What I Do Like About Airline Travel

Somebody asked an interesting question recently. "Ralph, is there anything you like about airline travel." Hmmm… I guess I have been overly critical of the airlines, but I do keep riding them. Here are a few reasons why… One, they are dirt cheap. My speaking customers pay my travel expenses, and I have to compete with other speakers. Therefore I work hard to keep the price down. When the airlines aren’t cheap, I often drive all or part of the trip. (I leave tomorrow to drive 610 miles round trip just because the airfare would cost my customer twice as much as driving, and there are no good airline schedules.) Airlines are by far the safest way to travel. The driving trips really do worry me a bit, and more so as I age. Sometimes I can drive in less time than it takes to fly, but I fly anyway. Six hours on the airlines is not the same as six hours by car. You can work, read, or eat at airports and on airlines, so the time is not all wasted as it is when driving. I have read some wonderful books on airlines, and the laptop has made it easier to work remotely than ever before. Most of the time, the airlines are dependable. When they aren’t though, there’s hell to pay. I don’t trust the schedule or baggage handling as much as I used to, so I have adjusted. The older I get, the earlier I go. I have also taken to wearing a suit on the trip, so I can wear it for the speech if the airline loses my bags. During the winter I go even earlier than usual, and avoid some airports. O’Hare and Atlanta are high on that list just because they get so balled up when the weather is less than perfect. During the 1980s I would fly in on the morning of a luncheon speech. I don’t do that anymore. I have adjusted (besides, I don’t have the stamina that I had in the 1980s). Ticket buying is much more hassle than in the 1960s, but it is easier to comparison shop, thanks to the Internet. Still, doing business with the airlines is just downright miserable. That about says it. Oh, one more thing—when you travel the airlines regularly, it does become less difficult than it is for non-frequent flyers. We'd love to post your comments. Please click the comment box at the top.