Never one to shy away from expressing his opinion, Prince Philip has some choice words for economy class.
Speaking to the Aircraft Research Association, the Consort to Queen Elizabeth II made clear that he would never set foot in economy class.
If you travel as much as we do, you appreciate the improvements in aircraft design of less noise and more comfort – provided you don’t travel in something called economy class, which sounds ghastly.
The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen do fly commercial from time to time, especially for more personal trips. He’s right that airplanes have become more comfortable and quiet. While the days of baby grand pianos, lobster, and chateaubriand may be a distant memory, we’re arguably in a golden age of airline travel. Seats are more comfortable than they’ve ever been and the world is much smaller place thanks to a new generation of longhaul aircraft. If only the Concorde was still in service…
Of course, Prince Philip should be aware that his own grandsons have flown in that “ghastly” economy class on several occasions, sometimes even on low-cost-carriers. Just last month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle flew economy class on British Airways to Nice. Prince William was even sighted in economy class on a U.S. domestic flight.
CONCLUSION
I’m a big fan of Prince Philip. I respect his public service and sacrifice for his wife, Queen, and country. And I just love his gaffe-prone sense of humor. So when I saw this quote, I had to write about it…
In memoriam of the Duke of Edinburgh. This post is re-published from 2019.
What on earth are you doing reading “The Express”???
I read it after the Daily Mail.
ghastly ! … after the Daily snail …
Good for him – entertaining
Guardian: During a walkabout at an Edinburgh electronics factory, Prince Philip remarked that a fusebox bursting with wires looked “as if it was put in by an Indian”.
Straits Times: On a trip to China in the 1980s, he warned British students: “You’ll get slitty eyes if you stay too long.”
While touring Australia in 2002, he asked an Aborigine whether they still threw spears at each other.
On a trip to Australia in 1998, he asked a student who had just returned from a walking tour in Papua New Guinea: “You managed not to get eaten then?”
Kenya’s independence ceremony in 1963 when Prince Philip represented Britain. As the Union Jack was about to be hauled down, he turned to Kenyan independence leader Jomo Kenyatta and asked:”Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Who cares if he is a racist, Matt finds him adoraballz or something.
His IQ is lower than my flat shoe heel.
I would have retorted no i Wasnt eaten but I overheard where your pickled brain would have been a wonderful appetizer back in the day.
He so reminds me of some great politician in our country.
You the editor, who has more degrees than my furnished apartment..think this is funny, cute?
Its degrading to those hardworking people all over the world who put effort into showing their accomplishes. And they were so excited to meet the Prince.
His tragic upbringing shows.
Harmless old bugger but with a penchant for foot-in-mouth. He has worked a damn sight harder than most of those blood-sucking wastrels.
British sense of humour surely would never satisfy the whiny american, even tough they just a bunch of colonialized immigrants decendants. I still remember how Top Gear presenter and crew were chased by americans while filming in US soil. Hahaha
I don’t disagree with him as to long-haul economy.
By the way, I, too think that we are in the golden age of travel, at business class and above. Better than Cunard or the Broadway Limited in their prime, if you are in the likes of AF La Premiere.
This quote is ancient history, he’s long retired from public life.
BA economy is Ghastly though.
Retired from public life would be an understatement given today’s news.
That’s how it is when you live off of people
@James that was Argentina dumbass
He had a keen interest in flying, both personal and professional: he learned to fly through the RAF in the early ‘50s, then qualified for a helicopter licence in 1956, and for a personal pilot license in the ‘60s. He wasn’t a gin-sipping couch potato.
@Derek
At least Prince Phillip told the truth. We all (people who aren’t brainwashed) feel the same way. I’m white. Prince Phillip was white. Of course we are going to point out tendencies of other races (good or bad). If Asians tend to be good at math, we will say it. If Indians tend to be dirty, we’ll say that. If blacks commit 52% of violent crime and 52% of homicides despite being 13% of the population, we will say so and not pretend that it isn’t due to race. I’m sure Asians point out observations about whites.
Racism is a communist word. The only people who use it are anti white communists. Everyone has their preferences. Yes, I don’t want Indians building electrical fuse boxes or wiring them. Yes, I don’t want cheap made in China drywall. Yes, I don’t want my daughter to date a black and to produce mixed race babies. It’s called common sense and having a brain.
Seats are more comfortable than they’ve ever been? I call huge BS on that. The ever more common slimline (a.k.a. Toquemada) seat is so unpleasant that it hurts just to think about sitting in one. When flying Vietjet on a couple hour long flight in 2019, my wife asked me why her back hurt. It was her first time with slimline seats so I explained. Sure, first class seats may be more comfortable but economy seats are worse than ever and becoming worse yet for the vast majority of people fly coach.
i mean, he’s not wrong. Imagine traveling as much as them in economy every time, it would be a ghastly experience.
The timing of this article is excellent.
Matt, seats are more comfortable only in premium classes. And in any case he’s not far wrong. There’s a reason we call economy cattle class.
@Jackson Waterson
You really are a disgusting person.
Should a full on racist like Jackson be allowed to spread his bilious hate on this page.
I prefer to let people hang themselves.
Total opinion I’m sharing, off topic for a travel blog.
I’ve heard the term before about the royals engaging in “public service” and “sacrifice” but I perhaps don’t know fully what they mean by that.
When I worked in the private sector, I had a “service anniversary date” and I got a fishing rod. (Haven’t used it for about 6 years). “Public service” is similar. It’s a job albeit one I’m committed to but it’s a two way street.
I don’t see that the royals really made much of a sacrifice compared to, say, the vast majority of their subjects who may work 60 hour workweeks and do health endangering work. The (male) Royals serve in the military but so do many of their subjects.
Yes, they go to all kinds of public events but so does Miss Universe or Miss America.
I suppose by “service”, this is an acknowledgment (and probably a big deal at that) that their status in British society isn’t a full entitlement whereby they could just sit in their castles, do absolutely nothing, and enjoy control over more wealth than any other human being on the planet let parliament or a revolution take it away from them.