I was going to save this for my trip summary to Dayton, but given the interest (hits in the hundreds according to Google Analytics) in my quick post about it, I thought I’d elaborate separately. Yesterday morning at the Dayton airport, I was sent to secondary screening after passing through the AIT machine, aka nude-o-scope. My sin, you ask? I am a Type 1 Diabetic and wear an insulin pump. I was asked to handle my pump with both hands, and then my palms were swabbed. Perfectly reasonable. Then I was given the full monty. Now, I’m not quite sure how wearing an insulin pump increases the odds that I’m hiding contraband next to my private parts, but you can rest assured, the TSO verified that I wasn’t.

Maybe I’m just jaded, or maybe the TSO’s attitude and demeanor were such that he put me at ease and kept me fully informed of what was about to happen next all through the process. In fact, he was about as professional as anyone could be in such a situation. Don’t know why…but when it was said and done, I didn’t feel like I needed to seek counseling, hide under a chair, or take a shower. In fact, it was just about exactly the same patdown I received when flying from Cali to Bogota on Avianca back in the 90′s. Primary difference being, the Colombians made me stand up on a box to do it, and the female security person doing the errr…inspection, was a helluva lot better looking than this guy was. Of course, this is the United States of America, and not 1990′s Colombia, but I digress. That said, it is what it is. Did I like it? No. Do I want to do it again? No. Will I? Since I intend to keep flying as long as I’m breathing, I guess so until we decide to do something different with security.

You read it here first.  I just experienced my first enhanced patdown by TSA.  The screener was very polite and professional, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed the wait.  That said, it wasn’t quite as horrid as some in the media and elsewhere make it out to be.  More details to follow in my trip summary.

Hello from an American Airlines 737 somewhere between DCA and ORD.  MrsMJonTravel and I are enroute to Dayton via ORD.  It’s been a pretty uneventful trip so far, which is the way I like it.  Red Top Cab showed up on time at 4:30am, even though it was snowing, and we were at the airport and through security by 5am for our 6:10am flight to ORD.  What a deal!

The DCA Admirals Club opens at 5am, so we had a few minutes to grab a cup of coffee and a snack.  We even had the lounge all to ourselves for a few minutes.  If you haven’t heard, the DCA Admirals Club is undergoing a major renovation, and the restrooms are out of service for a few more weeks, so plan accordingly.  I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

As I mentioned, it was snowing in DC this morning.  Yuck!  A fitting end to a sucktacularly cold winter, I guess.  Good thing or flight boarded quickly.  The door was shut a good 10 minutes prior to departure and deicing was able to start early.  With that done, we pushed back and blasted off for ORD with only about a 20 minute delay from scheduled departure.  Pretty snazzy.

MrsMJonTravel and I even have an empty seat between us.  Our 737 is equipped with wi-fi, and I am getting to try out the new generation coach seats that American has introduced since we are slumming it in coach on this trip.  (Is it a little sad that I don’t remember the last time I flew coach on AA?)  They’re pretty comfortable, but I can tell that seat pitch was reduced with this new interior.  I’m not uncomfortable, but my knees are pretty close to the seat in front of me.  Thankfully, no one is sitting there!  In short, things have just gone really well this morning.  Sunday morning at 6am tends to thin things out a bit I guess.  It was difficult getting up so early, but it sure has made for a pleasant journey so far.

The answer to that headline is almost never in my book, but like all things….there are exceptions to the rule.  MrsMJonTravel and I are leaving for Dayton Sunday morning.  I won’t get into why on the blog, but we need to be there.  I priced flights on United from Dulles, and they wanted $1,218.00….each!  US Airways from DCA was a bit better….$700 dollars each.  Finally, I checked Southwest from BWI into Columbus (then drive to Dayton).  All that was available were fully refundable fares at $172.00 each way for the Anytime Fare and $185 for Business Select.  Either of those is a very reasonable price to pay for short notice travel.  Unfortunately, I didn’t book right then.  By the time it was apparent that we had to fly to Dayton, Southwest was completely sold out.  Even United, at the ridiculous price they were posting is now sold out for the dates and times we need.

Enter American Airlines.  Both MrsMJonTravel and I have a few miles in our accounts that we won’t likely use anytime soon, so I checked AAdvantage award availability.  There were no MilesAAver seats available, but AAnytime award space was there, so I snagged it.  Since I’m a Gold AAdvantage member, I do not have to pay the ridiculous short-notice award fee, but did have to pay it for MrsMJonTravel.  So..for $120.00, we are flying to Dayton with the exact dates and times we need.

If I could rewind the clock, I would have booked the refundable Southwest fare, and kept the miles.  But time can’t be rewound.  Other than driving (which I will not do), this was simply the best option for us, and I don’t regret using 50,000 miles each to get there.  There are times when it’s OK to burn miles on short flights, and I can’t think of a better reason than saving well over $1,000 dollars in this case.

I got an interesting offer from Delta SkyMiles today.

The headline:  ”Enjoy up to 100,000 bonus miles as a reward for flying more with us.”

The scoop:  Earn Gold Medallion again, and receive 25,000 bonus miles.  Take it up a notch to Platinum Medallion, and you’ll get 50,000 bonus miles.  And if you’ve got the stomach for Diamond Medallion, you get 100,000 bonus miles!!  You have to fly the required MQM’s or MQS’s by December 31, 2011, to earn the bonus miles.  This offer appears to be highly targeted, but it never hurts to check your spam filter or register just in case.

Delta Air Lines announced today that it will be cutting departures at its Memphis hub by 25 percent.  These cuts are part of an overall reduction of flying in response to rapidly rising fuel prices.  Interestingly, the cuts are focused on regional flying by Delta Connection partners, and for now at least, mainline flights are not affected, and some routes are even upguaging to larger aircraft.

One could argue that this is just a natural progression of the merger, and an elimination of a duplicative hub to Delta’s Atlanta operations.  You could also ask if this will lead to the elimination of one too many hubs in the industry overall.  Maybe.  However, I think the most interesting aspect is that mainline operations are being maintained while 50 seat regional jet flying is getting the ax.  Personally, I believe that the end is near for the low hanging fruit of regional airline operations, the 30 to 50 seat regional jet and older turboprops that are left.  With fuel prices as they are, you need to charge a fare that rivals the budget deficit in order to have a shot at making money with these smaller airframes.

The 50 seat jet market hit critical mass years ago and just kept going.  They may offer lower trip cost overall, but on a seat mile basis, the numbers just don’t add up at stratospheric fuel price levels.  I think Delta’s move to ground 50 seat regional jet flying in Memphis is just the beginning, and that you are going to see similar moves across the industry.  Stay tuned.  This could get cute.  And if fuel keeps going up, plan on more than a few of those 75 seat jets turning into a beer can near you too.

You probably know that I’m a big fan of the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express.  Starwood points are among the most valuable frequent travel currency out there.  Their transferability to a large number of frequent flier programs, most at a 1 to 1 ratio is just great.  Transfer 20,000 points and they throw in a 5,000 point bonus, for an effective earning rate of 1.25 miles for every dollar spent.  Swell!

I’ve received both an email and a postal mailer this week reminding me that I can earn a 5,000 point bonus for each approved new applicant for this card.  Amex must be trying to drum up some business.  Let’s help them out.  If you’re interested in getting this card, send me your email address by clicking “Contact Me” above.  I’ll refer you.  I get 5,000 points, and you get 10,000 for your first purchase.  If you spent $15,000 in your first 6 months, you get an extra 15,000 bonus points.

I recently posted about United and Continental allowing you to move miles between your OnePass and Mileage Plus accounts.  In a nifty move as they work towards merging into one program, if you have elite status in either program, they’ll match it in the other.  So if you are a United Premier Exec like myself, Continental will grant you OnePass Gold, and vice versa.  Credit the miles to the operating carrier’s program, and maximize elite benefits.  Pretty cool if you ask me.  They’ll combine your United and Continental flights for this year in determining next year’s elite status in what is supposed to be a new combined program.

In any event, my match came through in 10 days.  Well worth filling out the form if you’re an elite in one carrier or the other.

NOTE:  Reader mowogo reminds that Continental elites earn a 500 mile minimum on US Airways flights.  So credit those US flights to your Continental account!

I love me some fast jets!

This piece in the USA Today raises interesting possibilities.  Soon, private lounge operator Airspace Lounge, will open a non-airline affiliated lounge at BWI Airport in May.  BWI has been without an airline lounge since US Airways and United closed their clubs in 2008.  The new Airspace Lounge will open in the space formerly occupied by the United Red Carpet Club on Concourse D.

With its dearth of airline lounges, BWI seems like a good place to test a business idea like this one.  BWI is closely associated with Southwest Airlines and its leisure traveler oriented stereotype, but I think many would be surprised to know the number of business travelers that also use the airport as a lower-fare gateway to the national capital region.  I remember well the last time I flew United from BWI, and at least two customers specifically mentioned to the gate agent how much they miss having the Red Carpet Club in BWI.  Granted, those 2 customers won’t make this new lounge option profitable, but I expect many, many more customers feel the same way.  There is demand for a semi-private spot away from the riff-raff that offers basic business services, a comfortable chair, a drink, and some snacks.  I can promise that if I’m ever stuck at BWI waiting for a flight, I’d gladly pay a reasonable fee for access to a lounge like this.

I’m anxious to see how this new concept performs, and wonder if they might consider affiliating with Priority Pass or some other access program to increase business?  You can count on me to drop by the lounge on my first flight out of BWI after it opens in May.  I’ll be sure to share the scoop here, and snap a few pictures with my new Canon!  :)

Check out the great new site for frequent fliers, milepoint.com.  Through the simple act of registering, you become eligible win 1 of 35 iPad2′s Randy Petersen is giving away to celebrate Milepoint’s launch.  A chance to win an iPad, and a wealth of knowledge about all things travel that are invaluable.  What are you waiting for?  Sign up!