Originally Posted by Seat 2A

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Friends and acquaintances think I’m crazy, or at the very least in need of therapy. They just can't get past the fact that rather than stay and enjoy some place like Orlando, I’m going to grab a cup of coffee and get right back on a plane. The idea of flying somewhere just for the miles is ludicrous to them. My patient explanations of Mileage Run economics (such as earning 21,240 miles from a single $210.00 LAX-BOS roundtrip ticket (flying via SJC, DFW and JFK during AA/AS’s Double Mileage Promotion earlier this year, during which, as an MVP Gold, I accrued triple miles) falls on deaf ears. I explain that a single roundtrip ticket from Fairbanks to Seattle costs over $400.00. Now, for half that price, I’ve earned enough miles to fly from Fairbanks to Orlando and stay awhile. With a free stopover in Seattle! Or, I can do five or six LAX-BOS Mileage Runs and earn enough award mileage for a First Class ticket to Australia or South Africa for less than they’d pay for an Economy Class seat. None of this registers with them. Who in their right mind would want to sit on all those airplanes? It’s like work, I explain. Easy work, during which I’m often upgraded to First Class and between flights get to relax in airport lounges. Of course, like most occasional travelers, they have no real concept of either First Class or airport lounges. Everybody on the plane arrives at the same time is their standard retort.

I’ve decided that more often than not, arguing the merits of Mileage Runs with people who only fly once or twice a year is not worth the effort. It’s a no win situation. You either get it or you don’t. People who only fly once or twice a year generally don’t get it. Even so, this summer I did manage to arrange for one fellow employee to do her first Mileage Runs. Boston to Las Vegas via ORD, SEA and LAX.

The bottom line for me is that I simply enjoy traveling, as in going somewhere. I particularly enjoy flying, especially in First Class. Since my job requires no air travel, I have to buy all of my own tickets. Air travel to and from Fairbanks, Alaska is very expensive compared to most American cities. Mileage Runs allow me to more affordably acquire, through status, the ability to sit in First Class for free and through mileage earned, the ability to travel overseas in style or travel within America at a greatly reduced rate.

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