We wanted to pass along this post card we received from the Jim-Bobble who, along with his entourage, is enjoying some well-deserved R&R far away from the stressful world of travel distribution. In fact, even those of us here at Farelogix aren’t sure where he is; believe it or not he’s a rather private bobble when the cameras are off. We’ll keep you posted if we hear more from our vacationing friend.

In the meantime, we wanted to let you know that next week — August 9, 2:00pm EST — Jim Davidson (the real one!) and moderator Tom Wilkinson will be presenting a GBTA Webinar focused on ancillary services and corporate travel. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, okay. The last thing I wanted to do today was to write a blog post. I’ve been in 5 different cities, eaten at least 5 meals on airplanes, lost my iPhone in NYC this week, and now I’ve got a leak in my house. I was ready for some R&R. Then I read this guest article in The Beat. Just fantastic. Look, I know I’m sounding like a broken record here, but I’m always in favor of honest, open debate, but it’s got to be honest. For the reasons stated above, clearly I’m not it the best of moods, and maybe that’s why it’s really sticking in my craw, but I just really feel the need to respond to this one.

Anyway, I’m not going to rehash the article, but I thought I would introduce a dose of reality from the point of view of a very frequent business traveler. Yes, I believe I qualify as a frequent business traveler.

Are we serious when we ask, “So who is the airline customer?” Surely we must be kidding? We all know it’s you and me. Flesh and blood travelers. And with all due respect to the infrequent leisure travelers that I see lots of this time of year (ATL airport even has a special security line for them – called the inexperienced traveler line), it’s the corporate traveler that is the bread and butter for most network airlines. Frequent travelers like you and me. Read the rest of this entry »

So there I was on Sunday—Mother’s Day—sitting on a very comfortable couch. I had just returned from the bakery after picking up a few of my wife’s favorite breakfast pastries. Now obviously she’s not my mother, but I figured I had to do something considering that the kids would probably once again be scrambling that morning to find something they didn’t want anymore to re-gift to her, or make a dash to the gas station for a lovely floral arrangement.

Anyway, everyone else was still asleep and I was enjoying a lovely cup of coffee. I figured I might as well catch up on some emails. As soon as I logged on, there it was—an email from the marketing team. The subject was, “BTC is at it again.” Great. What now? I had yet to even open it and my Sunday—Mother’s Day—was ruined.

Look, I’m sure the folks at Business Travel Coalition are not bad guys. Really. We just happen to be on diametrically opposite sides of the travel distribution debate. Oil and water. Fire and ice. You get the idea. Read the rest of this entry »