I just passed 100,000 frequent flyer (base miles) since January 1st. That’s the quickest I’ve done that in a given year. I’m sure that there are people, and Dopers, that fly more often, particularly the pilots. But I fly a round trip, across the country, almost every single week.
The floor is open for questions.
Do you typically fly coach?
Do you actually enjoy flying? I loathe airports and airplanes.
I typically, 95% of the time, book coach. The only time I book a higher fare class is if economy is sold out. I’m currently flying United almost exclusively, and get upgrades around 80% of the time when I fly with them.
2) Do you actually enjoy flying? I loathe airports and airplanes.
Not really. Some aspects are okay, but it’s a grind, especially getting into airports since TSA added the newer scanners, shoes and belts off. Flying itself I’ve learned to be neutral about. I still like to look out of the windows of planes, particularly if flying over interesting geographical features. Some airports are better than others in just about every respect.
A guess on the percentage of time you are pulled aside for special treatment by TSA?
It seems pretty high, but I guess I look kind of scary. 
Actually, that’s hard to say. I have a few anecdotes along those lines, but not much data. I do opt out of the one type of scanner, the big square blue ones. They just seem kind of low tech to me. My home airport has the newer ones that look sort of like a transporter. I’m pretty good at sussing out which lines only put me through the metal detectors. At LAX I get a pretty high number of pat downs, I’d say about 50% of the time. I’ve been randomly checked, that is, they call out “random check”, twice this year that I recall. The first they just swabbed my hands to check for chemical residue. It’s actually pretty non-invasive. The second time they checked my bag on the jetway to the plane. Oh, I do recall earlier in the year another random jetway check. So three total.
Any reason why United? Is it because of where you’re flying (i.e. to a United hub)?
Do you initiate chit-chat with strangers sitting next to you on the plane? Does it bother you when strangers try to chat with you, even if you’re not working/reading/otherwise engaged?
How do you find your health / diet deals with the frequent flying - do you need to be quite disciplined about it?
Seems there’s potential for an unhealthy lifestyle - disrupts exercise routines / airport food / few pints at the bar waiting for a delayed flight - that sort of thing. The exercise thing in particular seems difficult to keep on top of - I find business travel surprisingly tiring even when you’ve basically been sat on your arse all day.
Once upon a time I lived in a Delta hub and was a faithful Delta flyer. Then Delta cut their workforce and their customer service levels dropped until I’d had enough of them and finally, after getting severely hosed on a trip out of Toronto, vowed never to fly them again. At that point I had to pick someone, and don’t live in a hub city, so started to fly United. My main other options were American or US Airways. United is probably the best of those three.
2) Do you initiate chit-chat with strangers sitting next to you on the plane? Does it bother you when strangers try to chat with you, even if you’re not working/reading/otherwise engaged?
Sometimes, but not often. I might smile or say hello, but usually keep pretty much to myself. It doesn’t bother me when other people want to talk, and some of my most enjoyable flights have been ones that pass in interesting conversation.
While waiting I’ll try to work or surf the web. I don’t personally work that well on planes, although I do occasionally. On board, I will listen to music, read or watch whatever is showing on the displays. I fly often enough that I catch most movies and a lot of the TV that I watch on flights. However, enough stuff gets repeated that I’ll read or do a puzzle more often than watch.
Yes, my company pays for us to get lounge access if we fly enough to reach gold status. I use the lounges for internet access in the airports that don’t have free WiFi and for free drinks or the occasional snack.
Hmm, define crazy. I currently work in LA, so there’s a lot of near crazy. People that stand out would be a woman and her very fey companion who were coddling a couple of small chihuahuas as if they were infants. The most interesting, not necessarily crazy flight event was on a trip from Germany to the US about a year and a half ago, where someone was smoking in the bathroom. At the end of the flight a couple of US Marshalls came down the aisle to detain the Pakistani teenager and his terrified family. Kid was probably around 16-17 and had been sneaking off to the bathroom to light up. Not a smart move. Not sure what became of it.
As a fellow frequent flyer - the biggest question of the day is…
Cell phone - Do you actually turn it off for take off and landing, or just kinda not really (like most people I see)?
No, I do look in there sometime when I have a question, but it’s a bit to “in” for me. In other words, it’s sort of like if you’re not reading it all the time the conversations can be tough to follow.
Favorite is Singapore Airlines. Food is good, service is generally very good, plus if you’re on them then you’re probably going somewhere interesting.
Least favorite is currently Delta. I’ll go into some stories on rude behavior from them when I have some time. Also, if you fly Delta you almost have to fly through Atlanta at some point and I don’t much care for that airport. Continental actually ticks me off sometime, but mostly because in theory I should get equal status from them as United but in reality it mostly doesn’t work out that way. I’m actually not terribly fond of Southwest, even though I understand why people who don’t fly that frequently love them.
For airports, I think of them a bit differently than favorite/least favorite. I take into consideration several factors:
a) how convenient is it for travel
b) how likely to get delayed going through there
c) how many options if you get delayed
d) how easy to get around once in
e) how easy to clear immigration if flying international
f) what food and other options are available
g) what kind of weather do you experience - this varies by time of year and even time of day.
h) which airline will I have to fly to go through there.
i) TSA hassle to get into the airport - not really a factor in selecting an airport to hub through, just something you notice.
Based on the above, plus probably a couple of things I’ve missed, I evaluate an airport.
For example, for my commute from Tampa to LAX, Houston and Denver are probably the best situated. If I want to go through Houston then I’m flying on Continental, and much less likely to get comped an upgrade. Also, the most convenient flight through has a very short (35 minutes) connection, so I’m fairly likely to miss my connection and have to spend more time there. I haven’t seen too many delays (yet) in and out of Houston, but Denver can get some delays from weather. Chicago also gets a ton of delays, interestingly more in summer from storms than winter, although I’ve had both. In Denver and Chicago I get United, but I’m more likely to get a United upgrade through Denver (most likely), then Washington Dulles, then Chicago. Denver is probably easiest of those three for getting from gate to gate, but has probably the worst Red Carpet Clubs and only a few decent food options. They do have a New Belgium Brewery pub which is nice if you want a good pint. Like I said, it gets pretty complicated.
Generally, my favorite airports are not in the States. Singapore (Changi) is very nice, and I actually like Frankfurt Main because I know it quite well and can get good food and great beer. In the USA, my home airport, Tampa, is very efficient, so I’m partial. Least favorite is probably Atlanta.
You’re third in line for that. Mrs Shibb gets first dibs, and a close friend is 2nd.
As a fellow frequent flyer - the biggest question of the day is…
Cell phone - Do you actually turn it off for take off and landing, or just kinda not really (like most people I see)?
I usually at least set it so that they send/receive is off. My theory is that otherwise it will search for a signal the whole flight and chew up the battery. If my battery is low then I’ll also switch it off in the hopes of having enough juice left when I land to make calls, texts, etc. My cell is a BlackBerry so I use it for a lot of stuff. I don’t really believe that my phone can interfere with the planes systems, but it’s not like I’m going to take any calls from 35,000 feet, either.
I only fly if I have to - used to be more terrified, but now just accept the (very good) odds that all will turn out well.
With all of the cut-backs and extra fees for everything, do you find that air travel is now nothing more than a crappy subway ride in the sky, or do you get any special perks?
Also, I have heard that many airlines now offer (or will be offering) real AC plugs for laptops, cell phone chargers, etc. at each seat. Have you seen these yet?
What do you do for a living that requires that much travel?
I was at 198,000 miles. Until yesterday. When I booked a flight on an emergency for this weekend and used 40,000 miles. Hey- why not !?
I fly at least twice a month, from NYC to anywhere in North America. Almost exclusively Delta. I second just about everything our OP has said about the process. TSA, meh, there are other threads about them. I carry 2 large bags when I fly. A rolling backpack that weighs 32-35 pounds, and a CPAP machine.
The rolling backpack- a requirement of the job as a Portable Office- contains, in no particular order, a GPS and car charger cable, phone cables and batteries, MacBook Pro with full cables for external monitor/HDMI output/etc, a Nook and charger, various other chargers, an iPod and charger and cables, audio cables for my laptop, business cards, DVD’s used for teaching that I cannot risk shipping, etc. Just a fuckload of electronics.
Due to the CPAP, I am more and more frequently “that guy” who has his backpack re-run once the Eagle Creek Cube bags are pulled out to separate the layers of electronic crap and the CPAP is checked and swabbed. I allow for the time it takes. It is the stuff I must have to travel, not luxury items.
I get upgraded a LOT less since Delta launched Diamond and Platiunum Medallion levels. Jerks !!:dubious: Seems I’ve run about 40,000 miles so far this year and it will keep up through year end.
I adore looking out the window. I mean, we’re FLYING !! Never gets tiring. If the skies are clear, I’m reading less and looking more.
I power my phone OFF when flying. Keep it on hand always, because my Dearly Beloved™ and I talk before flying and after landing. Always. Do I care if the signal from my Droid can interfere or not? No. It’s a law. It would cause me to possibly be removed from a flight. Not worth the argument. Sometimes but quite rarely do I work while flying. I might surf. The real treat is reading for hours without interruption. Putting WiFi onto airplanes is the worst thing to happen in years. The time will come- and it has not yet- when my overlords demand that I log in and keep working nonstop while flying.
Air Marshalls. I spot em. Oddly, I spotted two in two weeks last year. They travel with a small bag, like a tiny overnight case to slip under the seat. They’re well built. They board early, before all other passengers. Oh- they’re also carrying a loaded gun. 
In my former life, I wore a small badge identifying me as an EMT. I was taken to the back of the plane once ( this was around 2003 ) and asked to take it off. I complied and went and sat down.
Never argue with a guy with a gun. Never, ever argue with a guy with a gun.
Are you Global Services on United? If so, hello fellow Global Services!
Do you fly mostly domestic or international?
If you’re US and fly internationally a lot, so you have problems overseas with using credit/debit cards because non-US terminals are increasingly switching to chip-and-PIN?
Ever have to evacuate a plane and use that slide chute thing or liferafts?
Ever get diverted in flight due to a natural disaster/medical emergency/unruly passenger needing to be put off the plane/volcanic eruption blocking the flight path/etc? Anything other than weather?
I fly primarily internationally. I have only had problems with the chip and pin issue when trying to buy train tickets, etc at automatic kiosks in the Euro zone. I just go to a manned counter and my cards work fine.
Never had to evacuate the plane.
I haven’t, but I have colleagues that got stuck in various places due to the volcanic ash.