Separate Flight from SO?

mrskratt · November 2013

DH and I will be going on a trip (hopefully) for a friends wedding at an adults only resort next December 2014. I have some friends (that have kids) that will take different flights from their other half in case of anything were to happen to the plane and their kid(s) would still have a parent. I know this is scary to think about, but it did kind of make me think. How many of you take different flights (or plan to) from your other half when your kids aren't traveling with you?

SunflowersBride · November 2013

This seems excessive, since the odds of dying in a plane crash are negligible. I would fly with your DH and not worry about it.

KristaBelieve · November 2013

We fly together and will continue to but this has been a conversation between my DH and I.

vstevens · November 2013

Separate flights makes zero sense from a probabilities / rational expectation point of view.

Separate cars on long driving trips, however, are far more rational if you're the type to worry about things like this (since the chance of dying in a car accident is far, far greater than dying in a plane crash).

ChuggingWater · November 2013

Under that pretense, we should never ride in a vehicle together.

citybeach · November 2013

I actually have an aunt and uncle who do this. They travel A LOT and currently live in Asia, so will take separate flights when visiting their children and grandchildren.

To me though, it seems a bit excessive. You are much more likely to be involved in a car accident than a plane accident (without sounding too morbid..) so unless you travel in separate cars all the time too, it doesn't make much sense to me.

sugarland726 · November 2013

vstevens said:

Separate flights makes zero sense from a probabilities / rational expectation point of view.
Separate cars on long driving trips, however, are far more rational if you're the type to worry about things like this (since the chance of dying in a car accident is far, far greater than dying in a plane crash).

This. I honestly have never heard of this idea until TB. It still doesn't deter me from flying with my H, though really, we never fly anywhere.

COgirl29 · November 2013

I feel like that is excessive...the probability of a plane crash is so low. By this logic, spouses should never ride in a car together.

ccip82 · November 2013

Honestly, this has got to be one of the strangest things I've read. People really do this?? I have terrible flying anxiety and the thought of taking separate flights has never even crossed my mind. Almost everyone of my friends in Scotland are expats. They fly with their SOs all the time and I know no one that does this...

People are weird.

People are fucking weird.

Edited to properly convey feelings on this issue.

moosebaby2011 · November 2013

The only time I ever heard of anyone taking a separate flight from their SO "just in case" was an old episode of "Mad About You". I had no idea anyone really did this IRL. And now I feel really old for mentioning "Mad About You".

Hkula · November 2013

Cars are definitely more dangerous. I've never heard of parents doing this. How would you decide who the kids go with?

mrskratt · November 2013

I, too, think it is excessive and crazy. I know more than one couple that actually does it, so it made me curious how many people on here do too. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't the crazy one for thinking it's crazy to fly separate :P

HeartOverMind · November 2013

I've never heard of this. I think it's really bizarre to take separate flights. I would travel with my husband. Period.

peanutmuse · November 2013

My former boss and his wife used to do this, but only when the kids were not traveling with them -- which I'm guessing is what you mean. If the kids were going, they flew together.

Honestly, I think that we would continue to fly together.

hurricanekb · November 2013

Call me a risk taker, but I'm flying with him!

Shannahbee · November 2013

I hope I don't start going through life with such a doomsday attitude after LO gets here! How morbid!
And totally agree with the car thing...

MeganWorden · November 2013

ss- I have honestly never given this a thought before

jldubb0626 · November 2013

I didn't even realize people did this.

ac1259 · November 2013

I had never actually thought about this..we don't travel much but I highly doubt I'd take a separate flight just on the possibility that something could go horribly wrong...I had never heard of that before though.

Piach · November 2013

Very weird for a couple to even think about this, in my opinion.

On a somewhat related note, my husband's office does have policies on how many employees & at what level can fly together on the corporate jet/same commerical flight. That totally makes sense to me.

They have 5 "chiefs" CEO, CFO, CMO, COO, CPO and only 2 can fly on the jet together. It is actually a very complex policy with different combinations of chiefs, VPs and directors that can fly together.

megngregk · November 2013

The thought of flying separately had never even occurred to me, and I think it's unnecessary and excessive. There's a better chance of dying in a car accident. I'm not about to start taking separate vehicles everywhere we go.

LindsB314 · November 2013

We fly together. I agree with everyone else and if people do this, they should take separate cars everywhere. I know a lot of people have extreme fears when it comes to flying so I can see where it comes from.

Roses87 · November 2013

I never thought about this before.. hmmm....

caraconner · November 2013

By this logic none of us should ride in cars with our SO because there are WAY more fatal car wrecks every single day.
We will always fly together.

gina0485 · November 2013

I hate to fly and would never fly alone as it stands, but to take separate flights just in case of a crash doesn't seem practical to me.

kteeswei · November 2013

Why bother doing this for a flight if you don't do it for driving. The probability of dying in a car accident is significantly higher- emphasizing significantly higher!!!

My answer is no, not unless we frequently chartered private planes (which are more dangerous) would the thought even cross my mind. And I don't imagine ever chartering a private puddle jumper...but I wouldn't mind having that problem

nancyvi · November 2013

This reminds me of when I was a kid and our 4th grade class went on a tour of our local Pepsi bottling plant. We were told that there were only two people in the world who had (or was is knew?) the Pepsi formula and they always travelled in separate planes/cars in case one of them had an accident. For some reason that always stuck in my mind! ha!!

I also think it's ridiculous for parents to take separate planes.

Toribaker171 · November 2013

SunflowersBride said:
This seems excessive, since the odds of dying in a plane crash are negligible. I would fly with your DH and not worry about it.

Agree! The likelihood of a car accident is way higher, but no one says to drive separate "just in case". Seems a little paranoid. I say just enjoy your trip and fly together. I hate flying alone anyway.

Jmattis · November 2013

Planes are safer than cars and the probably of getting into a car crash is significantly higher, so I would say we would never fly separately. I don't want to live life that way and will do the best I can to not put myself in dangerous situations.

laowaigringa · November 2013

Weirdly, I remember my HS Spanish teacher mentioning that she and her husband flew separately when they took a trip to Spain together. Obviously it struck me because I still remember it! I do think it's a bit morbid and probably unnecessary, but I guess I can see why people do it. Tragedies do happen all the time and though of course car accidents are much more common, I think that your chances of one or both of you surviving a car accident are a LOT higher than one or both of you surviving if something goes wrong with your plane! DH and I live overseas and we fly a lot but I don't think there will be many times when we fly without our kids anyway, but if we do I still don't think we'd go separately. I do plan to have a will drawn up next year where we specify what should happen to our kids if something does happen to both of us. Morbid maybe, but I just think it's one of the responsibilities you need to take as a parent. I'd hate to think that some court was deciding what would happen to my kids!

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Separate Flight from SO?

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