Airline lounges: an oasis from airport mayhem

by Grant Martin on

This year is the first year that I’ve actually buckled and purchased an annual pass into Northwest Airlines WorldClubs. With all of the traveling I was doing for work and on the side and the bucketsfull of hours I was wasting in airports, I figured that the 250$ was worth my productivity.

And now, I’m addicted. In Detroit‘s McNamara Terminal, the sprawling lounge includes free booze, snacks, wifi and showers, the perfect antidote for a long day of travel.

As airlines focus more on first and business class passengers, they too have noticed the importance of airport lounges. To keep our business, they’re constantly improving the lounge product to include amenities from fresh ramen noodles to automatic beer pouring machines to Smart Car sized espresso makers.

Now, as this New York Times article details, they’re also banding together to create uber lounges, each bent on dragging and retaining the high-value-flyer in their grasps. I suppose its a fair enough business model in the land of cutthroat competition.

If you ever do get a hankering for a little quiet productive time in an airline lounge though, consider stopping in for a visit; many lounges offer day passes for a modest fee. Sitting above the madness and looking down at the chaos unfolding is surprisingly peaceful.

10 tips for smarter flying


Blink Jets positioned to start Europe’s first air taxi service

by Grant Martin on

Financing just came through for Blink, a British startup airline advertised to be the first “taxi service” across Western Europe. The idea behind the service is that business travelers can save time (and maybe money) by commuting from smaller airports with fewer restrictions. So rather than taking the tube out to London Heathrow three hours early, waiting in a giant queue for ticketing and security, flying the hour to Charles De Gaulle in Paris, taking the RER into the city, linking up to the subway and into the city center you can get to a local London Airport 10 minutes early, be in the air 20 minutes later and be in Pairs by the end of the hour.

It’s particularly handy for a small group of high paid individuals whose time is worth far more in meetings versus in transit. But for plebeians like you and me it could be tough — I have a feeling that the flights are going to be a tad more than your average Ryanair flight. So if you don’t know the CEO of a home improvement store or a rapper, it might be a little while before we get to ride in one of these Cessna Citation Mustangs.

Operations and planning are well underway and service is marked to begin in May of 08. Start saving up your bottle deposits now.

Troubled waters ahead for Maxjet

by Grant Martin on

Many of you have heard about Maxjet, the international business-class-only low cost carrier flying among New York, London, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It’s an interesting idea — offer fewer seats in a business class environment and charge only slightly more than a traditional economy seat — and I’d like to try it some time.

And most people truly are mildly interested by the notion — especially when they see the nifty cabin tour — it’s just that few people are willing to try it. Combined with the discomfort of trying a new product, many business travelers are pulled away by frequent flyer programs and the inaccessibility to London proper (Maxjet flies into Stansted). Leisure travelers, on the other hand, either don’t know about Maxjet (because their fares aren’t loaded into canonical search engines like Orbitz and Expedia) or are too cheap to pay for business class seats.

Perhaps for these reasons combined with the market and oil squeeze, Maxjet is starting to feel the heat. In October they suddenly suspended flights into Washington and as of last week they suspended trading of their stock on the London Stock Exchange.

While their corporate sources claim business as usual and their schedule remains open, one can only speculate that the airline is having issues. Keep your glock unclipped.

Via The New York Post

Continental Airlines voted best for North American business travel

by Grant Martin on

Recent polling by Business Traveler Magazine on the best carriers in North America reports that Continental Airlines is on top of the heap.

The newswire report is ambiguous on what criteria the contenders were judged upon, but I’ll bet its got a great deal to do with updated technology, solid accessibility to the North American markets (and Central America for that matter), meals in all classes and their superior first class product.

I flew on Continental a few times over the past year and I mostly agree. While their economy section is on par with other carriers, their first class is pretty excellent. Their pursers bring a miniature table cloth to put on your tray during meals and bring every course (yes, there is more than one course) out with nice table and flatware. Perhaps that’s why it was rated so well by Business Traveler Magazine — they’re the ones that are most often in first.

Smart packing tips for business travelers

by Abha Malpani on

“Why do you have so much luggage?” I asked my father recently when he had packed two suitcases for a 3-day conference in Nice. “Business attire darling: suits, shoes, something smart-casual for the evenings and I can’t repeat clothes”, he said in an annoyed but resigned tone. Such a pain to pack for business.

You want to be comfortable and not look like a loser at the same time. But the more stylishly you dress — although you may look great — you may not feel that great at security check when you beep and are asked to strip, or on the flight when your big earrings keep poking you as you try to sleep.

Here are some pointers from a piece that tells you how to edit your wardrobe to a minimum when traveling for business in order to avoid hassles at security and make it for a week maintaining a token of style:

  • So that you don’t ding: change your suit buttons to plastic so you won’t beep, get a plastic watch — for e.g. Swatch — plastic yet stylish and acceptable; don’t wear a belt; put all your jewelery in your handbag until you pass security.
  • So that you won’t have to strip: wear slip on shoes — no boots or laces! Don’t wear many layers, or a hat.
  • So that you can look stylish without having too much luggage: Limit your color palette so that everything matches with everything. Take dark colors — they don’t get dirty quickly and you can wear them twice. For women: carry multifunctional accessories and shoes! And remember, your hotel will have same day laundry facilities — plan to use them!

Unfortunately, there is no way to shed laptop gear unless you buy a BlackBerry or an iPhone.