My department just cut all my travel for the rest of the quarter, and it's likely to be cut for the balance of '08 - I am livid because I think it's partially personal between the VP and myself. I will still travel just as much, but I will be footing the bill for the personal trips. I am just sad I won't get to spend those weeks in the Bay Area.

Given over half my team is already looking for work to get away from this nutty VP and his equally lunatic CIO, I am on the hunt for another position within the company which will hopefully get my work travel to the BA back on track.

Way down. Last year I flew 150k because I was commuting to a client in the UK (from LAX). I've had a lot more work at home and only two trips to Europe this year. I may have a few more trips in Oct but not sure. I'll requal for Plat but not sure about EXP :(

Also, my big vacation this year (LAX-LHR-NBO) in J is all paid for with miles (at almost $0.12 ppm redemption value!) so not mileage earning.

I, being the idiot I am, took a promotion late last year, without knowing that I would now be travelling waaaaaay less. I'll be lucky to log 75k this year, which is utterly pathetic. It turns out I cannot give up the promotion ex post facto, either (I tried...). I'm quite jealous that all of my direct reports are now jetting off around the world and I'm stuck on endless con calls and WebEx meetings. :mad: Those trips are mine, dang it!!!

What's the point of working if you don't get to travel at least 30-40 weeks per year? :confused: I'm now realizing just how cramped my home office really is...

I'm actually taking more leisure trips this year. I'm trying to burn all my miles before the airlines abolish FF programs and am taking advantage of the few fare deals left. Plus, I haven't reduced my business travel at all, since fares are still barely tolerable. In fact I'm trying to get in as much business travel as possible, before flying really does become too expensive and difficult.

I guess you can say my philosophy is "get now, while the getting's good"! ;) Because this gravy train is almost over...

If you want to burn what you have, that's your choice, but the 'gravy train' is going to continue pretty much as-is, with the exception of a few crappy airlines like US.

Some of the 'gravy' might get thinned out here and there, but it will still flow.

On the surface, FF programs will continue to exist, but the airlines are already implementing all kinds of back-door methods of devaluing miles. Fuel surcharges that apply to FF tickets, new and increased FF redemption fees, higher co-pays for mileage upgrades, ever more limited award availability, baggage check fees that apply to FF tickets as well as paid tickets, disappearance of mileage runnable fares, abolition of 500-mile minimums (not unique to US), etc. etc.

So I do think the "gravy train" will probably be over soon. There'll still be a train, just no more gravy. ;)

I'm flying way more this year :(.

A job change means I will be flying much less this year, and more of the flying I do will be on my own dime. :( My wife and I have let our Admiral's Club membership lapse, and I think I will be down to one status on one airline (AA Gold, Plat if I'm lucky) by the end of the year. OTOH, now that I work locally, I get to be home every night, so I can't complain too much.

Regular paid ticket travel? Not sure yet if it will be lower than last year. Mileage award ticket travel? Certainly flying more than ever in that regard. As far as I can tell yet, there seems to be no net impact on my FFP status levels for next year. My hotel status, however, seems to be far more up in the air.

Lot less.. compared to previous year, may be 10-20% travel compared to
previous year.

A little less, but only because I'm passing on some work to others. Still, I'm at about 100K so far.

Much, much less. (For both business and personal reasons.) It looks like there's a good chance I won't even make UA 2P this year.

Ed

I flew about 23k miles the first 4 months of the year and haven't flowing since mid-May. Not related to the economy - my last couple of projects have been local so haven't had the need to travel. Also, a couple of trips (one leisure, one biz) that would have accounted for about 10k BIS miles were cancelled for various reasons. My next project (starting next week) is also local, so biz travel will be sparse, if not non-existant. I do have about 10k miles of personal travel booked later this year.

A bit less, with much of the reason due to the economy. I don't have a travel budget, but no one wants to be the guy with the highest T&E this year.

Other factors:

Airline reliability. Same day trips are impossible, since delays have gotten so bad.

The airplane experience. An airplane just isn't a fun place to be anymore. Limoliner from Boston to NYC has become a much better, and cheaper, option.

Airport security: This reason hasn't kept me off any particular flight, it just adds to the ambience. Those guys just piss me off.

Mike

No, I am flying more this year because of a big project at WAW. When will the time come, when I can say, that I am flying less this year. :D