a Geographer's Place

When engaging in international travel, most folks use the large airports like LAX, JFK, ORD, MIA DFW, SEA, ATL (and others). These airports are important since most all incoming and outgoing international travel routes through them. The terminals at the larger airports are roomy, have an abundance of amenities like restaurants and shopping, and generally host at least a couple lounges. And that's all fine and dandy. As I've noted elsewhere , I don't like to give away my travel secrets very often. But since my blog posts aren't that popular anyhow, I guess it's not a big deal. My secret for this post? Using regional airports. Especially if you live more than a couple/few hours away from an international airport. Why? I can offer a number of reasons, but a main one is they're not very crowded, meaning check-in and security lines are usually non-existent. Which means workers are generally less stressed, and that positive energy rubs off on you, making for a more pl...

Almost everyday I see people complaining on social media about the woes of airline (and hotel) elite status being downgraded or devalued. Like, just because they're the highest frequent flyer tier on an airline, they never get an upgrade. Or the points aren't as "valuable" as they were previously. I get it  –  those people likely spent thousands of dollars on a product and want to be rewarded for it. But that kind of entitled and whiny attitude bothers me. A lot. So much so that I'm writing a blog post about it. First off, I believe travel is a privilege , not a right. Until the turn of the twenty-first-century or so, flying was classy. You dressed up and the on-board service often reflected the classiness. Even in coach/economy you had space and a decent meal, even when flying a shorter hop. Nowadays economy-class meals aren't served unless it's a long/international flight, leg-room is tight, and people wander on an airplane in their pajamas and make life...