthday being in January it was bitterly cold with a ferocious, biting wind, and as cash-strapped and naive tourists there was nothing for it but to walk the city, practically running across Central Park just so we could ‘do’ it before our toes fell off, and entering every department store, museum and cafe we passed just so we could warm up.
Of course, we were excited to be there, in the Big Apple, walking down the streets of our Friends heroes. But while it was a memorable experience and a fun holiday, as I have learned more about the world I realise it gave me nothing that I can’t find closer to home. The UK has tall buildings, too, and parks, and suspension bridges across rivers. The bustle of our cities is just as thrilling as New York’s buzz, if only we stop to look. One can be a tourist in their own city – all it takes is a fresh pair of eyes.
“That flight to New York produced 1.9 tonnes CO2 per passenger – straight into the upper atmosphere, where it does the most damage”
But ultimately, my overriding motivation in choosing a holiday destination now is always tied to the environmental impact. That flight to New York produced 1.9 tonnes CO2 – that’s tonnes, as in 1000kgs of planet-busting emissions straight into the upper atmosphere, where it does the most damage. And that’s not the emissions for the whole plane, that’s per passenger. Nearly two tonnes of CO2, per passenger. I just cannot justify that kind of carbon output just so I can go on holiday when people are dying right now because of the climate crisis.
“Don’t you want to go to America?” interviewers ask when discussing my decision to no longer fly. “Won’t your life be all the poorer if all these destinations are off the table? What about New York?”
“Well, New York is a great destination,” I reply. “But so are many places that are closer to home.” I can get to pretty much any European city by train for less than 20kg of CO2 – a fraction of the impact of that NY flight.
Long haul encourages us to travel vast distances that are essentially not going to happen by other means. It’s unlikely you would choose to drive to India, but a flight to Delhi is easily booked. New York is only an ocean crossing away, but who has 10 days to spare either side of their holiday to go by boat?
“Travelling across land by train is hands down a more pleasant experience than flying”
On the other hand, our short-haul flights can much more easily be replaced by other means, and are close enough to home for the timings to work, too. In addition to the carbon savings, it's about the experience. Travelling across land by train is hands down a more pleasant experience than flying. You see so much more, and feel connected to your surroundings and your fellow travellers. You can get up whenever you like and go to the toilet, or wander down to the cafe bar.
With a lifetime of travel on my doorstep I don’t feel one bit that I’m missing out by not travelling long haul. Sure, until time and money allows me to sail around the world (only partly joking) there are a huge number of destinations that I will never see. But there are a huge number of equally compelling destinations here that I won't get around to seeing either – and for them, I wouldn’t need an emissions-heavy jet to do it. Shunning long-haul is fine by me – the jet lag and sick-in-a-bin misery isn't worth it, and much more powerfully, I just cannot justify the extreme emissions when there are so many other destinations within easy reach.
“As I have learned more about the world I realise it gave me nothing that I can’t find closer to home”
Not long after the New York trip I went to York with my boyfriend at the time – Old York, by train, tracking north-east out of Manchester where we were studying, skirting the edge of the Peak District, passing through the old industrial towns of Huddersfield and Dewsbury with their tall brick chimneys, then speeding onwards through Leeds and the villages of central Yorkshire. Our hotel was near a Wetherspoons – students both, it was all we needed. The weekend was spent walking around the walls, visiting the sights and sitting in cosy pubs.
I had as good a time in that classic Yorkshire city with its narrow cobbled streets as I did in its American equivalent. Because it ticked all the boxes of what travel should be: spending time with someone you love, in a place where you can discover new things, with good food and drink. Isn't that why we travel? Perhaps experiencing New York through watching all those episodes of Friends is good enough.
Do you have a flight free-story to share with us? Or are you curious about leading a flight free-life but are uncertain if it will work for you? Please let us know at info@flightfreeusa.org - sharing stories is an important part of inspiring each other on the way towards a much needed systemic change!
And of course, if you have already chosen not to fly but haven’t yet taken the Flight Free pledge - please do so here.