All You Can Jet: 43 Cities In 30 Days
09-28-2009, 07:11 PM
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All You Can Jet: 43 Cities In 30 Days
From Seattle PI Blog:
There's no question. Dustin Curtis is the ultimate frequent flier.
On Sept. 8 the San Francisco-based Web designer began an ambitious trek to visit all 43 JetBlue-served cities in 30 days -- the amount of time covered by the airline's new All You Can Jet pass.
He's taken few showers and gotten most of his z's at 30,000 feet, but the exposure is getting him up close and personal with the air travel experience.
And for a techie user interface guy, that's worth a few dozen bags of peanuts.
Curtis took some time to answer questions about his journey Friday, 172 hours into what he expects will be 320 hours in the air and minutes before he boarded a flight to Seattle, where he arrived about 10:30 p.m. and left at 7 a.m.
How did you find the time to do this? And my goodness -- why?
I have some money saved up, and I do freelance design work occasionally. I've been working sporadically on planes and at airports.
Flying on a commercial airline is an extremely controlled experience. Every single thing you see and do is carefully designed and built from the moment you enter the airport to the moment you leave. I'm a user interface/experience designer, and the airport experience has always fascinated me. Some airlines, like JetBlue, seem to take advantage of this to create a great customer experience while others completely ignore it.
Obviously this isn't a good reason to take 90 flights in 30 days, but I figured it would be fun to be totally immersed in the airline experience.
Are you totally sick of planes yet?
Definitely. I'm psychologically sick of being stuck in a metal tube for hours upon hours every day, and I think something about the constant pressure changes has started making me physically sick. But it's not that bad, and when I look out the window to see rolling mountains or tiny roads with tiny cars and tiny homes miles below as I fly through the sky, it's easy to forget about all that.
So what's all this observation taught you about the airport experience?
Air travel is actually a rather boring industry. Passengers board the plane. The security announcement happens. The plane takes off. It lands. The passengers get off. It's just the same controlled experience over and over and over again. I am surprised the flight attendants are able to stay cheery considering how monotonous everything feels after a while.
Something else that I've noticed is that the world is a small place. If airplanes cost as much as a subway ride, I think the world would be a totally different place. After traveling nonstop through multiple timezones and states for 17 days, the country feels very small. It feels very analogous to the subway in New York, just with slightly longer trip times.
What do you do on the planes? Have you fallen into a routine at all?
In the the morning, I generally watch CNBC before we take off, and then watch Top Chef (which is unquestionably in some sort of marathon, every day) or Judge Milan. A few days ago, I became mesmerized by an infomercial called Jeff Paul's Shortcuts to Internet Millions. I watched it for two hours straight before realizing what was happening. I've also seen all the movies JetBlue offers. When I'm not watching TV, which is most of the time, I'm generally writing or designing on my laptop. I have also been reading a lot on my Kindle.
Can't imagine you'd have much time, but what do you do in cities where you have a couple hours before your next flight?
When I have less than three hours, I will generally stay at the airport. When I have more time than that, I'll venture outside. I try to ask at least 10 airport employees if they can think of the most "this city"-like thing I can do. Then I'll do it.
In Tampa, I was directed by a group of possibly joking TSA officers to a famous strip club (I had no idea until I got there). In Fort Lauderdale, I was told to go to the beach (which was beautiful, and you can see a video and photos on my blog). In San Diego, I met up with some of my followers on Twitter for an awesome sushi dinner.
What's been the most surprising moment in the trip so far?
I met a multimillionaire hedge fund manager who was extremely phobic of planes on one of my flights, and my discussion with him was really fascinating. I was surprised by how serious the phobia of air travel can be, how many people experience it, and how little the airlines seem to do to help these people. I wrote about meeting the hedge fund manager on my site.
Do the people at JetBlue know you yet?
Some of them know me. Earlier (Friday), I was greeted by name onto a plane with a repeat crew. I have been trying not to get too close to the crews so I can partake in the real JetBlue customer experience. I want to write about it when I'm finished with the trip, and if I talk to the crews, I'm afraid they will treat me differently.
You're not working for them, are you?
Definitely not working for JetBlue.
You say you want to write about this trip. Any more plans for where this trip will take you?
I'd like to make the site into a magazine. It's going to take a long time to write all the articles I've been thinking about and organize all the photos, though. And who knows where the trip will end up really taking me. I'll be back in San Francisco on Oct. 8, but that's when the journey really begins. The experiences are priceless.
There's no question. Dustin Curtis is the ultimate frequent flier.
On Sept. 8 the San Francisco-based Web designer began an ambitious trek to visit all 43 JetBlue-served cities in 30 days -- the amount of time covered by the airline's new All You Can Jet pass.
He's taken few showers and gotten most of his z's at 30,000 feet, but the exposure is getting him up close and personal with the air travel experience.
And for a techie user interface guy, that's worth a few dozen bags of peanuts.
Curtis took some time to answer questions about his journey Friday, 172 hours into what he expects will be 320 hours in the air and minutes before he boarded a flight to Seattle, where he arrived about 10:30 p.m. and left at 7 a.m.
How did you find the time to do this? And my goodness -- why?
I have some money saved up, and I do freelance design work occasionally. I've been working sporadically on planes and at airports.
Flying on a commercial airline is an extremely controlled experience. Every single thing you see and do is carefully designed and built from the moment you enter the airport to the moment you leave. I'm a user interface/experience designer, and the airport experience has always fascinated me. Some airlines, like JetBlue, seem to take advantage of this to create a great customer experience while others completely ignore it.
Obviously this isn't a good reason to take 90 flights in 30 days, but I figured it would be fun to be totally immersed in the airline experience.
Are you totally sick of planes yet?
Definitely. I'm psychologically sick of being stuck in a metal tube for hours upon hours every day, and I think something about the constant pressure changes has started making me physically sick. But it's not that bad, and when I look out the window to see rolling mountains or tiny roads with tiny cars and tiny homes miles below as I fly through the sky, it's easy to forget about all that.
So what's all this observation taught you about the airport experience?
Air travel is actually a rather boring industry. Passengers board the plane. The security announcement happens. The plane takes off. It lands. The passengers get off. It's just the same controlled experience over and over and over again. I am surprised the flight attendants are able to stay cheery considering how monotonous everything feels after a while.
Something else that I've noticed is that the world is a small place. If airplanes cost as much as a subway ride, I think the world would be a totally different place. After traveling nonstop through multiple timezones and states for 17 days, the country feels very small. It feels very analogous to the subway in New York, just with slightly longer trip times.
What do you do on the planes? Have you fallen into a routine at all?
In the the morning, I generally watch CNBC before we take off, and then watch Top Chef (which is unquestionably in some sort of marathon, every day) or Judge Milan. A few days ago, I became mesmerized by an infomercial called Jeff Paul's Shortcuts to Internet Millions. I watched it for two hours straight before realizing what was happening. I've also seen all the movies JetBlue offers. When I'm not watching TV, which is most of the time, I'm generally writing or designing on my laptop. I have also been reading a lot on my Kindle.
Can't imagine you'd have much time, but what do you do in cities where you have a couple hours before your next flight?
When I have less than three hours, I will generally stay at the airport. When I have more time than that, I'll venture outside. I try to ask at least 10 airport employees if they can think of the most "this city"-like thing I can do. Then I'll do it.
In Tampa, I was directed by a group of possibly joking TSA officers to a famous strip club (I had no idea until I got there). In Fort Lauderdale, I was told to go to the beach (which was beautiful, and you can see a video and photos on my blog). In San Diego, I met up with some of my followers on Twitter for an awesome sushi dinner.
What's been the most surprising moment in the trip so far?
I met a multimillionaire hedge fund manager who was extremely phobic of planes on one of my flights, and my discussion with him was really fascinating. I was surprised by how serious the phobia of air travel can be, how many people experience it, and how little the airlines seem to do to help these people. I wrote about meeting the hedge fund manager on my site.
Do the people at JetBlue know you yet?
Some of them know me. Earlier (Friday), I was greeted by name onto a plane with a repeat crew. I have been trying not to get too close to the crews so I can partake in the real JetBlue customer experience. I want to write about it when I'm finished with the trip, and if I talk to the crews, I'm afraid they will treat me differently.
You're not working for them, are you?
Definitely not working for JetBlue.
You say you want to write about this trip. Any more plans for where this trip will take you?
I'd like to make the site into a magazine. It's going to take a long time to write all the articles I've been thinking about and organize all the photos, though. And who knows where the trip will end up really taking me. I'll be back in San Francisco on Oct. 8, but that's when the journey really begins. The experiences are priceless.
09-29-2009, 06:10 AM
#2
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Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: 767er Captain
Posts: 12,109
Originally Posted by vagabond
Air travel is actually a rather boring industry. Passengers board the plane. The security announcement happens. The plane takes off. It lands. The passengers get off. It's just the same controlled experience over and over and over again. I am surprised the flight attendants are able to stay cheery considering how monotonous everything feels after a while.
Something else that I've noticed is that the world is a small place. If airplanes cost as much as a subway ride, I think the world would be a totally different place. After traveling nonstop through multiple timezones and states for 17 days, the country feels very small. It feels very analogous to the subway in New York, just with slightly longer trip times.
Something else that I've noticed is that the world is a small place. If airplanes cost as much as a subway ride, I think the world would be a totally different place. After traveling nonstop through multiple timezones and states for 17 days, the country feels very small. It feels very analogous to the subway in New York, just with slightly longer trip times.
09-30-2009, 07:06 AM
#3
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Joined APC: Sep 2007
Position: B737 CA
Posts: 1,518
Originally Posted by tsquare
The next time you wonder why our pay and benefits are so out of whack, read these paragraphs... over and over. If it doesn't hit home after that, well.. there is no hope for this ever being the great profession it once was.
09-30-2009, 08:04 AM
#4
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Joined APC: Jun 2009
Posts: 66
All,
You're kidding me right? Our pay and benefits are the way they are because we negotiate them and then vote them into effect. The traveling public's mindset and what they think of our profession shouldn't even enter into the equation. We are compensated for a set of skills that are not easily replicated. When it comes to negotiating, we should think about what we think we are worth and negotiate it from there. I could care less about what John Q Public thinks of me. The days of the big pay and benefits didn't come because the traveling public thought highly of us, it came because we thought alot higher of ourselves.
You're kidding me right? Our pay and benefits are the way they are because we negotiate them and then vote them into effect. The traveling public's mindset and what they think of our profession shouldn't even enter into the equation. We are compensated for a set of skills that are not easily replicated. When it comes to negotiating, we should think about what we think we are worth and negotiate it from there. I could care less about what John Q Public thinks of me. The days of the big pay and benefits didn't come because the traveling public thought highly of us, it came because we thought alot higher of ourselves.
09-30-2009, 08:13 AM
#5
Banned
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Position: The Beginnings
Posts: 1,317
Pft. Fly to every city JetBlue flies to? 43 cities? I'm not impressed. It's like saying I've been to every stop on the NYC Subway system.
Fly to every city DELTA (or American, or Continental) flies to? My god . . . that would take forever, and cost lord knows how much.
That might be an experience worth writing about. The sheer logistics of such a journey would be staggering. I wonder how long it would take?
Fly to every city DELTA (or American, or Continental) flies to? My god . . . that would take forever, and cost lord knows how much.
That might be an experience worth writing about. The sheer logistics of such a journey would be staggering. I wonder how long it would take?
09-30-2009, 08:19 AM
#6
No longer cares
Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: 767er Captain
Posts: 12,109
Originally Posted by enuff
All,
You're kidding me right? Our pay and benefits are the way they are because we negotiate them and then vote them into effect. The traveling public's mindset and what they think of our profession shouldn't even enter into the equation.
You're kidding me right? Our pay and benefits are the way they are because we negotiate them and then vote them into effect. The traveling public's mindset and what they think of our profession shouldn't even enter into the equation.
Originally Posted by enuff
We are compensated for a set of skills that are not easily replicated. When it comes to negotiating, we should think about what we think we are worth and negotiate it from there. I could care less about what John Q Public thinks of me. The days of the big pay and benefits didn't come because the traveling public thought highly of us, it came because we thought alot higher of ourselves.
Personally, I think I am worth oh.. maybe double what I am this at this moment. Getting that translated into a paycheck is an entirely different animal... unfortunately. Big pay in days gone by had a lot to do with regulation... ahhhh those were the days.. or so I hear. Everybody made money then. Now we have Joe Bag-o-doughnuts airline starting up every other evening and blah blah blah.. we all know the story.
09-30-2009, 08:43 AM
#7
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Joined APC: Jun 2006
Position: A-320A
Posts: 18,563
The question is can we break the cycle?
I think we could if we were not as concerned about "I" or what is in it for me?
Another thought!
This is the same way the traveling public sees space travel and everyone is so shocked when one blows up. The professionals in each industry make what occurs each and everyday seem boring and a non-event.
Tell that to a surgeon, they do the same thing every day and make it seem like no bid deal. The difference is that he is cutting on you and a lot more people die on the table each and every day than die in commercial aircraft.
I think we could if we were not as concerned about "I" or what is in it for me?
Another thought!
This is the same way the traveling public sees space travel and everyone is so shocked when one blows up. The professionals in each industry make what occurs each and everyday seem boring and a non-event.
Tell that to a surgeon, they do the same thing every day and make it seem like no bid deal. The difference is that he is cutting on you and a lot more people die on the table each and every day than die in commercial aircraft.
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