This is not all that uncommon. The younger less expensive people travel a lot to optimize cost associated with travel and travel time. Chances are your boss doesn't even want to travel and prefers to make you go out there and do the "dirty" work. Not to mention company travel policies usually allow Directors and VPs to travel F/C. Its all to expensive and time consuming. So they cram you in E-, on non-refundable fares and let you suffer the airport nightmare. Plus, when you are unavailable no one crys or misses you.
