On episode 18, Micah and I comment on listener feedback from listeners Vin, Paul and Lu.  Vin writes in about Southwest airlines lack of luggage tracking. Listener Paul asks about our favorite aircraft and who we would like to have on the show as a guest.  Hint: NASA figures into our answers. And finally listener Lu wants the details on #surprisemom.  Apparently, I didn't talk enough about mom and her reactions to my surprise visit.

Micah and I then discuss the details of my back to back trips to Lihue, Hawaii.  It was my first time to the Garden Island.  I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn because they had a protected area to go snorkeling.  I was also privileged to fly with some great United flight attendants!

Thanks once again to all of our listeners and especially our international listeners.  Please write in and let us know how you found the show and why you listen.  We love hearing from you!!!

Opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.

We hope you enjoy the show!

On episode 17, Micah and I talk about how I miscalculated the requirements for achieving 1K status this year and how I "had" to take a surprise trip to see mom in Florida.  I seem to have forgotten about the dollar requirement for 1K status and I wanted to have it for my upcoming flight to Singapore as I will have a better chance for an upgrade.  Therefore, I decided to #surprisemom.  It was a very quick surprise trip to Florida to visit with mom... and wow, was she most certainly surprised when I walked through the front door!

Thanks once again to all of our listeners and especially our international listeners.  Please write in and let us know how you found the show and why you listen.  We love hearing from you!!!

Opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.  

We hope you enjoy the show!

On episode 16, Micah and I comment on listener feedback from listeners Marc-Alexandre and Lisa.  Marc-Alexandre asks about not always flying on United and the environmental impact of my flying. Lisa can't believe I don't remember Land Shark from Saturday Nite Live.

Micah and I then talk about the devaluation of frequent traveler programs and the democratization of Lounges.  Then we discuss the 'Houston we have a podcast' show where they talk about women in STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  I add my 2 pennies on how I always promoted women when I was Associate Producer on the Airplane Geeks podcast.  I strongly feel as though it's everyones responsibility to highlight woman and show girls they can do anything.  Aviation doesn't have to be a male only industry!  Sometimes girls just need to see someone doing a STEM related job and then they can envision themselves doing the same job.

We finish the show talking about the courier services I am offering and the two people who have chosen to fly with me to Africa and Zambia on upcoming trips.  It will be lots of fun being their tour guide!  But first, next up for me are two quick trips to Hawaii and then a courier trip to Singapore.

Thanks once again to all of our listeners and especially our international listeners.  Please write in and let us know how you found the show and why you listen.  We love hearing from you!!!

Opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.  We hope you enjoy the show!

In episode 15, Micah and I comment on listener feedback from listeners Uli and Ruben.  Uli explains the American Airlines boarding process and their tickets.  Ruben asks if we will continue the show after I reach my goal.

Micah and I then talk about why I few up to Sacramento on Southwest Airlines and not United along with my bags flying for free.  We talk about the passenger experience and how Southwest celebrated Shark Week.

Thanks once again to all of our listeners and especially our international listeners.  Please write in and let us know how you found the show and why you listen.  We love hearing from you!!!

Opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.  We hope you enjoy the show!

In episode 14, Micah and I comment on listener feedback from listeners Lu and Vin.  We talk about our tips and tricks for flight preparation, medical concerns, and staying healthy in flight.   Micah also tells the story about how we first met ... it was through the Airplane Geeks Podcast.

Then I get to turn the tables and interview Micah.  As I'm not traveling over the summer, I thought it would be a good idea for our listeners to get to better know Micah.  During our conversations, he talks about his family and especially his mom, Harriott.  (I so wish I had the opportunity to meet this incredible lady!)  Micah tells stories about his flying adventures with his mom and I get to surprise him with some rapid fire questions.

Thanks once again to all of our listeners and especially our international listeners.  Please write in and let us know how you found the show and why you listen.  We love hearing from you!!!

Opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.  We hope you enjoy the show!

In episode 13, Micah and I comment on listener feedback from Uli (Why and when is the best time to fly... what is our preferred time of the day to fly?) and Chris (Constructive criticism, German security confiscating my battery / charger device, and the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.)

We then talk about my trip to Philadelphia on American Airlines.  Yes, I few on American and passed up on the opportunity to earn United Mileage Plus miles!  Listen to the show to understand why I chose not to get closer to my Lifetime 1K status.

We also discuss our international listeners and ask all listeners to write in and let us know why you listen and how you first learned about us?

We give a huge shoutout and thanks to our new contributors to the show, Hendrik and Phillip!  Thank you so much for helping us offset the costs of producing the show!

Opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.  We hope you enjoy the show!

In episode 12, I finally give credit to the Madalitso Youth Choir for their opening music and song.  I really messed up by not doing this sooner and I apologize to them for my oversight.  In the show, Micah and I comment on listener feedback and then we talk about the end of Covid testing to enter the US, we discuss the use of Apple Air Tags in luggage while traveling, and then we talk about the different classes of service on airlines and how they have changed over the years.  We end the show talking about creative use of Hilton and IHG Credit Card Benefits  

Again, opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.  We hope you enjoy the show!

In episode 11, Micah and I continue our discussion of my trip to South Africa and Zambia.  We focus on the United portion of this trip as we covered the other parts of the journey in Part 1, Episode 10.  We also cover a flight segment on Lufthansa (JNB - FRA) and differences between flying in First Class vs Business Class.   In Part 2 of this African journey, we cover what went right and what went wrong with United... including a funny story with a new International flight attendant.  Opening music is provided by the Madalitso Youth Choir as they sing their Welcome Song, recorded at the lobby of The Royal Livingston Hotel in Zambia.  We hope you enjoy it!

In episode 10, Micah and I discuss my trip to South Africa and Zambia.  In Part 1, we focus on the non-United parts of this trip as the United experience was simply too painful and fresh to cover.  We want to focus on the positives and discuss the other aspects of the trip... including some of the bookings and land activities.  This was my first trip to Zambia and seeing / experiencing Victoria Falls.  On this trip, I was also traveling with another couple, friends of mine for over 30 years!  In this show, we also answer listener mail by addressing the economics of this project, where the money is coming from and the expected benefits.  Basically, we discuss the math behind the project.  In episode 11, Part 2, we will cover what went right and what went wrong with United... so please check back for that episode!

In episode 9, Micah and I discuss my surprise trip to see mom for Mother's Day, her Birthday, and her wedding anniversary.  She had no idea I was showing up and I almost scared her to death!  We also discuss the lack of ground staff at Newark and how a great trip turned into a multi-hour delay... simply because United didn't have enough people scheduled to work.  For the first time in the show, we talk about listener feedback.  There were a lot of great comments, some positive and some negative.  However, they were all great and I agree with all of them.  This is a journey for me in producing this show and listener feedback will only make it better.  Therefore, keep 'em coming!