OverTheHorizon

Due to taking a new role, I no longer have to leave the country very much. In fact, my office building is now about 20 minutes walk from my own front door

This is quite a lifestyle change as I now have only 6 flights booked on BA for the whole of 2018. While I will no doubt do a couple of trips on QR/AA over the next 12 months, this is a significant reduction, as totals for previous years were:

2017 98 sectors (of which 52 on BA)
2016 113 sectors (of which 59 on BA)
2015 92 sectors (of which 37 on BA)

I am about to re-qualify for GGL so will have that until 08 Mar 2019 at least and I guess Silver until 09 Mar 2019, but not sure how it will feel being in Group 99 thereafter

Though of course, BAEC may well have gone revenue-based by then

Anyone else in a similar position ?

flatlander

Take on some overseas projects, get the travel up enough to be interesting without being a personal burden.

I just wish my nearest airport wasn't Stansted, so I could increase my proportion of travel with some sort of personal reward to ameliorate the burden of the amount of travel.

msm2000uk

I can totally relate.

I did 133 flights in 2016, and will finish this year on 118 - however, the sum total of flights I have booked for next year, is currently 2.

When people say that having a baby changes your life, apparently that also includes flying! Fortunately, the BA Baby team have guaranteed my GGL status until 2019, although I'd really like to keep my CCR card. Please BA...pretty please

That being said, I dare say once msm2000uk0.5 is born, we will take full advantage of the 10% for kids fares!

M

bisonrav

Not quite a life change, but a slight attitude change. I've spent the last three years scrabbling for business travel to maintain silver status against an increasingly difficult corporate transport policy which downgraded us from CW to WT (for a time) then (after a bit of complaining from the troops flying east) up to WT+. And then the travel department discovered they could use the corporate points account to book, on which you get nothing at all, so sprinkle a couple of those in your long haul calendar and you're really struggling for TP. It was a constant uphill fight.

Having had a product launch to do earlier this year I reached the magic 600 much earlier than usual and decided to go for gold as an exercise. And having done that I got a taste for trying various flying products out, resulting in gold retention happening within a month of the end of the next TP year on current bookings, and quite a lot else planned. Certainly 3500 points, probably GGL but depends on whether I can find the time more than anything else.

With the result that I'm not particularly bothered about business travel. Just booked to Shanghai, WT+, and I was like, "meh, 180 TP? Is that all?". I can see myself bothering to travel for work a lot less as a result, but much more personal travel. Doesn't hurt that I'm running off the end of paying school fees next year too.

morges1

It's just like when you reach retirement. Now 74, I started to wind down a couple of years ago - it's hell! Just tabulated my last 10 years (table won't copy well!) - this is the first year without long-haul business travel but still managing several LH for personal travel.
2009, 151 total flights, 87 BA
2013 125 total, 69 BA
2016 86 total, 40 BA
2017 47 total, 27 BA

TG, I made GGL for life when it started or going to silver would have been the kiss of death, Since I travelled a lot less than him, I just wonder how C-W-S will cope with life in the future when he gets to this point!!

V10

Been there, done it and found it a massive positive to be honest.

Working in an industry where corporate travel policies are routinely across the board economy, indirect routings and travel in your own time if it gets the fares down. It got tedious very quickly.

Leaping_Deere

At the opposite of the spectrum, albeit mine is of a lower frequency my flight travel have increased steadily 15% per annum over the past 3 years, so whilst some of you are taking less, there is always a sucker to take on more!

Just did a count up this year I did 47 sectors with 29 on OW.

At the moment I have 35 booked already for 2018, so with the last minute trips, holiday to add etc I should go over 60 in 2018, for me 75 would be enough.

That's not to say I don't enjoy it but even I get a bit bored of airport lounges, and I dont frequent them as much as many of the esteemed company on here.

I dont know how some of you fellow members do it...

flatlander

If you've been GGL for some years, how far are you from Gold for Life? It might be worth continuing a lot of travel yourself (using the cheap fares threads) for a more distant future life of low travel yet still comfort.

dulciusexasperis

I joined my first FF program back in the early 80s when the airlines first started them. For the next 10+ years, I earned enough points on business travel, that I was able to do all my vacation travel for 'free' on my points. When I retired in 1993, I had enough points accumulated with several airlines, that I was able to continue to fly for 'free' for the next 7 years. Finally, I ran out of points and had to pay for a ticket. Do the math.

For nearly 20 years, I had never paid for a ticket to fly anywhere. Can you imagine the 'sticker shock' I had when I bought that first trans-Atlantic ticket with my own money!

madmax_uk

2018 brings a change of job for me, closer to home and a better travel policy! Only circa 50 (30 or so LH) flights a year but I think I was getting tired of LH wtp and wt! Or just getting old!!

Gastrocnemius

I have 30 sectors booked for next year

I'll re-qualify for silver in the 7 week window (I've not done so much flying this year), and be gold about 3 months into my TP year. A couple of colleagues are fascinated by my TP run, and have have (separately) suggested going on a run together!

If they come off, I'd just HAVE to go for GGL/CCR......

Land-of-Miles

Nothing like GFL to help you relax about less frequent travel. On the whole it has made me far more positively disposed to BA albeit I try to accrue most OW flights to AA.

Beano HK

Thought provoking...I did 172 sectors this year, of which 42 were BA / Comair.

This is inflated somewhat given I now use QR / EK a fair bit ex BHX so is 2 sectors to get anywhere.

I need to get out less...

jerub

This is essentially me. I dropped all the way to bronze and requalified for Silver before the expiry date on my silver card.

I've flown 14 sectors since September, another 8 expected before Feb. I expect to get Gold this year and maybe even do a TP run to go for GGL.

msm2000uk

I'm currently at 31,000 TPs and will probably try and do the remaining 4,000 over the next 12 months to get LTG. I do with LTG came with something extra, but that's only because I've become used to the CCR and will miss it!

M