pittpanther

There are several threads commenting on radio DJ Tom Joyner, who for 8 years did a morning show in Dallas, and an afternoon show in Chicago. On another website, I found some additional details:

A typical day during the two-market era for Joyner saw him up at 3 a.m., eating breakfast by 4 a.m., on the air in Dallas at 5:30, off the air at 9, on a plane to Chicago by 10, on the air in Chicago from 2-6 p.m., on a plane back to Dallas by 10 p.m., eating dinner with his wife by 11:30 and in bed by midnight. He even found time to play racquetball at the Downtown Sports Club in Chicago between shows.

Based on these times, I assume he literally took off his headphones in Dallas and immediately walked to a waiting limo. Mid-day flights and status probably meant no long waits to check in - plus this was all pre-9/11 and pre-TSA.

What I found most interesting is what Joyner paid for all this travel:

Joyner cut a deal with American Airlines to fly the 8,000 miles a week for a $30,000 annual fee, and was bestowed with the nickname, "The Fly Jock."

Let's do the math: 5 round trips per week, 50 weeks per year, equals 250 roundtrips DFW-ORD-DFW. Divide the 30K by 250 gives us an average of $120 per round trip. Given the fact that he would have had status, most or all of these trips would have been first class (MD-80 first class, anyway).

Not bad, not bad at all...