Five ways to make long flights more productive

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Every business traveler has said or heard: “I’ll get to it on the plane.” By the time your bags are stowed safely overhead, however, it occurs to you that the flight won’t be long enough for everything on your list. The problem I’ve seen is that most business travelers don’t use this distraction-free environment as effectively as they could. If you could get more out of your flights, you’ll have more elbow room in your schedule when you touch down. So, here are five ways to help you get the biggest bang for your time on board.

1. The flight starts at the gate
While you’re waiting to board, find a power outlet, and plug in. pick up a wireless connection, and take care of e-mails. This seems obvious, but distractions can encroach. When you’re going through your inbox, focus on anything that seems most likely to matter when you’re on the plane: reassess your priorities. The unimportant can wait (or be addressed via Blackberry when you’re waiting for the door to close).

2. Get an extra battery
I’m still amazed at how many times I’ve seen business travelers shut down because the juice is gone. Ask your employer for an extra battery – you’ll have a few more hours of high-octane work time.

3. Print what doesn’t have to be electronic
This is especially true if you can’t score that extra battery. Do on paper what can be done on paper, and save the battery life for work that must be done on your laptop. You’re effectively increasing the value of your battery.

4. Set goals
Don’t try to deal with everything. Determine what you want to accomplish on the flight, and zero in on it. If you have time left over, you can work on other things (or, better, sleep). Be realistic when you define your objectives. If you aren’t, you’ll be perpetually frustrated.

5. Know when to stop
If you’re close to exhaustion or just can’t get your mind to work, take the hint. A plane isn’t the ideal office environment). Close your laptop. Put down your pen. Ask for some pill water, and let someone else suffer at your expense for a change!

Airline elite status – does it still have any value left?

by Scott Carmichael on

When I started my frequent flying back in 1998, obtaining elite status on an airline was not really high on my list of achievements. Then, when I started to pay attention to the people around me, I realized I was wrong. Back then, elite status on an airline was the one thing that helped make flying even more enjoyable.

Forget good food or a snack at the airport – getting preferential treatment when things go wrong, or the occasional free upgrade makes a real difference. After about a year of heavy flying, I had reached top tier status on three airlines, and was on my way to a fourth.

Nowadays things are different. Elite status is not just a luxury that can make your trip a little more bearable, it’s what you need if you don’t like paying for checked bags, or if you don’t like spending an hour in the security line.
In recent years, the value of frequent flier status has plummeted –

  • Certain elite perks are now being sold at check-in or as a paid membership
  • Elite level bonus promotions are making it much easier to become a top tier member
  • Additional levels are being introduced, lowering the value of the current top tier
  • Credit card promotions are making it possible to be top tier without ever flying
  • Status matching is more popular than ever


Certain elite perks are now being sold at check-in or as a paid membership

In the past, perks like preferred seating, priority boarding and special security lines were reserved for passengers with airline status or those that were booked in a premium cabin. Nowadays, airlines are moving towards the à la carte system, selling many of those perks to non-elite members.

A good example of this is something I took advantage of on a recent flight – I was stuck in coach, and had a very bad boarding group assignment. When I checked in at the airline kiosk, I was offered an upgrade to first class for just $50. This means I was able to take advantage of priority boarding, get a decent meal and fly in comfort for just $50 more.

To me, this is a win-win; I get a better seat, and the airline makes $50 it normally would not have earned. To the people up front that paid full price for their seat, it would appear unfair, and it means there is one seat less for elite passengers hoping for an upgrade. On some airlines, the upgrade systems prefer to sell the seat to anyone willing to pay for it before giving it away for free to elites.

Elite level bonus promotions are making it much easier to become a top tier member

When you chat with frequent fliers, you’ll often get a feeling for their sense of entitlement – many of them will also mention how they reached their elite status. Terms like “I made it the hard way” are thrown around to make it clear they reached the top tier by actually flying a lot.

Take for example the newest promotion by US Airways – their reduced qualification levels mean you can be “elite” after just a couple of flights. More elite members = more people fighting for perks. We could be sitting next to each other on a flight and have the same status, but only one of us had to actually fly all year to earn that status.

Additional levels are being introduced, lowering the value of the current top tier

On United Airlines, the top tier in their mileage plus program was always “1K”. 1K passengers flew 100,000 miles or 100 segments. Once they reached this, the airline would hand over a bunch of nice perks. Then, back in 2003, the airline started a non-published level called “United Global Services”. The program is not part of their Mileage Plus program, and is offered on an invitation only basis.

The reason behind this was simple – too many people were making the 1K level without actually spending as much as the airline wanted. Clever travelers could become 1K with just a few thousand dollars in tickets – which is lower than the price of a single business class international ticket.

With the 1K level came an envelope containing several upgrade vouchers (these are now electronic), and smart travelers could convert those into thousands of dollars in premium cabin trips, far exceeding the value of the tickets they purchase to make 1K. On frequent flier chat boards, it became a sport to make 1K for as little as possible.

The new “UGS” level aimed to reward those passengers that actually spent a lot of their money with United Airlines.

The UGS level didn’t have any of the documented perks of 1K, but it is obvious that UGS members get preferential treatment. What this meant to 1K members is that they were suddenly no longer at the top of the pecking order. If someone was eligible for an upgrade, they airline would pick the UGS member first.

Credit card promotions are making it possible to get closer to top tier without ever flying

Very few cards actually offer “EQM’s” (elite qualifying miles), but there are a couple of them that give a decent EQM bonus upon reaching certain spending levels.

Granted, you won’t become top tier with the average household spending pattern on a credit card, but heavy business spending can often contribute as much as 25% or more towards elite level qualification.

Status matching is more popular than ever

A status match is what you can do if you are currently flying airline A, but wouldn’t mind switching to airline B, without losing your elite status. The game of status matching means you really only need to earn status the hard way once – and after that, smart people can continue holding on to elite status on multiple airlines for several years.

What this means to elite passengers, is that in every line of elites, there could be several people who are “just as elite”, but have never actually flown the airline.

This is all fine and dandy if there is a decent balance (ie. the same number of people defecting to from Airline A airline B as those moving from B to A). In the real world, this doesn’t always work – and when the quality on one airline begins to decline, an unfair number of new elite members might flock to a new airline. Obviously, the more elite passengers an airline has, the more people will need to share the perks. On a busy Friday afternoon at the airport, this could mean longer queues at the elite security lines than at the “commoners line”.

Free status

On some airlines, top tier members will be allowed to nominate friends and family for certain levels in the frequent flier program. These levels are usually “entry level”, but in some cases it means the difference between a bad seat and a good seat, or $300 in luggage fees or free luggage. If you know someone with elite status, ask them if they have any nominations available.

The bottom line

The bottom line is simple (as far as I am concerned) – elite status is not as valuable as it used to be. Don’t get me wrong though – being a top tier member on a decent airline is still very valuable, but I’m convinced that the lower tiers are the ones that suffer the most – they are the ones that have to share the few remaining perks with a lot of newcomers.

This really only applies to US domestic airlines, as international carriers have managed to keep the most important parts of their programs protected from too much devaluation. Though, even those carriers have removed quite a few of their perks.

Regional airport renamed to honor Jimmy Carter

by Scott Carmichael on

Unless you fly a crop duster or private plane, chances are you’ll never have anything to do with Souther Field in Americus, GA.

However, despite its small size, this airport is in the news after the local city council decided to rename it after Jimmy Carter. This measure has annoyed some citizens groups, as the original name for the airport was not without its own history.

Souther Field was named after Henry Souther, who helped develop the airfield, and the landing strip was where Charles Lindbergh made his first ever solo flight.

The newly named Jimmy Carter regional airport is 20 miles from Plains, the hometown of the former President.

This small regional airport does not have an officially recognized IATA airport code, so don’t bother trying to find it on your favorite airline booking site.
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Five tips for booking holiday travel

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you’re planning to fly home for the holidays this year, it’s time to start booking your flight. Even though fares are cheaper than they were last year, prices have been going up over the fast few weeks, according to a report in USA Today. Thanksgiving prices are down around 7%, with the Christmas/New Year’s season down 12% from last year. Since the travel market is still limping along, you may be able to pick up some deals. To get the most for your money, though, you’ll need to put in a little bit of effort.

1. Turkey over ham: Priceline.com puts the average price for a Thanksgiving ticket booked from July 1 to October 1, 2009 at $361. For the December holidays, the average was $440. Opting for the closer holiday thus can save you a few bucks.

2. Don’t be demanding: if you have the elbow room to choose different dates around the holiday (maybe visit mom and dad a little longer), you can trim a few dollars from your fare – in particular the new $10 (each way) surcharge that some major airlines are applying to flights from November 29 to 30 and December 19, 26-27 and January 2 and 3. Being flexible on airports might nab you a better deal, as well.

3. Visit, don’t move in: we’re all familiar with the extra baggage fees that airlines have come to enjoy rely on. Cut your load down to the essentials. Doing your laundry on your parents’ dime may be easier and cheaper than the local laundry dive, but your savings may disappear if you try to drag it all on the plane.

4. Use your computer: check in at home or work. The lines will be crazy at the airport anyway, so you’re actually paying yourself to have an easier trip. If this isn’t win-win defined, I don’t know what is.

5. Save a little, not a lot: pounce on reasonable fares. If you try to wait for the deal of the year, you could be stuck paying much more than you wanted. Pay a little more than you may want to pick up some predictability.

While you’re at it, start thinking about how to survive the annual airport gauntlet. For Christmas last year, I put together a list of ways to make your travel experience a bit easier. It may be worth another look.

The TSA took my baby story: The relationship between psychology, customer service and traveling with a young one

by Jamie Rhein on

After watching the TSA video of the mother blogger who claimed in a post on her blog “My Bottle’s Up” that a TSA agent temporarily took her baby son out of her sight during the security screening process at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport, I had thoughts about TSA security screening.

Katie wrote a post about this incident earlier today, but there are other points worth making, particularly when considering factors that helped create this partly true, partly fabricated TSA vs. passenger story–even if the fabrications may not have been intentional.

There are a couple of details about this incident that indicate that perhaps TSA still has a bit of work to do when it comes to perfecting customer service and truly understanding human psychology and behavior.

Although I’ve been generally impressed with most TSA agents, there are times when it has been clear to me that bad practices can have adverse effects.

Here are points that came to mind when I looked into this latest TSA vs. passenger story:

1. People who are flying are consumers. They’ve paid for a flight. That means they have expectations of being able to catch their flights. This can produce anxiety if expectations and reality are not matching up when TSA’s security measures become cumbersome, time-consuming and seem ridiculous.

2. A person flying alone with a young child has a bit of paraphernalia to deal with. Along with the child, consider the stroller, bottle, diaper bag, and various objects the caregiver has brought along to keep the child happy. It’s enough of a process to get belongings for one person ready for security. Add in the rigmarole it takes to take a child through the security check, and there’s potential for more anxiety.

3. TSA is a government entity that has all the power at a security check. Regardless that most TSA agents are splendid and do their jobs with the highest professionalism, there are jerks–not many, but there are some.

Plus, there are passengers who have had bad experiences with authority figures–or have anxiety about authority figures. There’s something about going through security that can make even the most law abiding citizens worry.

4. When the mother did get red flagged for a security check because the alarm went off, she was put, along with her child, in a clear box-like room with Plexiglas walls. That seems like a recipe for high anxiety. Why wasn’t she checked as soon as she beeped? Why the box-like room? The more I watched her in the room, the more anxious I felt. She was stuck until someone made a move.

First, there she is holding a young child and being ignored. Watch how many times her hand goes up as she’s trying to get someone’s attention. Watch how her feet are shifting. She’s having problems. Certainly it’s not rocket science to know that people with young children don’t really need to be put in a box-like room without knowing how long they’ll need to wait in it, if at all. Frankly, making people wait before getting the wand feels like a bit of a power play to me.

5. When you are stuck in a box- like room, but the others around you are able to go about their merry way, it can make you feel even worse. While the woman is in the room with her child, others are passing through security without a hitch. Why wouldn’t this put her on edge? Or is the role of TSA really about testing our patience?

6. Even when she was finally checked, the process was maddeningly slow. She was then taken over to sit in a chair for an even longer amount of time. For some reason TSA kept talking to her. I can imagine the “Yoooouuur in a huuurrryyy arrre yyyyouuuuu? Trying to catch a flight? This will teach you a lesson about trying to get TSA to hurry, and I’d watch the attitude, Lady.”

Running a wand over someone should be quick and easy. I’ve been wanded a few times myself. In my experience, it”s been a slam dunk process. This woman was checked and rechecked. She could have completely undressed and got dressed again longer than it took TSA to clear her. The whole time she was being checked, her baby is off to the side in the stroller. There’s nothing worse as a parent to be in a situation when you are in a busy place with your eye off your child. The child was not taken anywhere, but the woman might have been thinking the child could have been.

Even though TSA did not separate this woman from her child, as the woman claimed an agent did, I’d say that TSA didn’t do a whole lot to ensure that this woman would give them high marks on customer service. If anything, it looks to me like the TSA agent was having a bit of a power play.

In Katie’s post, she mentioned that she didn’t think the woman was separated from her belongings like she claims she was. I think she was.

From what I saw, a woman with blond hair gathered the belongings off the conveyor belt. It took some time for the mother to be reunited with her belongings, some of which belonged to her child. One of the belongings was a laptop. It doesn’t take long for a laptop to be snatched.

Like Katie said, the woman didn’t appear to make a phone call to her mother or her husband on her cell phone like she claimed she did–unless it is a teensy tiny cell phone that none of us can see.

Maybe it was a cell phone of her imagination–the one that she uses whenever she’s fending off an anxiety attack. Regardless of the details about this story that are not true, TSA at this particular airport, at least, still has some work to do.

Perhaps this particular TSA could take pointers from this security sign at the airport in Houston.

“Families and Those Needing Special Attention” are listed first. “Small children; strollers” are under the first bullet point.

If a mom (or a dad) and the baby in arms beep, help them first–with a smile. Say, “Sorry to inconvience you, but I need to find out why you beeped. Thanks for your understanding.”

It will work like a charm.