The Awards Tour Part Four

42,000 miles, 13 flights, five countries, 24 days, five meetings, three awards ceremonies, and 15 meetings later

Part Four: How to Travel by Plane, Or at Least How to Make Plane Travel a Bit Easier

This is where Top Gun graduates go to work after the Navy. Only partly kidding as flying in and out of Paro, Bhutan requires the skills of a fighter pilot. I read that only about 20 pilots in the world are approved to fly into Paro. As we walk toward the plane, I’m hoping our guy graduated at the head of his class.

I’m not the Points Guy, or Expedia, or any of the thousands of travel experts blogging out there. Traveling isn’t my profession, nor do I keep a comprehensive list of the do’s and don’ts. Yet, I have traveled for business during my entire career, often combo-ing biz with pleasure as KR and I want to see as much of the world as possible. I’ve taken 20 or so trips a year for the past fifteen years. We’ve been to 56 countries and every state. We’re still adding them.

I know my way around planes and airports.

This last trip, while extreme in time and number of flights, is typical. Lots of places, not much time, combining business with a chance to have some fun along the way. It was a ball buster of a trip, making me think about why the hell are we doing this (a subject for another post) and how we seem to get into a groove that makes it bearable, if not fun.

Now’s your time to hit the back button and read something else. Here goes.

SOME KEY PRINCIPLES (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

1. Flying is a caste system. The more you fly, the more miles/legs you accumulate, and the more money you spend will mean that you’re treated better than those who haven’t or don’t. Because the lows of flying have really sunken, your place in the caste system makes a big difference on how you’re treated. Boarding, luggage, seating preference, getting upgraded are all totally dependent on being a heavy or light user. If you don’t fly often, just chill and expect boarding last, paying for anything/everything, and getting that middle seat.

We were able to upgrade to Business on the way back from Amsterdam to Mexico City for a few hundred bucks. Once we got there I understood why as apparently not many Dutch fly to Mexico as 2/3rd’s of Business was empty

2. Join every airline’s frequent flyer program that you fly, no matter how often you think you’ll use them. I wish I had practiced this when I first started flying. Now I have a spreadsheet that lists every program, the number of miles accumulated, my UID and password.

3. Unless you have enough money to spread around, you will need to focus your flying with one of the major partner groups to accumulate miles/points as quickly as possible. American, United, and Delta are members of significant partners (AA is part of OneWorld, United is part of Star Alliance, and Delta is part of StarAlliance) in which you can accumulate points on. They will let you nominate which airline you’d like to add points for a trip within the alliance. For example when I fly within the OneWorld group, I apply my points to AA. The sooner you make this decision, the faster you will accumulate points to a level that is beneficial.

4. Same holds true for hotel chains. I never thought this was important, as most of the hotels I stayed at in my early business trips weren’t something I wanted to visit again. But my good friend, Gregg Power, accumulated points religiously while on the road covering his sales territory. Then we’d take vacations together and he was always upgraded to much nicer rooms, got lots of stuff free, and I started to take notice. The big difference today is that the upscale hotel groups now have frequent user programs. It pays to participate.

5. There are ways of saving money when buying tickets, and sometimes you can save a lot of money, but it takes work. The quickest, easiest way to plan a trip is through Google Flights, Expedia or another aggregator. Within a couple of minutes, you’ll get a pretty good idea of the cost spread, avails, etc. But, if you’re taking a big trip, or have plans for frequent trips, it might pay to start exploring the new digital travel agents that use a variety of methods to get you cheaper tickets. The one I use is: ASAP Travel (there are others) and Conquer, one of their hundreds of agents. They helped me cut the cost of this trip in half from the costs listed on Google Flights.

6. We didn’t take 13 flights this trip, sometimes leaving late at night or arriving before god gets up, because we like long flights and off hours. No, the reality is the more indirect and inconvenient the hours are, the less expensive a trip is.

7. Airports matter almost as much as the quality of inflight experience. There’s good and bad news here. Traveling today, especially from non-major hubs like ABQ or PVR, means you’re going to be spending a lot more time getting “there,” and an ever-increasing amount of that time will be at an airport. The good news is there are some really very nice airports that offer as good a way to spend a couple of hours as anywhere else.

   Quality/number/variety of restaurants has increased exponentially; waiting areas have crossed the digital divide; and get this — they’re actually being designed for comfort and convenience. Wow: ) I factor in the airport in any trip we’re taking. I avoid the bad ones (and there are still some horrible ones) and flock to the good ones. KR and I just used Amsterdam going both ways and it is the nicest airport I’ve been in lately. And the KLM lounge is downright pleasant.

8. If you travel frequently, however you want to define frequent, belonging to lounges makes sense. Airlines know that lounges are important, which means they are making their lounges much better and they are charging a lot more for them. You’ll get admitted to any airline’s lounge for free if you’re flying business class or above. Among other things, lounges provide an array of comfortable seating types, free food, free wine and bear, lots of electricaI sockets, and free wi-fi. I have access to lounges in three partner groups, all of which come with certain types of credit cards. They are expensive until you realize that airlines are now charging $75+ per lounge visit if you’re not a member. Spend enough time in bad airports makes lounge membership almost a necessity.

Late at night in a Priority Pass lounge in Istanbul. I think.

HERE ARE MY RULES OF THE ROAD

1. Always download the airline App no matter what airline or how infrequent you will ever use them. Airline apps are essential when traveling on routes you are not familiar with and have multiple legs. Even the most obscure airlines (Astana, Ethiopia, and Airlink to name a few) will have valuable information on gates and connecting procedures. In places like Istanbul, which has the most confusing international transfer pathways and procedures I’ve ever experienced, I would still be there looking for my connecting flight without the Turkish Airlines app.

2. I always check-in online and then check-in at the airport. The online check in usually requires filling out the visa/traveler type info that’s required which is just a lot easier to do online. As for checking in again at the airport, I’ve been the victim of too many screw ups so redundancy is a good thing for me.

3. Check whether you need a visa and give yourself plenty of time to apply for one. More and more countries are requiring some form of visa application before the flight. We American’s are used to not having to apply for visas for all of Europe, etc. That’s changing. Some of the required visa applications should be outlawed as cruel and inhuman punishment, with India being #1 and #2 in torturous applications, and Australia slotting in as #3. Some countries, like Bhutan, see visa applications as a real source of revenue and charge big bucks. Also. don’t be an idiot and not bring copies of these docs with you no matter that you submitted digitally. Lots of countries aren’t digitally capable yet.

4. It’s a good idea to carry digital copies of your passports, an acceptable passport photo, and drivers license. I even carry copies of our birth certificates and marriage license because we were asked to show our marriage license in Morocco before they’d rent us a room together.

5. 4. Applying for the TSA Pre passenger screening program (for US security screening going out), Global Entry (for immigration screening when coming back to the US), and or pre-screening services like Clear are well worth it if you use large airports coming/going. Security and Immigration lines are getting longer and longer. The good news is that more and more countries use facial recognition which greatly speeds up the time (China is the leader here). I try not to think about the Orwellian side-affects facial recognition presents…

6. Always smile at the immigration officer as you walk up no matter where you are or how bad you’re feeling. Immigration officers can screw with you in different ways by taking their time reviewing. your passport, asking for more information etc. Same thing goes for the security screeners, etc. Forcing them to be human and smile back at you works.

7. Learn the etiquette of getting on and off a plane. For goodness sake, have your boarding pass and passport ready to present. I can’t tell you how many people act as if they’d never thought of the necessity of presenting their docments once they get to the front of the line. Same goes for entering the plane: find your seat, stow your stuff, and get out of the aisle as quickly as possible. When leaving a plane, realize there are some people that need to catch a connection so maybe you should be as efficient getting off as on.

8. There is no one, right way to get foreign currency. Going to your bank and buying some foreign currency (in our case Mexican pesos) is by far the cheapest. And that’s what I do when KR and I go to PV for a couple of months. All other times, I use ATMs at the airport, even though I know I’m being screwed in exchange rates and fees. I get a little at the airport to pay for the taxi and tipping people at the hotel. After that I try to find local ATMs. One new trick that I’ve discovered: your iPhone’s calculator can be transformed into a currency exchange calculator that will translate any amount into dollars almost instantly.

9. Buy the best rolling suitcase you can afford. It goes without saying that you should only buy luggage that rolls on four wheels. But what most people don’t realize is that it’s not the features of the suitcase that’s most important, it’s the construction of the case and how it wheels down the hall that count. There are huge differences in how four wheelers roll, making a long walk to the next gate no big deal or a hassle. Generally, the stiffer constructed and heavier a case is, the better it will roll assuming it has decent wheels. You can use it as a cart as well and pile all your stuff on it.

10. Speaking of luggage, make it as small as possible. I have learned to cram three weeks of business/casual clothes etc. into one expandable carryon and backpack. We’re not shy about buying a cheap, discardable suitcase while on the road if we need more room for our “treasures” (KR’s terminology). Traveling as small and light as possible makes everything easier.

11. If you have more than one electronic gadget, finding the right kind of charging port is becoming increasingly difficult. In addition to carrying the right kind of outlet convertor, one now has to carry a regular three-pronged socket, a USB-B and USB-C and Apple iPhone type cord. This becomes a real hassle with my computer, iPad and phone combined with Karen’s two iPads, phone and computer! Before going anywhere, I research what types of outlets a particular country has.

12. Your Number One Tool for a great experience is a smile. I know it sounds pollyannish and naive about the nature of some people “out there,” but being nice to people makes a huge difference. Stating the obvious, KR and I look different from your average Indian, South African or Namibian. We get stares from people that on the surface look like they want to eat us for lunch. It’s surprising what happens when you look them right back in the eyes and… smile.

    

    Try landing late at the Kazakhstan airport late at night. Everything is closed. I don’t have the slightest idea on how to get to my hotel. These two young ladies took pity on me and called the Kazakhstan version of UBER.

13. Don’t confuse being nice with being a target. I’m not naïve, I know that bad things can happen, and they usually happen to people who aren’t paying attention, or who are being careless. Case in point: Karen and I were walking down a street in Cape Town last October, a city we’d never been to before, and I was looking at my phone ‘s map trying to figure out how to get to a particular market. I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings at all. Then, in a flash some kid ran up and yanked the phone out of my hand. I was so startled and caught off guard, I couldn’t stop him and was knocked to the ground when I tried. He ran off faster than a speeding bullet. Everyone else in the vicinity ran to my aid, making sure I was OK. A couple of people even tried to follow the guy, to no avail. I made two critical errors: (1) I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. If I had, I probably would have seen him coming; and (2) My phone was really vulnerable and easily viewable. This even happened after I’d been told by a local that I shouldn’t walk around with a phone in my hand, no matter how secure I had in grasped. Lesson learned.

One of the best things I’ve ever done was to purchase emergency transportation service SkyMed. When I crashed in the mountains of Columbia, SkyMed arranged to get be back home within 24 hours. They flew me Business Class to Albuquerque.

FW’s AWARDS FOR THE BEST AND WORST ROAD EXPERIENCES

1. My new favorite airline is KLM. I’m going to fly them whenever and wherever possible. They are noticeably better than the rest. They use brand new planes, with superior plane configs, the nicest staff, better than average food, and the best lounge I’ve ever been in. Honorable mentions: Delta on a good day, Singapore Airlines whenever you’re in their neighborhood and Lufthansa.

2. Airlines that I’d rather take a train than fly on. Iberia, Ethiopia, Ryan, and most of the low-cost lines that fly across the ocean.

3. Best new airline feature: wireless charging on KLM

4. Best airport: Amsterdam is the new champion. Brand new, easily navigable, comfortable seats, with lie-down chases, lots of plugs. Very stylish. Honorable mentions: Istanbul, Houston, Newark.

   

   Airports have come a long long way. Houston is one that as turned the corner. Here, KR sits at a bar in one of Houston’s terminals.

5. Best small airports: Puerto Vallarta, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Windhoek, and Bhutan (not including the landings). Durango, CO. is an honorable mention.

   

   There’s something about walking toward the terminal at the Hosea Kutako airport in Namibia that I just love.

6. Airports to avoid: Mexico City, Astana, Indira Ghandi, Addis Abba, and DFW.

7. Best airport lounges: KLM in Amsterdam is the best by far, Turkish Air in Istanbul, the Admirals Club in DFW, and BA in Heathrow are all great.

   

   The KLM Lounge in Amsterdam. Great, great lounge.

8. Best hotel non-resort category: the ITC Maurya in Delhi. Absolutely gorgeous, the best staff ever, great rooms at non-Ritz prices. Honorable mentions: QT in Sydney, CitizenM in the Bowery, New York, and the Waldorf in Shanghai.

   

   KR and I have a cocktail at the “Golf Bar” in the ITC Maurya Hotel. The ITC doesn’t have a golf course: )

9. Best hotel resort category: too many to mention. Anything with a beach and swimming pool:).

   

   On a motorcycle trip through South Africa we stayed at this lodge. We only stayed one night, but I’m going to figure out a way to get back there as it was beyond great. Don’t remember its name, but its located in Nqutu - Kwanyoni, about 200 miles southeast of Pretoria.

10. The places that I’d most like to go back to: Mongolia, Kathmandu, and Homer Alaska.

    

    Mongolia 2019

    

    KR and I were last in Paris in January 2020 just before everything shut down because of COVID. We stayed in a very nice, very small hotel in the 8th Arrondissement. Here, I’m prepping a breakfast for a speech later that day. I’d go back to Paris in a minute.

11. The places that I most want to go to next: Reykjavík, Iceland. I don’t know why, but I’ve had a pin in it for a long time. Scotland, Ireland, Norway and anywhere close to Antarctica.

12. Best travel item: The right backpack. For me, it’s a Tumi that I bought in Berlin twelve years ago. Still going strong.

13. Best packing trick: use plastic between all clothing items. Prevents most wrinkles.

OK, I’m done. I’d love to hear your ideas.

fred