http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons This is the podcast giving the voice of the traveler, it's more about the journey than the destination. Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:59:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Recorded in the St Louis Airport Marriott courtesy of a blown connection by Southwest. We clean out the TravelCommons mail bag, going through listener comments on disabling in-flight electronics, eating alone, and finding good non-chain food on the road. We talk about the sudden collapse of the CLEAR ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/06/24/podcast-75-cant-i-fly-unplugged-how-i-got-here/ A Wall Street Journal Middle Seat column illustrated how airlines can make a good thing bad -- flipping the proverb to turn a silk purse into a sow's ear. In March, American Airlines restarted their program to replace their old gas-guzzling MD-80's with sparkling new Boeing 737-800's.  As someone who earned ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/06/08/shoehorning-in-more-plane-seats/ "What do tech-savvy frequent flyers want most? The desire to stay connected via Wi-Fi topped the technology requests, according to a new study conducted by American Airlines and HP," says an HP press release from last week.  The online survey conducted by American Airlines reports that "47 percent of business ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/05/26/gratuitous-research-on-wifi-cravings/ Recorded in the Seattle Marriott Waterfront, this special 4th-year anniversary edition collates the best bits from four years of TravelCommons podcasts. Starting with the "hotel medley" -- the roll call of all the hotels that have served as TravelCommons' recording studios, we move on to excerpts from stories about ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/05/14/podcast-74-looking-back-over-four-years-of-travelcommons/ The International Air Transport Association reported earlier this month that premium ticket purchases fell 21% globally in February -- which follows January's decline of 16.7%.  Part of the drop is due to falling air traffic, but a good bit of it is from tighter corporate travel policies that are pushing mid-level ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/04/26/whats-the-value-of-business-class-to-the-passenger/ Recorded somewhere over the Atlantic in the business class toilet of a South African Airways A340 and the Rosebank Hotel in Johannesburg at the start of a week's stay in South Africa. We talk about inconsistent rules for mobile devices on planes, the value of renewing my CLEAR registered traveler ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/04/15/podcast-73-eating-alone-on-the-road-more-things-you-never-want-to-hear/ I travel frequently through Denver International Airport (DEN) to visit family and to ski.  From this first-hand experience, I've always believed that the DEN TSA crew is among the nation's worst.  According to an internal TSA report, a key reason is the local TSA management.  Denver's NBC affiliate obtained a ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/04/03/denver-tsa-performance-poor-because-of-management-harrassment/ The two reasons most frequent travelers invest in a frequent flyer programs -- status perks (e.g., free upgrades, pre-boarding) and free trips.  While comparing status perks between programs is pretty straight-forward -- most airlines proudly list every status perk, the number of seats that can be booked with miles seems ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/03/30/new-facts-about-the-best-frequent-flyer-programs/ Recorded in the TravelCommons studios outside of Chicago at the end of a full week home, decompressing after 6 weeks of straight travel. We talk about some "travel rules" violators -- the woman whose airport meltdown is a YouTube hit and an Amazing Race couple whose violation got them eliminated. ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/03/08/podcast-72-breaking-travel-rules-what-you-never-want-to-hear/ When I used to work in Detroit's Renaissance Center, international cellular calls would occasionally appear on my bill.  After way too many calls to AT&T, I finally figured out that whenever I used a certain conference room in Tower 600, my phone would grab the cell tower directly across the ... http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travelcommons/2009/02/25/28000-to-watch-the-bears-lions-game/