This is episode two of our 2023 podcast series. Listen to the episode here and find other episodes and previous series here
Today we are joined by Helen Coffey, head of travel at The Independent.
She published her first book last year: ‘Zero Altitude: How I learned to fly less and travel more’. Helen has taken the flight free pledge for the past four years, which is quite a radical move for a travel writer.
Helen
The longer I've been a travel writer, the more I notice how travel encapsulates so many things. Experiencing different cultures, seeing new places. I think that it’s important that we leave our little island, to see other places and talk to other people. A lot of the tourism models that have prevailed over the last hundred years need to change, because when you are just dropping into places, you are not really seeing things.
Flight Free UK
You were on our podcast in 2020 when the flight free year wasn’t quite as we expected. Yet you stuck with it and signed up for the flight free pledge again!
Helen
2020 felt like a cheat year, so I renewed my pledge for 2021. But that was still a strange year for travel, with traffic light systems and all kinds of things. So in 2022, I thought I’ll do it again. Funnily enough, when you’ve taken the pledge three years in a row, your habits have changed.
People assume it was something to tick off a list and now I've done it, I can go back onto a plane. But actually that’s not the case. The marvels of slow travel are much more enjoyable and rewarding.
Flight Free UK
That's the whole idea behind asking people to try a year without flying: to give it a try, in order to gain an insight into alternative ways of travel and the benefits of staying grounded.
We are very keen to show that not flying does not mean not travelling, so can you tell us about the trips that you managed to go on, despite Covid?
Helen
The furthest I have been is Morocco. It was a 10 day trip and it was amazing. Getting there by ferry was a wonderful way to arrive. You kind of think, ‘I’ve made it!’ as you pull into a new country.
I’ve experienced a lot of European trips by train but also by ferry: I’ve taken the ferry to the Hoek of Holland to get to Amsterdam, and I’ve also taken the ferry from Portsmouth to get to Santander and Bilbao in Spain. From there I explored more of Spain by coach and by train. It turns trips into adventures.
Flight Free UK
Have you done any of the night trains?
Helen
There was a new sleeper train from Paris to Vienna, which I'd been desperate to try, so I did that in December. You can get an afternoon Eurostar to Paris and from there, an overnight train, so you wake up in Vienna at around 10 in the morning.
Depending on where you are going, if there’s a sleeper train it can often work out feeling quicker than taking a plane which is a big selling point to people whose argument is that they are time poor. Sleeping is dead time anyway.
Flight Free UK
How has your life as a travel writer changed since taking the pledge?
Helen
I take fewer trips but the ones I take are more intentional. As a travel writer, you get invited on lots of press trips that have been organised by the tourist board or a chain of hotels, and it’s easy to say yes. In 2019, I calculated that I’d taken 26 flights in 6 months, which is pretty much the equivalent of one a week. What was so distressing is that sometimes I didn’t even want to go. It now feels to me like such a waste.
I’d stopped appreciating it. And the difference now is that I plan my trips, and when you get to do it, it's exciting, it's not just another trip that I have to go on for my job.
Flight Free UK
So let's talk about your book Zero Altitude. It’s great!
Helen
I wanted it to be a combination of being an honest travelogue and an exploration of the facts about flying. I think lots of people know that flying creates a lot of carbon emissions, but it seems very complicated, and with offsetting and new technology, they think it's probably alright. That's certainly what I thought before doing the research.
But in the course of talking to climate change scientists and experts, I realised that it’s not actually very complicated at all. If the question is, do we need to fly less, the answer is, yes.
If the question is, do we need to fly less, the answer is, yes.
Flying at the current level cannot be part of a net zero society because of the high number of emissions. The technology that exists is very far off being implemented at any kind of scale. There are solutions, but they are no match for the number of flights we take, and there’s no talk from any politicians about reducing the number of flights.
Flight Free UK
How has your outlook about travel changed?
Helen
I had the idea that taking the flight free pledge in 2020 would be a quirky New Years Resolution that would give me a great angle as a travel writer. I now feel almost like a completely different person to when I started. I think it’s very unlikely that flying will ever be a regular feature of my life again.
The main outlook change for me has been the enjoyability of slow travel. Once you’ve experienced it, it’s a game changer. Being immersed in the landscape as you travel and making that as much of the trip as well as where you are going – I’m realising how true the cliche is, that it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. I think I’m a bit of a slow travel addict, which has been the most surprising turn of events.
Flight Free UK
What are your travel plans for 2023?
Helen
There’s another new sleeper train launching in May, from Brussels to Berlin, so I’m very keen to do that. In 2020 I was supposed to take a cargo ship, which didn’t happen due to Covid, but now they are opening up some routes, so I think I might go for whatever’s available because I’ve always wanted to travel by Cargo ship.
Flight Free UK
Thank you so much Helen, it’s so inspiring to hear your experiences and I’m sure you will inspire and have inspired lots of people to take our flight free challenge as well. If you are inspired to sign up for a flight free year or to make your own pledge, you can do so on our website: flightfree.co.uk
You can find Helen @LenniCoffey on Twitter and of course at the Independent.
Listen to the full episode here and find other episodes and previous series here .
Credits:
Interview conducted and produced by Anna Hughes. Voiceover: Lou Millington. Intro music: Call to Arms by Aaron Paul Low. Outro music: First Action Hero by Aaron Paul Low.
