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I have a friend who is a big time international salesman. He normally carries a balance of over a million frequent flier miles. Yesterday, he send me an email from Frankfurt telling me about something he'd never encountered. While at the Admiral's Club in Frankfurt, he ran into five people from Dallas who were doing a "mileage run." These five people flew into Frankfurt from Dallas, did an over night at a hotel near the airport and flew back the next day. The goal was simply to rack up frequent flier miles so they could reach Executive Platinum status sooner. This group was willing to spend $450 to make an unnecessary trip in coach simply to increase their frequent flier status.
A few years ago, when I needed one more trip at the end of the year to maintain my Executive Platinum status, I considered doing something similar myself. However, good sense kicked in. The group I am talking about is flying on their own money in mid-January! And, according to my friend, they will do it several more times...and he thinks it is a GREAT idea!
According to the thinking, for around $4500, a person can rack up 100,000 miles quickly and then reap the benefits of this advanced status for the remainder of the year. They will get several system wide upgrades which means they can fly in Business Class with the price of a coach ticket. They will get more frequent flier miles for every trip plus priority service. They will be automatically upgraded to first class on domestic flights and gain some additional access to airport clubs.
Still, they are flying around 10 trips that they are paying for themselves...in coach...and not lingering long enough to really enjoy the benefit of being there.
I still do not get it. It must be the thrill of the adventure...doing a crazy thing with your buddies, all jam packed in coach, hitting a hotel, drinking a few German beers, crashing and flying back home for a day then repeating. Like running a marathon or something. Then, when it is time to take a serious business trip, you have all the advantages of your status to smooth the trip for you.
Back in the old days, people would dress up for a flight. Traveling by air was novel and expensive. With the entry of Southwest Airlines (the Greyhound of the Sky), all that went out the window. Today, walking through the airport, you see all manner of super casual attire.
I recall, on my first international business trip, I ran into one of our engineers at the airport. He and I were flying to Tokyo to attend the same meeting. I was dressed in Dockers with a button-down shirt (trying to look like an international marketing guy). He, on the other hand, was dressed in nylon shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. He looked as if he were about to run a marathon, so I asked him if he was headed someplace to workout. I was assuming that he was a big international traveler and knew the ropes...as in, maybe there was a gym at the airport that I knew nothing about. He responded (with a hint of defensiveness) that he was about to take a long flight and wanted to be comfortable. "Comfortable?" I thought. "You are almost naked. We are flying in business class. We are going to spend the next 12 hours in a BarcaLounger. How comfortable do you have to be?"
Once we got on the plane, my greatest problem was staying warm. My Dockers and loose cotton shirt where plenty comfortable enough. Of course, I still see Japanese businessmen in a full suit; never even loosening their tie during the 12 hour trip. I guess it is what you are used to. If I am comfortable enough to wear something for 9 hours in the office, then I am comfortable enough on a 10 - 12 flight. You do not have to go to extremes.
Here is my advice, "Don't worry about it." Wear something you would not mind wearing around the house all day. If it is uncomfortable to wear at home, do not wear it on the plane. If you are inclined to get a little cold, bring a sweater and wear long sleeves. Keep your shoes on if you can. Your feet are going to swell and your shoes are going to be hard to get back on at the end of the flight. However, if your feet start to hurt, take your shoes off. Don't suffer the whole flight with aching feet. Just leave yourself a little time to shove your fat feet in your shoes before the plane starts to empty out.
One more comment concerning your shoes. Since 2001 when Richard Reid tried to blow up an American Airlines flight with a shoe bomb, passengers have been required to remove their shoes and have them X-rayed when passing through security. I have seen various road warriors scoff at passengers who wear shoes that must be tied when going through security. The thinking is you are going to have to untie your shoes, run them through the scanner then put them back on your feet and retie them. These road warriors feel like this inconvenience can be avoided by wearing loafers. That is fine if you are not traveling for business, but I need real shoes to wear with my suit. As far as I am concerned, you go through a little bit of inconvenience at the airport by wearing lace-up shoes, but then you have the shoes you really need for the rest of the trip. I think the whole shoe issue is a pretty minor inconvenience compared to all the other things I have to do (put my liquids in a quart bag, pull my notebook computer out of the bag, leave my pocket knife and scissors at home, have my bag re-X-rayed if I fail to empty out other assorted electronics that capture the attention of the screener, etc.) Besides, on an international flight, I find that lace-up shoes are easier to stuff my fat feet into when I arrive at my destination.
Once you are in the airport, take the stairs if you can instead of using the escalator. It will help to move the blood out of your feet and back into the rest of your body.
But here is my best tip. If you are traveling on business, have a clean shirt and a sports coat handy. Brush your teeth, shave, and put on a fresh shirt about an hour before you land. Then wear the sports coat through customs. If you indicate on your emigration form that you were overseas on business, the customs agent will tend to leave you alone. Especially if you look like an experienced business traveler. Customs will usually wave you on and not waste time digging through you bags. Of course, having about a dozen pages stamped in your passport further convinces the customs agent that you are an international business traveler.
However, if you are traveling with family, I have no advice for you other than to get your paperwork in order, be efficient and alert, and maintain a reserved but friendly and polite attitude. Chances are you will make it through with no issues.
James Snider is an international marketing professional with 15 years experience in the semiconductor and high-tech industry. He was the industry lead for global FireWire marketing at Texas Instruments, Philips Semiconductor (now NXP) and the 1394 Trade Association.
Snider is actively searching for the next great thing to market into a worldwide success.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamessnider
If you can swing a seat in Business Class on an international flight, go for it. It does not get any better than that.
First Class on domestic flights is only slightly better than coach. You do get a meal which is small but decent. The alcohol is free in First Class on domestic flights, but I would join others in advising you to not drink on a flight. I makes jet lag much worse. The seats are better, wider, with more leg room but those are about the only advantages. Free upgrade, yes! Pay for the upgrade, no.
On two rare occasions, I was lucky enough to get bumped into First Class on international flights. The food was better than business class, but not THAT much better. The wine selection was broader (see my comments on drinking alcohol on long flights). They served caviar, which I can take or leave. The seats were a little bit better and the movie selection was broader. You get to leave the place before the people in the back of the plane do. Those are about all the advantages I saw.
Business Class on an international flight is about as good as it gets and about the best a business traveler can dream about. Today, most companies will not pay for business class, but a true road warrior has an upgrade or two he can use from time to time. You can also upgrade with miles if you have an over abundance of them. Business Class is comfortable. It is like flying in a recliner instead of a cramped car seat (as I would characterize coach travel). The food is very good. The movie selection is normally pretty good unless you travel all the time. There have been periods of time when I flew so much I'd seen all the movies. You are able to get up and walk around easily even if you have a window seat.
Flying in Business Class is wonderful. However, most of my travel has been in coach, so I would like to help those of you less seasoned travelers with your coach travel.James Snider is a global marketing professional with 15 years experience in the high tech industry. He is currently looking for his next great job. www.linkedin.com/in/jamessnider
