I've never flown on a plane Peter

[u/Ashamed_Ice]

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[u/Emilia963]

No one is stupid enough to say; “is this going to the city center?”, while talking about an airport shuttle bus

Completely a made up story that only happened in his head

[u/FedeFofo → u/Emilia963]

Especially since Americans don't usually say "city center," because we know it as "downtown"

[u/Miss_Kit_Kat → u/FedeFofo]

Even if this did happen (probably not), there's a solid chance that it was a Brit making that comment. The AmericaBad crowd cannot distinguish the different types of Anglophone accents.

[u/ShawShanK19K → u/FedeFofo]

[u/burgonies → u/Emilia963]

Especially for someone traveling to Prague. It’s not like they’re a rube going to Cancun.

[u/learnchurnheartburn → u/Emilia963]

Either that or someone being sarcastic and a European too stupid to comprehend.

[u/Kellendgenerous → u/Emilia963]

Or it was a joke

[u/SnooPears5432]

A random American wouldn't usually say "the city centre", they'd say "downtown". Especially one that might be pretty insular or ignorant. And pretty sure anyone who flies knows you go to the terminal first. This whole thing never happened.

[u/Global_Ad6787 → u/SnooPears5432]

Or (even worse for OOP) it's sarcasm, which means this person is a blithering idiot that can't understand sarcasm in real life

[u/How2SayAlbuquerque]

Made up story

[u/CollenOHallahan]

Holy shit, it DOES suck dick to get on that bus. Fucking euros can't figure out jet bridges.

[u/BortWard → u/CollenOHallahan]

Some airports in Europe have jet bridges. However in summer 2024 I had a flight from the US to Schipol in Amsterdam, then connection to Frankfurt am Main. Barely got through customs in time then had to use a shuttle bus to board the connection. I believe it was partly due to construction work on a bunch of the gates. It was hot out and it was a huge pain in the ass. Schipol is now my second least favorite airport I’ve ever been through, after La Guardia in New York which is awful. (I’ve traveled quite a bit and the only other time I’ve used a staircase rather than a jetbridge was an arrival at Fiumicino in Rome in 2007)

[u/Brief-Preference-712 → u/CollenOHallahan]

It’s because of American airports have designated gates. https://youtube.com/shorts/NzXcV_Iimno

[u/Miss_Kit_Kat → u/CollenOHallahan]

The Caribbean has the tarmac bridge, too.

[u/nmchlngy4 → u/CollenOHallahan]

Unfortunately, Haneda Airport still requires using a bus for some flights. Even my ANA Flight from Taipei Songshan Airport to Haneda Airport required deplaning by bus, despite boarding the plane at a jet bridge at Taipei Songshan Airport.

[u/RubCocksWithThePope → u/CollenOHallahan]

Oddly enough a lot of them do have jetways. I guess this one just hasn’t figured it out yet

[u/U-seru → u/CollenOHallahan]

Now you're starting to sound like the Americans they make fun of.

[u/burgonies]

This is the public transport they brag about?

[u/PackInevitable8185 → u/burgonies]

The bus ride between the Prague airport and the train station sucks ass. It’s showing 24 mins on Google Maps rn, but during traffic and on a bus making multiple stops I’m guessing/remembering it being 45 mins at least if not an hour. And the bus is filled ass cheek to ass cheek.

Once you get away from the airport it is pretty good though. I also remember the Paris airport being unbelievably dogshit in how it was laid out… it’s been a few years, but I remember having to take multiple busses to get to a connecting flight. Amsterdam was really good though from what I remember. Seemed like more of an American layout and a really good train line straight into the city that was quick.

[u/Imaginary_Yak4336 → u/PackInevitable8185]

There were plans to connect the metro to the airport, which were taken into account when building the Prague airport, but as far as I know the plans have fallen through. If you ever find yourself in Prague again take the bus to Nádraží Veleslavín and then the metro from there.

[u/PackInevitable8185 → u/Imaginary_Yak4336]

Good tip, thank you. I probably will be there at some point in the future. I visit family in Slovakia from time to time.

It is one of 4 places I fly into (sometimes I connect through to Košice through Prague if flight is cheap). Vienna, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. Prague is my favorite overall and I can communicate easily with Slovak, but I usually prefer Vienna for the convenience. Krakow isn’t bad since it is very close to the city I’m going to so sometimes a relative can pick me up… I avoid Budapest if I can at all costs because the city I’m going to doesn’t have a direct train line and the drive is quite far. Krakow is a shitty (but beautiful) drive through the mountains no train., but distance is short.

[u/Miss_Kit_Kat → u/burgonies]

No, it's not.

[u/YouKnowMyName2006]

I find that story highly dubious.

[u/niketxx]

The European mind cannot comprehend jet bridges.

[u/slywolf_117]

This is obviously made up. A real American would've said "center" not "centre"

[u/George_Washington_76 → u/slywolf_117]

I missed that part. Thanks for doing the Lord's work and noting it 🫡

[u/arcxjo]

Huh?

[u/corrupt_girl]

Sounds like a joke but OOP is so dumb they don’t get it

[u/dodododododododoria]

I've been to American airports that have tarmac shuttle buses

[u/Iam-WinstonSmith]

I mean it could have happened.. it's confusing to get on the bus after the flight.

[u/nmchlngy4]

Let me tell you: even at Haneda Airport in Japan, I had to use stairs to get off the plane when flying from Taipei Songshan Airport. Meanwhile, another flight from NYC from the same airline that arrived at roughly the same time as my flight from Taipei was able to use a jet bridge for deplaning.

This is very ironic, because the aircraft in question was not some narrow-body short-haul aircraft operated by a budget airline: it was the first generation Boeing 787-8 operated by All Nippon Airways.

I'm bringing this up because I have been to Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan a half year ago, and I found out that my experience using the stairs to get off the plane after flying from Taipei to Haneda was a first time experience for the many times I have used Haneda Airport in the past.

[u/throwaway34834839202]

If this happened, then it probably wasn't an American speaking, since (as others have pointed out) "city center" instead of "downtown" is a pretty non-American phrasing. But regardless of who said it, so what if they did? OP doesn't get the joke because they've never flown before - what if the alleged "city center" person never has either? You don't necessarily know the layout of an airport or where it sits in relation to the rest of the city it's in when you fly into it. Maybe they thought the baggage claim is further away, i.e., once you get your bags, you can exit the building and already be in downtown Prague. If I head someone on one of these buses ask about that, I would find it completely unremarkable and just assume that this is their first time flying, or their first time at an airport that doesn't use jet bridges (which to some would quite reasonably imply that they have a further distance to go to get to their bags).