Last Friday night, my wife and I found the one theater in Chicago showing Up in the Air (it’s in very limited release until Christmas). Ever since the preview trailers hit the Web, people have been asking me — “Is this what your life is like?” Watching the opening sequence — a montage of Ryan…
Read MoreLast week, I had to get from downtown Washington DC to a Northern Virginia suburb for a client dinner. I looked at the Metro map, rang up some car services, but finally gritted my teeth and rented a car. That’s pretty much my attitude toward car rentals these days — the choice of last resort….
Read MoreA Wall Street Journal Middle Seat column illustrated how airlines can make a good thing bad — flipping the proverb to turn a silk purse into a sow’s ear. In March, American Airlines restarted their program to replace their old gas-guzzling MD-80’s with sparkling new Boeing 737-800’s. As someone who earned 2+ million American AAdvantage…
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association reported earlier this month that premium ticket purchases fell 21% globally in February — which follows January’s decline of 16.7%. Part of the drop is due to falling air traffic, but a good bit of it is from tighter corporate travel policies that are pushing mid-level executives to the back of…
Read MoreI travel frequently through Denver International Airport (DEN) to visit family and to ski. From this first-hand experience, I’ve always believed that the DEN TSA crew is among the nation’s worst. According to an internal TSA report, a key reason is the local TSA management. Denver’s NBC affiliate obtained a copy of the report and…
Read MoreThe two reasons most frequent travelers invest in a frequent flyer programs — status perks (e.g., free upgrades, pre-boarding) and free trips. While comparing status perks between programs is pretty straight-forward — most airlines proudly list every status perk, the number of seats that can be booked with miles seems a closely guarded secret, making…
Read MoreWhen I used to work in Detroit’s Renaissance Center, international cellular calls would occasionally appear on my bill. After way too many calls to AT&T, I finally figured out that whenever I used a certain conference room in Tower 600, my phone would grab the cell tower directly across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario….
Read MoreI work very hard not to take out my frustrations with the airlines on the employees — those folks are usually just trying to do their jobs; just trying to get through to the end of the day like the rest of us. Others aren’t so considerate. Flying back from San Francisco last week, the…
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