American Airlines

Podcast #105 — Traveling in Spain; Return of the Hotel Lobby?

Been traveling non-stop since the last episode. One destination was a family Spring Break vacation split between Madrid and Barcelona. I talk about our experiences with booking a vacation rental and how I’ve learned to give up complete spontaneity and enjoy a couple of guided tours.  I also do a mea culpa for bitch-tweeting about…

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Podcast #101 — Future of Mileage Tracking Tools; Searching for Local Food and Craft Beer

Back in the TravelCommons studios after a couple months of summer break. We open up with thoughts about skipping rental cars, sharing listener comments on the Chicago Layover Excursion video, and the current state of American Airlines — great new airplanes, deteriorating on-time stats. Michael Komarnitsky, the founder and CEO of GoMiles, talks about why…

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Podcast #100 — Southern Road Trip; Breaking Up with American Airlines

Back in the TravelCommons studios after a 2,100-mile drive through the Mid-South. We genuflect quickly to the milestone episode number and then move onto the topics at hand — best piece of hardware schwag from Google I/O 2012, a slightly icky subway ride from downtown San Francisco to SFO, a grab bag of observations from…

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American Airlines Reaches Out to Apologize… Again and Again

American Airlines has been a bit more forward over the past month in letting me know they care about me.  A phone conversation, replies to my Tweets – I haven’t had this level of attention from AA in the prior 27 years and 2.4 million miles that I’ve flown them.  However, I’m not sure this…

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Podcast #91 — Can’t Patch Planes Forever; Saving Customers With A Personal Touch

Was off the road for two weeks for my kids’ graduations, but now back in the security lines with a mix of domestic and international travel. Listener suggestions include dining at local music clubs to avoid the “eating alone” stigma, and using mini-USB hubs to power your gadgets without carrying a basketful of international plug…

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Podcast #67 – Stolen Luggage; Month With an iPhone

Recorded in the TravelCommons studios outside of Chicago after a month of travel to and from the East Coast. In this episode, a spur-of-the-moment train trip bypasses a huge air traffic control problem.  A listener story gets us talking about theft after you entrust your luggage to the folks behind the curtain. I have fun…

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Podcast #63 – The 733-Mile Stare; TSA Can’t Help Themselves

Recorded in the TravelCommons studios outside of Chicago after a week of skiing in Colorado. In this episode, we talk about some of the difficulties faced by today’s frequent travelers. A listener gives a blow-by-blow account of the myriad of lines he faced trying to get home from Newark. Another listener relates about the challenges…

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Podcast #53 – Wanting the Red Carpet; Family Travel Technology

Recorded in Marriott Courtyard in San Francisco‘s SoMa district, I confess to some base emotions — my inner child has been throwing tantrums now that American and United Airlines have taken away some of the special treatment they used to give their mid-tier status fliers. I also had a bit of an awakening while on…

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