On January 1st 1914, the first commercial flight took place across Tampa Bay in Florida, USA, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). How far we have come in those 100 years, not only has commercial aviation helped bridge gaps between nations and brought the world closer together – so has the internet….. In 2013… I travelled some 27,162 miles / 43,713 kilometres by air on 19 individual flights operated by a mix of 8 different airlines. Of these flights, 7 were in Business Class and 12 in Economy, 6 were operated by low cost carriers and 13 by full service airlines.          (Click a picture above to read the review) There were also some firsts… It was the first time I flew Air Asia, Air Asia X, China Southern Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines  and Scoot Airlines. It was the first time I flew in the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner (story to come) and the first time I visited Singapore and South Korea with a return to Thailand after 11 years.The most common read article is Vietnam Airlines Business Class Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City with the Scoot Airlines ScootBiz Review coming in second.

So where are you from? My readership has increased 800% since the same time last year with visitors from 117 nations – thats truly global! Most readers come from Australia followed by those from the United States, Singapore, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada, Germany and Thailand rounding out the top ten.

And where to in 2014? Always the ‘planner’ I have some trips and flights ”penciled’ in for the year ahead 😉 But I wont spoil the fun just yet! For commercial aviation, I agree with what the IATA director-general stated “The potential of commercial flight to keep changing the world for the better is almost unlimited” Thanks for everyone’s support and comments through 2013! With modern commercial flights now more available than ever and the global reach of the internet I look forward to making more international friends with FreakyFlier.com in 2014!

~ HAPPY NEW YEAR ~