Looking for someone to blame for a miserable year? Try Robert L. Crandall, Leo F. Mullin or John A. Edwardson. You may not know these men, but you know their airlines. As the executives calling the shots at American, Delta and United, respectively, they’re the most influential personalities in their business.
December 1997
This has been the year of the laptop accessory, no doubt about it. You don’t need to make a pilgrimage to the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas to know that. Just board any flight and wait until the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign clicks off. High-tech add-ons are everywhere, and road warriors are using them for everything from guarding data to improving their posture and productivity. Most of the latest innovations, such as the CheeseHeadphones, figure somewhere between pet rocks and lava lamps in terms of usefulness and overall appeal. But some, I admit, seem to be more than just marketing gimmicks-there are even a few you might want to consider when you’re shopping for holiday gifts for your favorite business traveler.
Next time your travel agent asks if you prefer one aircraft type over another, consider your answer carefully. Especially if you have to fly coach. Not all planes are created equal-or equally comfortable-according to a new survey by San Diego, Calif.-based CIC Research Inc. A random Internet poll found that the 1,301 respondents favor the economy class seating options on the Boeing 767 over other commercial jets, including the MD11 and the Boeing 777. The most unpopular plane, as far as the cheap seats go, is the Boeing 747.
Did you think this was a year for the books? Sure, it had all the elements of a vintage season, with blockbuster deals, nail-biting dramas, and heartbreaking finales headlining the schedule. Wait until next year. The deals will be even bigger, the growth faster, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll start to turn a profit, according to industry insiders. It seems unbelievable that anyone could expect that kind of encore. But quite a few folks are.
For every one useful travel gadget introduced in 1997, there were at least 10 completely frivolous toys marketed to unsuspecting business travelers. Maybe you’ve seen these contraptions for sale in an in-flight catalog. Or snickered at them in a crowded airport shop. Worse still, it’s possible there’s one from a well-meaning relative, wrapped and waiting for you this holiday. Like it or not, the SkyMalls of the world are filled with toys that are about as useful to the road warrior as a Hula Hoop in the back of crowded 747.
Check into the $400-a-night Mark hotel in Manhattan, and along with your room key you’ll get a cellular phone with no strings attached. Or so it will seem. They say the phone is free at this swanky Upper East Side property, and technically speaking, it is-until you turn it on. That’s when the meter starts running at an astronomical rate of $1.75 a minute, regardless of whether you’re calling or being called. On a normal hand-held, you’d pay about 47 cents a minute for the same service.
