If this was 2009, or even 2014, I'd have no problem recommending a Mac. BUT, recent iterations of the Macbook Pro just aren't worthy buying. Apple has been intentionally designing their computers to prevent upgrades and repairs. Making matters worse, there are serious design flaws, from the infamous
butterfly keyboards, to the poor design of putting the
high voltage traces immediately adjacent to the sensitive CPU traces, to the decision to solder the SSD directly to the motherboard. If anything goes wrong with the motherboard or SSD, you're looking to buy a new computer and lose all of your data.
If Apple had good support, that might make up for it...but your only option with Apple is the Genius Bar, and
that's a crapshoot. Right now, the soonest appointment for the nearest Genius Bar is 2+ days away. If it's a battery issue, they're just going to chuck your precious Macbook in the mail and you'll see it in 10-14 days...if you're lucky, it'll be repaired. If not, you'll be getting back a broken machine and you'll have to head back to the Apple store to figure out where to go from there.
When you're used to real enterprise computers (HP/Dell/Lenovo) and real on-site enterprise support, there's no comparison. Virtually anything can happen to an enterprise laptop and they'll have someone out to your location within 2 hours if you're in a major city, or the next morning if you're somewhere else, parts in-hand. I've even had a Dell repair tech meet me over lunch at a restaurant where we had lunch, chatted, and he repaired the Latitude, 3 hours from the time I called support.
Don't get me wrong, I like OS X, mainly the Unix core. There's always a Terminal window open while I'm using it. But the hardware & lack of support are driving me to Lenovo.
/typing this on a 2009 Macbook Pro. Replacing with a Thinkpad.
Take it from someone who travels 200-300 nights/year -- trust me, no you really don't. Even if you're traveling by ground, it's still a pain. Unless it's going to be sitting stationary for weeks on-end, shoot for something lighter. Also, if it's not going to be moving much you might want to consider a desktop instead, even a NUC and go for a lightweight laptop with external drive when you travel. 3.5" desktop-size drives are more reliable than 2.5" drives. 2.5" drives are more resistant to getting bumped when operating, but they do fail more often in normal use. I have a Lenovo Yoga 700 11" for overnights and in-plane use. It's an absolute delight to use and carry.
Skip the -s models as those are slimline models. I still wish Lenovo made the pre-redesign models (T420 & older), but I have a user who is VERY hard on laptops. Dropping them from the back of cars, physically punching them, and such. Their T540 has road rash but has been taking it like a champ. If you're really THAT hard on laptops, consider getting the on-site warranty w/damage protection. Beat it up and let Lenovo eat the repair bill.