http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runner

Author claims to be a ft lurker.

[Mods - I thought this was the appropriate forum - move if not.]

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runner

Author claims to be a ft lurker.


A neat article, and while $276/6356 miles = 4.3 cpm isn't really a great MR, it sounds like he definitely got into the spirit of things. In any case, a fun read (and along the lines of something suggested here a while back, IIRC). Now, some of the runs by "Solomin" sound pretty impressive...

Great article on MRs. Great picture of Samir too! :)

Samir wasn't sitting on an airplane for that picture, though. Was it Amtrak?

Great article. ^

I wish someone would give me $500 with the goal to get as many miles as possible. :p

this article runs.

great news for Viajero ^.

the timing kinda sucks for me 'cause last night i had decided to give his site a go today. oh well, since it looks like he'll have his hands full for the next ummm .... forever, i guess i'll continue to do my best to read, learn and practice my routing and fare spotting skills the hard (but fun) way.

otoh, i enjoyed the sudoku reference 'cause that's how i explain my new obsession to my friends. of course, i emphasize that imho MRs have way more benefits both in expended effort and end results wise.

The article mentioned a WAS-SFO run that netted 27000 miles for $113, which I assume was EQMs. Holy crap! How did that one work? And where do I sign up for that?! :)

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runner

Author claims to be a ft lurker.

[Mods - I thought this was the appropriate forum - move if not.]the author IS a f/t lurker (and might be a member now). spoke with him at length as part of his research and he was actually doing a multi-multi-multi-city m/r to actually get a feel for it from the m/r'ers perspective.

One of the better overview articles about MRs that I've seen in mainstream reporting. Definitely heavy pluggage for FT and VJ, which could be good and/or bad, I suppose. :)

Of course, the reporter still has a lot to learn. But it doesn't make us all sound like "freaks" as one friend put it. :)

A shame that Randy's name is misspelled.

One of the better overview articles about MRs that I've seen in mainstream reporting. Definitely heavy pluggage for FT and VJ, which could be good and/or bad, I suppose. :)

Of course, the reporter still has a lot to learn. But it doesn't make us all sound like "freaks" as one friend put it. :)emphasis mine: let 'em eat cake (and ride in coach while they're at it :D)

Samir wasn't sitting on an airplane for that picture, though. Was it Amtrak?

Looked more like the back of a bus in Thailand to me...he even seemed kind of drunk!

But it doesn't make us all sound like "freaks" as one friend put it. :)

I'd rather the world at large think MRs are ridiculous and we are freaks. Just makes things better for us :)

a interesting difinition from an article titled "We Love to Fly and It Shows: Inside the World of Mileage Running" (http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runner?currentPage=all). Other comments are: "Mileage runners are the high-tech nomadic wanderers of the air. Predominantly male, generally obsessed with flying and miles, and typically employed in white-collar careers that involve significant business travel, they scour the web for cheap flights, phoning in sick or using vacation days to fly the longest itineraries they can string together."

See this tread. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=712548)

"she might fly back and forth between two cities four times in a single day."

Zoiks! I thought he was talkin' about me. I don't remember being interviewed by a guy named Dave. ;)

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runner

Author claims to be a ft lurker.

[Mods - I thought this was the appropriate forum - move if not.]

I read wired article with great interest - I've been a member of FT for some time, but don't have the ITA "lingo" down very well yet... I'm quite a newbie in the mileage running game, and have simply been accumulating (and using) miles like an average "joe", however, with some above-average knowledge gained from experience.

I am based in Boston. I fly about once a month. My common destinations are London GB, Manchester GB, New York City, Rochester NY, Ottawa ONT Canada and Denver CO.

I enjoy flying quite a bit -- and would really like to rack up some miles, as "Viajero Joven" and Samir Bhatnagar have been doing -- but when it comes down to booking a multiple transfer trip, I get lost...

If there's anyone in the Boston area that would like to go on a trip and show me the ropes, I'd really love it!!

I'm currently trying to balance out several variables with mileage running, such as:

- Should I concentrate on a specific airline? (I prefer American, Delta or US Air)
- What about partner airlines?
- Should I concentrate on segments, miles or both?
- Should I concentrate on destinations? What sort of layovers can I expect to get away with on single trips? (For example, BOS -> EWR -> ORD (overnight layover, tour Chicago) -> LAX and then back?)

My last flight to Denver on US Air (which was operated by United) I was a bit confused as to which airline (if not both) I would get mileage on... The first leg was a direct flight BOS->DEN; I volunterred to be bumped for a free ticket on the return trip, and then put my "travel agent hat on" as I re-worked my flight back home, re-routing my ticket to DEN->IAD->BOS (was this a smart idea to get more miles or not?) -- sad part was my connecting flight (and all other flights from IAD->BOS were cancelled) United customer service told me that if I took a taxi to DCA (Reagan), they could put me on the US Air shuttle -- after a $60 cab ride, the folks at US Air gave me dumb looks saying "you're a UNITED passanger, not US Air" while the last shuttle (21h00) left the gate... I was stuck overnight at the aiport until the following morning, where United ticketed me on the US Air shuttle to BOS. (I griped to United and got a $150 voucher...)

My last trip to Manchester GB (England), I flew from BOS->PHL->MAN (US Air), then returned MAN->PHL->LGA->BOS -- it went smoothly and I got premium miles, and was in 1st class on the trans-Atlantic legs. I managed to get a very low fare on http://www.cheapair.com/ (one of my favourite sites!)

So, how about it! If you're in the Boston area, and are an experienced mileage runner, don't go it alone! Help pass on your skills to a newbie and get some company along the way!

E-mail me at chazantonelli@yahoo.com

Samir wasn't sitting on an airplane for that picture, though. Was it Amtrak?

I noticed that as well... but thought it was the wrong kind of window for Amtrak (I take the Downeaster Amtrak [BOS->EXE, EXE->BOS] almost weekly) -- looks like it was taken in his home (or mobile home.) The drapes and glazing are odd looking for a proper home window...

One of the better overview articles about MRs that I've seen in mainstream reporting. Definitely heavy pluggage for FT and VJ, which could be good and/or bad, I suppose. :)

Of course, the reporter still has a lot to learn. But it doesn't make us all sound like "freaks" as one friend put it. :)

Sadly, the replies in the WIRED online article seem to all be shaking a disapproving finger at MRs, as we are increasing our "carbon footprints", thus destroying the environment --- even though these flights would run anyway!

Be sure to reply with some positive replies to the article if you get a chance!

Once again, the article link is http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runner

Awesome article!^ Out of curiosity, when was this person conducting research for it?

Awesome article!^ Out of curiosity, when was this person conducting research for it?

He contacted me in early May.

Awesome article!^ Out of curiosity, when was this person conducting research for it?He contacted me in early May.and me as well
Sadly, the replies in the WIRED online article seem to all be shaking a disapproving finger at MRs, as we are increasing our "carbon footprints", thus destroying the environment --- even though these flights would run anyway!

Be sure to reply with some positive replies to the article if you get a chance!

Once again, the article link is http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runneras i posted earlier, let 'em eat cake (and ride in coach while they're at it :D)

and me as well
as i posted earlier, let 'em eat cake (and ride in coach while they're at it :D)

Hmmm . I thought the first rule of flight club is . . .

you don't talk about flight club.
:)

Hmmm . I thought the first rule of flight club is . . .

you don't talk about flight club.
:)

Shhhh! You shouldn't talk about that -- it's a secret! ;-)

Since it was called out in the other thread, but not here, it must be mentioned here:

[FlyerTalk] also addresses truly urgent issues like which United flights still offer full-sized wine glasses in their first-class cabins.

^ to BJ!

Hmmm . I thought the first rule of flight club is . . .

you don't talk about flight club.
:)

Absolutely. see sig below. ;)

Hi Folks -

Just FYI, Joshua Solomin (one of the runners profiled) one of my best friends. He is also very active on FT and has been for a few years. So yes, he is an FTer.

He'd post himself but he doesn't want to associate his FT handle with his real name.

Jumpgate

...did he have to give away the ending to "The Painted Veil"? I had that in my Netflix queue!

-P

The New York Times has also picked up the article in the Saturday edition.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/14/business/14online.html

Article mentions FlyerTalk.

"Mileage runners are the high-tech nomadic wanderers of the air. Predominantly male, generally obsessed with flying and miles, and typically employed in white-collar careers that involve significant business travel, they scour the web for cheap flights, phoning in sick or using vacation days to fly the longest itineraries they can string together."

After reading the Wired article (http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/mileage_runner) that states mileage runners are mostly men, I was curious how many women do this. I've met a few at various FT gatherings.

So who else does true MRs?

I wonder what the numbers, ratio would be. Hmmm, I'll check to see if a poll is possible in this forum.

PS - I did a forum thread title search for "women" and "female". If this topic already exists, Mods, please merge. Thanks.

I suppose I don't fit the profile at all. I make enough trans-Atlantic combination business/pleasure trips each year to hit 80,000+ EQM easily. With
the other UA promotions for credit card spend, etc., I usually only need one or two one-day or overnite red-eye trips to make 1K. I appreciate the SWU's for my long-hauls, and I usually try to keep the mileage runs very short, since I have very little extra time off to spend. When I'm lucky, I'll see a great deal on the Forum and manage to book it fast and conveniently within my available fly days(not the week-end). I wasn't much interested in the sfo-akl run, but I have booked a sfo-iad overnite to top up this year.

Female

Make 1K on about 20% business - 80% personal

Dont like lots of ups and downs so usually do a long haul run such as LAX-JFK. Definately picked up the AKL deal - had a great vacation on the first one and will do a turnaround in Jan to start off the year right^