There Are No Foreign Lands, It Is the Traveler Only Who Is Foreign

Robert Louis Stevenson said those words more then a century ago, but it rings true to this day. The world is a small place at the end of the day, and it's the traveler who must take it upon themselves to get on the plane/train/boat/unicycle and make themselves familiar with the new surroundings. It's been my goal to do this for the last year and a half, and I've got quite the docket set up for myself in the next few months. Starting tomorrow and ending in mid-September, I have the following locations lined up:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

June 25-June 28

I'll be here for just a few short days attending the wedding of some very close friends. Most of Friday will be consumed with getting to Vancouver, Saturday is a full day of celebration for the wedding and the reception, which leaves only Sunday for any full fledged exploration. This will be my first foray into Canada, which seems interesting considering it's the closest foreign location to my home town and yet I've been to numerous locations half way across the globe before setting one foot here. I'll be doing a bit of research tonight to figure out how to make the best of my one day here.

North Canton, Ohio, United States of America

June 29 - July 2

Let me first state that I am absolutely thrilled that the most prominent image I could find of North Canton was this "down home" style Arby's sign. The Donut Connection sign in the background just provides icing on the cake that is Ohio. This will be just another trip in the long line of stops I've had to make in the Buckeye state. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the biggest fan of Ohio. I personally think it should be divided into two or three smaller states, though I'm sure that wouldn't cure the boredom I've experienced while there. Perhaps I need to branch out further and make sure I stay in a more interesting location in Ohio next time. This trip is work related though, so there isn't much choice in the matter. There does seem to be one interesting monument to a former US President. I'm hoping to make it there.

Tokyo/Kyoto/Hakone, Japan

July 9 - July 20

Japan, like Ohio, is another location you're most likely to find me in at least 2 or 3 times a year. This marks my first visit to the Land of the Rising Sun this year though. This trip is a mix of leisure and familial obligations; my mother has been living in Japan for a few months and has asked that me, my brother, and my sister make the trip across the Pacific to visit her. My father was in the military during the earlier years of my life, and Japan was essentially the only location we ever lived while I was a non-teenager. While I've been back to Japan quite a few times since, my brother and sister haven't set foot there since we left and this is their first major international trip. Excitement and planning is the theme here. I hope I make it through everything without anyone losing a passport.

New York City, New York, United State of America

Late July/Early August

My preferred air carrier, American Airlines, is running a promotion offering triple frequent flyer mileage AND triple elite qualifying miles for flights between Chicago (ORD) and New York's LaGuardia (LGA) until the end of August. I haven't blogged about the benefits of having elite status on an airline as of yet, but when I do you might have a better idea on why I am currently thinking that I'll be making a few short trips to New York City. While I've previously "been" to New York, I've never actually gone into the city. Most of my stops in New York entail a low key hotel room near JFK or LGA between flights. So with this massive incentive, I think I'll finally get a change to get into Midtown, see a Broadway show, or climb to the top of 30 Rock.

Ottumwa, Iowa, United State of America

August 16 - 20

Another work related trip. This will be my 2nd time in the great state of Iowa, and even though it admittedly has much less to do than Ohio, I found that I enjoyed my time here much more than I did in Dayton or North Canton. There's something very calm and peaceful about Iowa: the empty roads, the rows of corn, the people nodding their heads in silent greeting as you walk by. Ottumwa seems to be in the middle of nowhere, and considering the hustle and bustle I'll have in New York, Tokyo, and Vancouver it might be a welcomed relief.

Delhi/Agra/Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

September 3 - September 15

This is the trip that I'm probably the most excited about currently. I think everyone has a "dream" destination, the only spot in the world that has drawn your curiosity and fascination for the majority of your life. That spot for me has been India. I'm not 100% sure I can explain to you where my interest started, but I can confirm that for the better part of 10 years, I've been scheming of a way to get myself into the sub-continent. A stable job and some price tracking on flights finally made the dream a reality. Almost two weeks in India is a thought that both thrills and terrifies me. I'm thrilled to finally see some amazing things, taste some amazing food, and experience some amazing events. I'm also terrified of seeing, tasting, and experiencing some of those same things. Out of all the places I've been, India is most likely the least modernized and prepared for tourists. This will either be the experience of a life time, or a glass of cold water in the face.

So there you have it, my travel itinerary for the summer and early fall. These are the locations and sights you can look forward to seeing and reading about when my trip reports get published. I'm excited to see some new places and comforted to return to some old favorites. For now, I've got laundry to do and baggage to pack. It's off to Canada tomorrow!

Safe Travels,

Leo

Thx 4 Da Info - Airlines and Social Media

Social networking sites have changed the way that people communicate with one another. When I was younger the best way to update anyone about your life was to give them a phone call. In our gloriously modern times, there are quite a few more options that can end up being much more efficient and quick: Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, email, Foursquare. The list could go on for quite a bit. Where as before I would be required to call up 10 friends to get a message out, now I can just make a quick post on my Facebook or send out a short 30 character tweet and have them all see it almost instantly.

Social networking has also changed the way that airlines communicate with the traveling public. While the traditional tools of outreach such as commercials and magazine ads are still the most prevalent, most airlines have begun to incorporate some elements of social networking into their marketing/outreach efforts. As you can imagine, some airlines have been more successful then others in utilizing these new formats to connect with fliers. Being based in Chicago, it makes sense for me to take some time and look at how United Airlines (UA) and American Airlines (AA) have harnessed the power of Twitter and Facebook to varying degrees of success.

TWITTER

For those of you who haven't quite figured out what Twitter is, here's the cliff notes version: Twitter is an online/mobile service that allows a user to make text-based post of up to 140 characters to a distribution list of subscribers. So UA or AA can publish short messages of up to 140 characters related to any subscriber who indicates they'd like to receive messages from the airlines. While this might not sound all too different then an email, the strength and success of Twitter has lied in its ability to become compatible with other formats. Twitter now allows users to receive specific updates directly on their cell phones, within an application on that cellphone or wireless capable device, or to automatically update the sender's Facebook or blog page. With a single 140 character burst, UA or AA can communicate with the flying public via Twitter, text messaging, email, applications, Facebook, or blogs. Talk about efficiency.

The trick is how do you convince subscribers that they might be interested in receiving "tweets" from your respective airline. After all, the advent of these technologies has brought the level of unwanted spam advertising to stratospheric heights. United's angle on gaining subscribers seems to be the most effective: offer periodic sale pricing on a variety of routes. Labeling this sale a "tware" (a combination of tweet and fare), United will occasionally sent out a tweet notifying its subscribers that for a few hours, they are providing an airfare discount exclusively for Twitter followers. The message usually links to a web page on United's site that includes details on the dates and destinations that are currently on sale, and will provide the user with a limited time use code to take advantage of the sale.

While the discounts can vary (I've personally seen small discounts on flights to Washington DC all the way up 40% off flights to Australia), one important goal is always achieved: UA has provided adequate incentive to its subscribers to receive advertisements and UA information without feeling bombarded by advertising. The subscriber can at least feel like they "get" something out of it, despite the more mundane and banal postings UA might make:

The one aspect of UA's use of Twitter that I feel leaves more to be desired is the level of professionalism that is used when posting. While the use of Twitter in and of itself might be viewed as "hip and youthful", I think UA makes a mistake when it allows the individuals who run the account to make posts that are at times unintelligible due to overuse of internet slang and abbreviations. For example: "RT @elliottyamin Mad important partnership b/w @MalariaNoMore & United 2gether able 2 touch more lives & help eradicate malaria in africa." While the idea is good (UA is replying to a user, former American Idol Elliott Yamin, who mentioned that UA has partnered with a non-profit to fight malaria in Africa, as blogged about in our last installment), I'm a little put off by the fact that United's official response was to call the partnership "mad important". Is this public relations for a major company or the Real World?

On the other hand we have American Airlines, another user of Twitter that might need to spruce up its offering a bit. Where as UA has successfully offered Twares to its users for over a year now, I have yet to see a single offering from AA that provides any incentive to its subscribers. AA's twitter postings are entirely consumed with responding to flyer's complaints and compliments, or announcing various AA news pieces and charitable works.

While good in theory, AA has yet to harness Twitter as effectively as UA for one simple reason: UA gives people a reason to BUY a ticket. AA doesn't. Low airfares provide an incentive to fliers to buy tickets. While AA's PR work addressing customer complaints and charity work is admirable, it doesn't give incentive for anyone to actually buy something. AA's Twitter team definitely aces the professionalism test though. Rarely have I seen the messages utilize slang or excessive abbreviations unless absolutely relevant or appropriate.

While AA might be a slightly larger airlines then UA (for now), the Twitter audience skews in favor of UA: 91,000 vs. 75,000.

FACEBOOK

Another popular method of connecting with flyers through a social network is Facebook. Facebook is a social networking website that allows the user to post a variety of media onto the site which will automatically load on any "friend's" (i.e. subscriber's) news feed. Similiar to Twitter, an airlines can utilize Facebook to upload its latest television ad and instantaneously provide access and advertisement for it with thousands of potential customers. Replace the television ad with a photo, advertisement, sale announcement, press release, or any other outreach tool and you can see how much potential use this might have. Again, both AA and UA utilize this social networking website to varying degrees of success.

UA's Facebook page is essentially a dead zone. While it has 20,000+ fans, the airline has never utilized any of Facebook's features to communicate with its audiences. It essentially serves as a method by which users can advertise their affinity for the airline by "liking" the page. Fans can "tag" UA in posts and pictures of the airline, but with no official presence they are unable to communicate directly with the company. Based on the blank updates page its safe to assume UA seems to have no interest in using the site to relay information or interact with the traveling public:

It seems United is missing an opportunity here. While their Twitter account actively interacts with the public, the Facebook account is a stagnant and almost sad representation of the company.

On the other hand, AA's Facebook page is very active and provides a lot of the same information its Twitter account does. Several time a day a representative from AA will update the page with information on new flights that are being initiated, improvements to the cabin, or potential weather delays fliers might see. It also serves as a method in which to advertise sale fares offered by the airline, though unlike UA's Twares these sales are open to anyone and do not require a code specific to Facebook fans.

The one thing AA seems to fail miserably at on its Facebook account is handling negative feedback. Without fail, any information posted by AA on its page will inevitably be swamped by a litany of complaints from users ranging from an individual's damaged luggage from a flight the night before to requests to lower the airfare on specific routes so the user can visit family. While this is to be expected with any public forum where a company interacts with the public, AA's response seems to be to ignore the users. Though once in awhile the AA account will address specific user's complaints, 95% of the time its posts become a battleground between users tearing down and building up the company.

I'm not an expert in handling public relations, but common sense tells me that ignoring the issue isn't working and probably does more to anger individuals then to calm them. Perhaps AA can reply with requests to contact AA's customer service department directly with complaints through its website or dedicated phone line? Anything would be better then seeing an announcement of a donation made to the Susan G Komen foundation for breast cancer research be bogged down by complaints from users asking for assistance with their canceled flight.

Again, the success of each airline's use of Facebook seems to be in the numbers: UA's low following of 20,000 users is trounced by AA's 80,000 fans.

The modern world is fickle with its attention, and social networking seems to be (for the time being) the wave of the future. An airline's attempt to link into these up and coming trends can really shape how the flying public interacts and chooses to spend money their carriers of choice. Have you had an experience interacting with an airline through Twitter, Facebook, or some other social network?

Safe Travels,

Leo

I Dream Of Africa

Despite the thousands of miles that seem to separate our various land masses, I've always held firm to the idea that our planet is a small world with a lot to see. My dream would be to one day see a world where you could drop in to your local airport, and catch a flight to anywhere your heart desired with little hassle. The realities of the travel industry will never allow that day to arrive though, which isn't neccasarily bad. The negative impact of so many flights on our environment is already controversial. Additionally, it just isn't financially feasible to connect every notable point of interest in the world. Sure, it would be great if I could run down to O'Hare from my condo and catch a flight to Madagascar, but no airline is going to make money on that route.

All this is why I always find the initiation of new routes on an airline to be such an exciting and interesting thing. I'm eternally fascinated with the ways that people can connect to each other, and being able to jump on a plane for a few hours and get off in a completely different culture is certainly a way to connect to someone else.

This Sunday at 10:20 PM Eastern, United Airlines is passing a historic milestone in its history by initiating service to Africa. The airline will be flying a Boeing 767 from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Accra, Ghana (ACC). According to United's press release, Ghana's ambassador to the United State will be taking the inaugural flight. Additionally, American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin will be on the flight, though I'm completely mystified as to why this was considered noteworthy enough to include in the official press release.....

To mark the occasion, United has partnered with non-profit Malaria No More and ExxonMobile to distribute more then 1000 mosquito nets to families in rural Ghana. Sonya Jackson, president of the United Airlines Foundation (the charity arm of United Airlines) said, "Along with the economic value our new service provides to Ghana, we have responsibility and commitment to do our part to address a critical need in the region." This is an interesting and noble sounding clip, but my personal suspicion is that everyday Ghanaians probably won't see much economic value from United's new service. At the very least, the mosquite nets are a nice gesture.

When this service was first announced, it was not the only African destination marked by United to receive services. The Nigerian city of Lagos was on deck to receive flights as well. Nigeria's aviation approval process is notoriously slow and shifty, and it currently seems United has dropped its plans to provide service to this violent but important city in the heart of Africa's oil country. There's a possibility that Nigeria's government had no hand in United's decision to not launch service to Lagos though. Continental, which United Airlines is currently in the process of merging with, has recently announced some of the destinations it plans on adding to its route network when it beings flying the Boeing 787. The first location was Auckland, New Zealand, and the 2nd location was.... you guessed it, Lagos, Nigeria. With the merger pending, it would seem that duplicating service to Lagos on the same airline might saturate the market a bit. Even though United initially intended on flying to Lagos from Accra with the same aircraft, Continental's intention to connect Lagos to Houston makes more sense for business travel by connecting two oil industry giants.

I've never been to Ghana (or Africa for that matter), but I have a coworker who has gone and absolutely fell in love with the people and culture. He's already planning a return during the upcoming Christmas holiday season. It looks like he'll have another option to get there now. I'd be looking to go with him if I wasn't trying to concentrate on flying on a certain rival airline alliance.....

What remains to be seen is if the Ghana route can be profitable for United. Only time will tell. For now, we can just enjoy the fact that for some people, like my coworker, our world just got a bit smaller.

Safe Travels,

Leo

Source: United.com

De-doored during deplaning?

Even though I'm on an airplane more often then your typical individual, it might surprise a lot of people to know that I have a very deeply ingrained fear of heights. Elevators, tall buildings, balconies, you name it - I'm afraid of it, and you can definitely include flying on that list. As time goes by and I take more and more flights, that fear has reduced itself to a very manageable level. I know myself though, and I can guarantee you that from take off to landing on every flight I ever take, a little voice in the back of my head will be having a panic attack for the duration of the ride.

Nevertheless, what if the malfunction you fear is awaiting your plane isn't during the flight at all?

Passengers on American Airlines Flight 962 experienced just that recently when their plane landed safely at Dallas - Fort Worth (DFW) from Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU). The Boeing 777 pulled up to the jetbridge at Terminal D and its flight attendants opened the door to being to deplane the passengers. What happened next is still under investigation, but it appears one or both of the following things took place:

• The pilot failed to appropriately park the aircraft.
• The ground crew at DFW either inadequately or failed to chock the aircraft.

Regardless, the result was this:

According to the report the plane rolled backwards approximately 200 feet, its door ramming up against the jetbridge and eventually tore free from the aircraft. Luckily there were no reports of injuries among the crew, ground crew, and passengers.

I can only imagine if I was on that flight:

Standing up after almost 1/2 a day on an airplane to stretch my legs, I try to clear the flyer's fog out of my head while navigating the narrow aisle in an attempt to get to my carry on baggage and get off the plane in a reasonable amount of time. I take a moment to thank my lucky stars that I've made it through another flight without an incident.....

Only to suddenly feel the plane amble backwards 200 feet and hear what must have been the shockingly harsh sound of a Boeing 777's door being ripped off its hinges!

AA's spokesperson acknowledged the incident and stated it was still under investigation. My assumption would be that considering American Airlines only flies to a few select destinations with its 777s and that this one will be out of commission for a few days, the plane's crew and ground staff will have a lot of explaining to do.

Safe Travels,

Leo

Sources:

Star Telegram Sky Talk, Star Telegram Sky Talk

Inaugural Flight

Greetings and welcome aboard!

I'm glad you've taken some time to stop by this little venture of mine. I'm sure you're a bit curious as to what this whole blog thing might be about, so I'll do my best to catch you up to speed....

Way back in the days of parachute pants and Hypercolor t-shirts, I was nothing more then a little boy with a big dream. The world was an exciting and enthralling place, and I wanted nothing more then to lace up my Keds and find a way to see it. Every night before bed my parents would tuck me in while quizzing me on the cities of the world: Tokyo, Paris, London, Delhi. The world seemed like it was endless and I couldn't wait till I was old enough to buy a ticket and immerse myself in it.

In my early adult life, I wasn't the most financially secure and ambitious person. I still sat around daydreaming about far away lands, but the idea that I might one day actually get to see them was not a reality. I was content to browse airline websites and travel blogs, forever gazing at what might be. I honestly believed that I would never leave the country, let alone the Midwest each and every time I looked at my bank account.

December 31st of 2008 was a historic benchmark for me. I was settling into what has now become a solid and stable career, finding my legs in what has now become a solid and stable long term relationship, and it felt like it was about time to settle into a childhood dream as well. So when January 1st finally rolled around, I made myself a New Year resolution I knew it would be easy to keep: get off your ass and get on a plane.

Since that day I've come to embrace and love everything that is "travel". Airports, airlines, frequent flier programs, travel websites, geography, airline routes, hotels, and the stories of awe, wonder, and disappointment that go along with it - all of these things pique my interest like few other subjects in my life. I've been able to see and do some amazing things in the past year, and I wanted to find a way to both document and share those experiences with friends, family, and anyone else who wanted to take the time to read a few paragraphs a week.

So here I am. Writing to anyone who will read about everything that encompasses "travel" in the 21st century. You can expect some of the following from this blog:

Trip Reports - My travels hasn't come close to stopping for the time being, and I've seen quite a bit in the last year as well. Whenever I have a trip I'll be documenting the location and journey on this blog with a traveler's eye view of the airports, flights, hotels, destinations, and cultures. I'll also be taking some time to relive some of my favorite trips from the past year. Pictures will clearly be shared.

Airline News - I'm no where near an expert on airlines, but I do have a mild fascination with what makes an airline tick. So from time to time I might make some musings about airline alliances, airline quality, airline route offerings, and airport experiences in general.

Travel Websites - There are a lot of resources out there for an individual who wants to see the world. When people hear about my travels, they often ask me a lot of questions. "Where do you find cheap tickets?" "How do you know what to do and see?" "What travel tips do you have?" I use a lot of different resources and websites to plan my trips, and I'm still learning quite a bit from them. I'll take some time to detail what tools I use to make the most out of my trips.

So there you have it. The maiden voyage of what I hope will be an enjoyable writing experience for this 20 something guy from Chicago. I maintain another blog for personal reasons, and I've always stated that what I write is for me first, and I maintain that mantra here. If someone decides to read this, that's good to know. At the end of the day, I want this to be something I enjoy though, and hopefully you do, too. So let's all get set to jet set....

Safe Travels,

Leo