I also think the trip makes no (obvious) sense. The explanation for it was convoluted. OCD over-the-top pre-trip hygiene , inappropriate face masks and silly face shields, hunkering down at the destination, etc. What's the point? Nobody is interested in a report about 6 weeks in Bodrum, Turkey.

He may not plan on giving us a report about the 6 weeks. But Bodrum is actually quite beautiful.

I too am planning a Turkey trip for end of summer, so it was good to see Lucky doing so. Makes me feel like I'm not completely out of my mind for picking it.

He might do it because he wants to. Surprisingly, he is entitled to leisure activities other than those for the entertainment of his blog readers.

Of course. And no need to write a long blog post justifying it. Just do it, quietly and privately.

Would be tough to argue that as a write off

I don't mind Lucky traveling; frankly, I'm jealous due to all the trips I've canceled and the ones in the future that are going to (probably) be canceled. On the other hand, the 180 from his virtue signaling over the last few months to this isn't wiped away by a (poorly argued) justification post.

He's a leftist. Do as I say, not what I do. Changing their minds is about as usual as changing their underwear.

His rants on BLM are really appalling because the biggest risk to minorities the world over is the climate EMERGENCY. Talk to every real organisation that cares about minorities and this is the real problem. He will never address this because the only rightful thing he can do is shut the blog down and it's cheaper to virtue signal.

I'd like to know, has he ever employed any people of Colour as one of his writers/shadow authors?

How can you say that ... haven't you read his post from January saying that he will pay for some trees to be planted (which may or may not match the amount of travel he does - and definitely isn't a Greenwashing attempt) ?

https://onemileatatime.com/trees/

Even if he has, he would have fired them/stopped having them write for him, right?

Not sure what you're alluding to. As far as I know, Ben has had only a handful of writers on his site. James's departure was discussed here. But if you have information to share, please do so!

Nobody on the contributors list (aside from Tiffany) seems to be active anymore. I can't remember, other than "James", who else was brought on as a contributor after the contest, but there was a literal contests for new writers, and the only surviving regular writer of those 3 jumped ship to a competitor. Can't blame "James" for jumping from a freelance writer to a full time position, but I have to wonder why even the most recent contributors have stopped. Seems like FlyerTalk's COVID response where they got rid of all of the writers and replaced them with 1 person. Gotta save cash in COVID somehow!

Currently listed contributors:
Tiffany (only one active,and love her stuff)
Kate (permanently on the Canada beat)
Travis
Steph
Nick
Andrew
Mike
Ford (2 articles in 2020, after being dormant since 2017? Why come back like this?)

Prior Contributors, not on the current page (all have other gigs in the aviation blog/website/youtube world, which is why I'm guessing they were removed):
Spencer
Daniel
James

Ok, so your comment about people being fired or removed wasn't based on any information that anyone of color was fired, just that people used to write for the site and don't anymore? I'm just trying to understand what your point was.

My point wasn't about race, it was about OMAAT not being a place that really hires anyone for the long term . Ben & Tiffany have gone through phases of having other writers, but none last. No idea why.

Yes, it would be nice if there was some diversity in the writer lineup Ben has used over the years, but let's be honest, if he's choosing to operate basically as a 2 person blog, I don't really expect any diversity. Not faulting the concept of a 2 person operation, either.

If you simply meant to say "Ben runs a small operation, so it doesn't make sense to expect diversity in a staff of two," I agree.