If you're on the East coast of the United States, you're fresh into your work day. On the other side of the world, in Taipei, it's already creeping into the next morning. This fact is no more evident to...

I recently attended an executive training class about competitive strategy led by the dean of one of America's leading business schools. We spent a good portion of the class talking about the airline industry and how mainline carriers have...

Most airlines in the United States would have you believe that they are in the "transportation business" -- as if somehow humans were just cargo moving from point A to point B. The Europeans are not absent from this...

It's loud, it's tight and it's bumpy. Nevertheless, the Embraer EMB-120 flight from Portland to Seattle is my favourite segment to fly in the world. I've taken the flight numerous times and it never fails to bring a smile...

It takes a lot for me to sit down and write a letter to a company. But I'm getting fed up. Last night I jotted out a terse note to United about their affiliate commuter carrier, Mesa Airlines. Mesa...

Just the other weekend my wife and I were in need of a getaway to escape the confines of Champaign-Urbana. Deciding that it was worth a shot to bid on a hotel and swing by my Alma Mater the...

I'm sitting on an airplane -- a Boeing 737-300 -- and there's a hole in the roof. Right above me. It's okay, we're not moving. A mechanics legs are dangling down from the hole above row 8 as he wiggles...

My Pontiac Grand Prix screams up I-25. Through the passenger windows, the early morning sun bursts across the plains in brilliant red, orange and yellow. Out my side, the mountains are barely sillouheted against the dark sky. Luckily, traffic...

The flight number was a tell-tale sign of oddity: 9805. A four digit number starting with a 9, attached to plane leaving 30 minutes after another departure to the same city. Yup, this was an orphan flight. It was...

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to experience one of the top-5 trips of my life. Let me give you a little background: In its bid to grovel its way to the top, in 2004 United launched...

There are sparrows in the United terminal at Denver International Airport. They survive a never-ending layover, jolted from their nest above B22 by booming "final and immediate" boarding calls. It's probably not a bad life -- heat in winter,...

At first I thought I was an intercom malfunction. But then I realized that the gate agent was actually "gobbling" after every announcement. "... final boarding call for United 197 to Los Angeles. All passengers please proceed to gate...

Perhaps it's the universal sympathy this author will receive from all who read it. Or perhaps it's the humor found in his unique metaphors. Or maybe it's simply the drawings depicting his situation. Regardless, this link really needs no further...

Interacting as a customer with a large corporation is a lot like the average student's relationship with the junior high principal: sometimes pleasant, mostly indifferent, and occasionally very, very disagreeable. In the last few weeks, I've flown about 4,000...

I made $600 in travel credits this weekend by getting bumped. Life could be worse....

It's the emptiness and calm that I like best about Friday afternoons at the airport. Any other day, the walkways and jetways are clogged with people in a hurry to move. But Fridays are different. There aren't any lines....

When it comes to air travel, there are a few things that are unavoidable: expensive parking, lines, security checks, and sooner or later, a rude fellow traveler. We've all witnessed their behavior (and sometimes even know them or ressemble them!)....

It was an odd turn of circumstances, really, but completely on purpose. If that makes sense. Because of an open-jaw trip and a one-way rental on a recent trip to the midwest, we had the opportunity to sample the...

There are over 3.5 million miles of highway in the United States, which, during the summer, are heaped with minivans and camper trailers filled with screaming kids and sometimes parents too. These families are engaged in what we call...

Due to competitive pricing and a much better schedule, it's Frontier over United again on this business trip. Perched back in my seat, I have to admit, it's pretty hard to dislike Frontier Airlines. The employees define upbeat and...

Navigating airports during popular vacation times, such as this 4th of July weekend, always brings a smile to my face. Elderly couples, co-eds, and unaccompanied minors are in the majority now, not stuffy businesspeople. It's fun to watch those who...

As mentioned in a previous article Southwest Airlines does not have the reputation for providing frills to its passengers. And to be fair, it’s never claimed to, either. So how would a seasoned traveler used to flying in First...

It's always a little strange flying an airline other than the one to which you've already pledged your allegiance. Particularly, when (a) it's "your" airline's arch-rival and (b) you intentionally chose to fly it (saving hundreds of dollars in the...

I am consistently encouraged by people who overcome extreme obstacles and handicaps in order to pursue their dreams. This morning I had the unique opportunity to fly with a group of such people. As I approached the gate this morning...

Do you ever just get the itches to fly, fly, fly? Well, I haven't been in an airplane since the end of March, and it's starting to get to me! I was supposed to fly to Los Angeles for work...

Few people would consider flying an art. Then again, few would call it a science either. (Most people tend to use words like "intolerable hell".) But when your goal is to maximize your mileage earning abilities for the least dollars...