Daily Telegraph media inquiry

[sully]

I never drink coughtails before making posts because I could cut myself with the circular saw.

 

[straitman]

:mrgreen:

touché

:roll:

 

[straitman]

Hello,
My name is Kim Macdonald and I am trying to find people to interview about their experiences with redeeming frequent flyer points - particuarly those that have been frustrating.
Please call me as soon as possible or email me on [email protected].
I have a deadline early Friday morning.

Cheers,
Kim Macdonald
(02) 9288 2560

Any feedback on your article Kim :?: -- Some of us don't live in Sydley :!: :!: :!:

 

[Rick93]

I'll just throw my last fews words in on this.....
1. I see where most of you are coming from. It seems most of you guys just wouldn't even be flying unless you're being paid for it.
2. Not everybody gets paid to fly around the country /world.
3. There are those of us out there, who actually pay our own way to fly, accrue our own points (not on company money), and like to use them to take 'leisure' flights. Thus, some of us take pleasure in working out the most useful method of using OUR points to maximise our leisure activities (even if such practises seem 'odd' to the business traveller).
4. I would have assumed, that there were MORE FF out there, somewhat supportive of FLYING FOR PLEASURE...... rather than being purely 'mercenary' about flying "only if the SC / points are there..."

Ok, I'll drop it now.....
.....NEXT!

 

[icemann]

Mercenary ?

I prefer the term 'freelance military consultant'

 

[redrat]

I'll just throw my last fews words in on this.....
1. I see where most of you are coming from. It seems most of you guys just wouldn't even be flying unless you're being paid for it.
2. Not everybody gets paid to fly around the country /world.
3. There are those of us out there, who actually pay our own way to fly, accrue our own points (not on company money), and like to use them to take 'leisure' flights. Thus, some of us take pleasure in working out the most useful method of using OUR points to maximise our leisure activities (even if such practises seem 'odd' to the business traveller).
4. I would have assumed, that there were MORE FF out there, somewhat supportive of FLYING FOR PLEASURE...... rather than being purely 'mercenary' about flying "only if the SC / points are there..."

Ok, I'll drop it now.....
.....NEXT!

Gordon, does it all feel better now :?:
That's what I like about a good spleen venting session - it just clears the air and allows the regular day to day stuff to go on

 

[straitman]

Hello,
My name is Kim Macdonald and I am trying to find people to interview about their experiences with redeeming frequent flyer points - particuarly those that have been frustrating.
Please call me as soon as possible or email me on [email protected].
I have a deadline early Friday morning.

Cheers,
Kim Macdonald
(02) 9288 2560

Any feedback on your article Kim :?: -- Some of us don't live in Sydley :!: :!: :!:

Did anybody see this article :?: Did it actually appear :?:

(Sorry to spoil the story and put the post back on track )

 

[Guest]

Mercenary ?

I prefer the term 'freelance military consultant'

Surely you mean 'Professional Adventurer'?

www.sofmag.com

 

[Guest]

Mercenary ?

I prefer the term 'freelance military consultant'

Surely you mean 'Professional Adventurer'?

www.sofmag.com

 

[dajop]

Hey Gordon, travel isn't always glamorous as it sounds. Yes part of my job is flying around, and I love it, but when I'm in the office I don't work nowhere near as many hours. The points go some way to compensating for the hours, I'd hate to be in the public service and not get points. Few of my office bound colleagues arrive home at the airport on 11pm on a Friday night, after starting at 7am , or like last night (in the US) where I left my hotel at 5:30am and arrived back at the hotel at 7pm, only to get calls from the office in Australia, with issues that kept me going for a three hours. Not after sympathy as it comes with the territory, but at least when you are away the points make it a little more bearable.

 

[straitman]

Mmmmm.... seem to have generated some dialogue here!

It could be, that if my 'boss' was sending me out on 'business', some of that business may be in more than one state. It may be, that on a 'business trip' I may have to be in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and maybe even AUCKLAND..... all in the one day (or two). So, that kind of itinary may be just the thing for 'business' travellers.
Now, about hangin' around airports and QC lounges..... maybe it is a bit of a time waste..... but then, so it might be considered, that hangin' round the bar or swimming pool at a hotel would be wasting time as well!
Of course, being in a QC lounge doesn't mean that you are 'wasting time'..... I usually get on the internet (theirs or my laptop) and do a few things. I can down a few along the way, followed by a few more, and..... (anybody with AA?)
Plus, there's catching up with the papers, and magazines that I would probably never go out and buy!

On the other hand..... I may be just a 'nut'......
Hey, we've all got our thing....

regards,

Gordon,

It's still much more fun sitting at the pointy end :!:

 

[straitman]

Mercenary ?

I prefer the term 'freelance military consultant'

Surely you mean 'Professional Adventurer'?

www.sofmag.com

Is icemann back as a guest again and now quoting himself :?:

 

[icemann]

(nearly falling out of my chair)

Unfortunately not That's surreal - quoting myself ?!

(I had a good giggle at this one when I read it, I like the sense of humour)

Anyway....Dajop is correct. Travel isn't always as glamorous as it sounds. I can understand FULL WELL where he is coming from. I had a conference near MCY at the Noosa Sheraton a little while ago, and for some of those days, I was working 16 hour days. No joke.

What people don't seem to realise is that as soon as you put your suit on, you're at work, when you're at breakfast and talking to a conference delegate or having a coffee break, you're networking. Very rarely do I get chance to sit down and be by myself, without 'being on show'.

You have to put on 'a professional air' and that takes it out of you, no matter how much of a people person you are. You have to watch that you don't end up absolutely sozzled on the free booze in front of the CEO, you have to watch your manners, your whole dining etiquette, talking to people, being super nice (and super interested in what they're talking about or researching) takes it out of you. In short, you can't relax and have to watch every mortal thing that you're doing, because you are representing your company and that is really tiring. Think about it - whole deals and corporate alliances can rest on it !

As an example, one day, I worked from 7am, had a poster presentation and an oral presentation on the same day, then had a talk about a possible deal until 10.30pm. By the time we left the hotel, the cleaning staff had actually locked up and so getting out took a bit of walking around !

For the record, I'm an exec in the chemistry field. So some of my job is spent travelling to conferences. It all looks really great, "I'm going to a conference in America, in Japan" - but until you do it, you don't realise that it's really hard work.

At a conference in the USA, I was working from 7am. Breakfast was spent talking with the Japanese delegates. Conference was from 8am until 6pm, and sometimes, until 8pm. After that, we went for 'the water business' (drinks) until 1-2am. Go to sleep for a few hours, get up and do it all again.

That's why I say that I love the QC lounges. I love the nice hotels. I love 'earning points' and SCs. It is the 'sweetener' to sometimes long business trips away from my better half. Like the advert with Cathy Freeman - "I look forward....to sitting down. Taking my shoes off."

I look forward to taking my tie off and changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, or shorts, sitting around the pool in 'full relax' mode and that's why I love my leisure trips away too.

 

[Guest]

Mercenary ?

I prefer the term 'freelance military consultant'

 

[mbeder]

Just picking up on Iceman's quote:

I've been in AA lounges. They're fairly good, and you can get coughtails there. But I still think the QC lounges take it, even if they have no coughtails.

I recently had the misfortune to spend some time in the AA lounges in LA and Dallas...food-wise, I thought they were pretty ordinary when compared to QC. The 'freebies' were limited to tea/instant coffee/pretzels/mini-muffins and two complimentary drink vouchers. Not much to eat if you are there at meal times or if you have a preference for something 'healthy'. The cost of food in the lounge (via a la carte menu) was also more expensive than in the airport. I was amused to see travellers in the lounge with take-away food and drinks that they'd brought in with them. While not averse to paying for food when travelling, I'd previously used lounges provided by Air France/BA/SAA and they were all as good as QC.

I guess this is due to the financial state of AA and a few of the other US carriers.

Anyone else had similar experience?