NYTA

The people I know with real money fly privately so get there even faster than I do.

jrl767

fixed that for you ...

PaxALotl

Let's all join together and start hating Global Services passengers.

Suzzin

I used to travel internationally for work. While I sometimes look back fondly on the places I got to go, for the most part it was like commuting to any other business meeting(s) with the added 14-16 hour commute. That was back before business class had lie flat seats, so while the seats were larger there wasn't really a good night's sleep to be had. I would fly overnight, get met as I got off the plane and go right to the office. Meetings all day, an hour to check in and shower, then out for dinner (with the business people). Three to five days of that, no personal time at all, and on the plane back home, where I had to be in the office the next day. Our company "preferred" that we travel on our our own time so that we could maximize the time in the office we were visiting, so that often meant leaving Sunday morning and returning Saturday night. Sometimes I'd have work over a weekend away, and I could stay in the hotel on the company dime, but these weren't fancy hotels and it meant that my limited personal weekend time was further taken up by business travel.

The main good points were that, since the trip was booked through the company travel agent, if there were a delay then I just had to call to get rebooked and not have to worry about change fees. Plus I did get to sample lots of cities, even if there wasn't a lot of sightseeing I can at least say I've been to Sao Paolo and Warsaw.

Now as a leisure traveler I get anxious about missing connections since that's all on my own dime, so I tend to do carry on if at all possible. I've had several times when my bag didn't make the flight, or when the baggage was delayed, and I'd just rather be in control of my own stuff instead of handing it over.

84fiero

Let's just hate everyone and make it easy!

pinniped

I hate DYKWIA-ism too, but I also hate it when a hotel or rental car agency doesn't even honor the basic tenets of the status that they created, leaving the member with no choice but to play that card. Biggest examples are honoring basic late-checkout benefits and operating the standard expedited-car-rental processes correctly. When that happens, it's hard not to go all DYKWIA.

Thankffully, there aren't many cases in the airline world when you need to tell someone else your status or try to cajole a human to give you some benefit. Only example I can think of is a far-flung partner lounge that maybe doesn't see certain alliance members too often.

mike_la_jolla

OK. I plead guilty to some of the OPs rant. But where on earth did the OP see a 'puke' of business travelers 'crowd the dance floor'? I've missed that part of business travel ...

PS -- 'Puke' as in a 'puke of business travelers', is an all-time great FT term. Love it ...

ft101

Again,you're missing the point as I will have space no matter what you do. On every "hand baggage or checked baggage" thread (and there's been many) there's always anecdotes about how much time was saved at xxx airport. Overall however, there's no great advantage and good time management could overcome any issues. Sticking to the easier option and letting someone else do the work logically wins and is also courteous - it's always nice to help your fellow traveller.

ckx2

I hate leisure travelers for being insecure, incompetent and slow around the airport.
I hate leisure travelers for maximizing premium cabin luxury when I'm trying to sleep.
I hate leisure travelers for dressing like they're still on Phuket beach.
I hate leisure travelers for posing on Instagram, Snapchat or whatnot.
I hate leisure travelers for doing live video feeds without asking for consent.
I hate leisure travelers for bragging when flying premium cabins.
I hate leisure travelers for being drunk and in party mood when I'm commuting to work.

I hate leisure travelers because I'm jealous

But when I'm not traveling for business, I'm a leisure traveler.

Annalisa12

Sounds fair.

Makes parties cheaper when you have no friends to invite.

Badenoch

What would be the collective noun for a group of leisure travellers? A <redacted by moderator> of leisure travellers? A "kettle" of leisure travellers?

Thekman

If I had a choice of travelling with a plane load of business travellers or a plane load of leisure travellers who don't travel much, I know which one I'd choose. It certainly wouldn't be the latter!

Super Mario

Let's be honest where most of this conversation stems from. Traveling sucks. No matter how much you love your airline, it sucks. Some are anxious to get to their destination. Some just want to be anywhere other than at the airport. You devote a ton of your time to getting there early, checking in, going through security, waiting for the flight, boarding, flying, departing, getting luggage, finding your next transportation, etc etc. While some of you don't even have the patience to deal with rush hour when driving home from work. Imagine having to go through the flight process dozens of times a year. It would get annoying to most people. The vast majority of people, business or leisure, would be telling a bold-faced lie if they claimed loyalty perks and other ways to make the process easier weren't important to them. Personally, I am glad that I don't fly that often for business. I admit, I would probably be "one of those" on a few of those points if I had to do it that often.

Still, this thread reinforced a lot of the OP's claims. I think it also helped a lot of people understand how they are coming off. I think at least some flyers will now conduct themselves differently. I chuckled at the part about not wanting to hear about your wine cooler business plan. There are a lot of people wanting to feel important. When I'm traveling with colleagues, work is the last thing we want to talk about. It was also sad to see some of the other discussions here. Such as who is important enough to travel for business. My first business travel was when I was 23 and making about about $40,000 a year. I'm sure I was sneered at. I know many people who travel for work, and do not make anywhere near six figures a year. It's also disappointing to see people argue over who "deserves" a status. If you are following the terms as put forth by that company, you deserve the status. I can appreciate the concern for not wanting a program to be devalued. Who are you to say who deserves it and who doesn't? Most the claims of devaluation through more members obtaining a status are overblown. It's like everyone is going to be Hilton Diamond now because the Aspire exists, right? I had the $49 IHG Credit Card that earned me Platinum Elite. I thought everyone in the world had it. Then I went to a Holiday Inn in a big city who listed all of their IHG Rewards members for the day on a board. Out of 200 rooms, I was 1 of 6 Platinum Elite members. There were 3 Spire. Could it be that the doom and gloom I read on the internet isn't 100% accurate? Entitlement has gotten bad. I don't see it getting any better.

Sure leisure travelers can be annoying too. Ever deal with the public in any capacity? It rarely gets easier anywhere. However, to all of those who feel bothered because "they don't know what they're going," is it ok when you get into an unfamiliar situation and a "regular" is huffing and puffing at you?

All in all, we have some real first-world problems here. There are billions of people in the world that would simply cry if they stepped foot into the luxurious hotels and destinations we are all accustomed to. Let's learn to relax and enjoy life and the experiences it brings us. It doesn't last forever.

danielSuper

Collective noun for lice is "flock" or "swarm"

rankourabu

Here you go then, a flock/swarm of lice