Definitely SNOB!

I am from Brazil originally, so I'm interested in your musings on my country. I'll try not to take it personally....

I'm also planning on going to South Africa next year with my wife on Safari, and as we plan on going high end (although probably C, not F), I'm curious as to your comments on airlines and hotels.

As one who loved the lampoon of your report, I'd say keep doing reports as long as you want to.

On this board some of us will like certain styles and some of us wont.

At the end of the day your only duties are to be honest and to keep within the terms of use. You do not have to please everyone.

Stephen

Are there posts that one could read to attest to B Watson's snobbery? Seems to be legendary.

SNOT! SNOT! SNOT! Oh, err... I mean... SNOB SNOB SNOB!!!!! Please make haste with the trip reports, they are glorious.

Those are in fact the hotels I use in SA - both are fantastic BTW - I will offer details after the trip but I would encourage you not to get taken in by the reputation of the Cape Grace - they must have the best PR people in the world but are a significant step behind the Nellie.

You can count me as a "Yes" vote, your reports so far have been mines of information, after all, even if not all of us ever buy full F tickets, we still need to decide where we are going to spend our miles, don't we?

And being a SNOB is all relative, I've been called one for steadfastly insisting on drinking tea out of the cup, rather than pouring it into the saucer, and been described as 'POSH' for ordering two different wines with a meal.

And on the flipside, I've been described as a SLOB (actually, to be exact, a caveman who has no business eating with civilised people) for the heinous crime of being left-handed.

All depends on your point of view, and when you last appeared on the Jerry Springer Show.

Ken.

"Did you hear the latest? Blodwen's getting married! And she isn't even pregnant! There's posh now, isn't it?" - One of the many "Welsh Girl" jokes I learned in my youth.

SNOB, meaning that you know what is the best in class and what is not, and are not afraid to say so.

I always value an informed opinion.

YES! You're better than any published travel guide, at least for my needs (and travel dreams). Would appreciate more detailed hotel info since I'm planning a South Africa trip. Don't go easy on anyone. Many thanks. P.S.-when/if you sell your company your next career has to be as a travel writer.

SNOB away!!!

Oh my GOD, there's must be more people out there loving you (sorry, your reports) than you have ever dreamed of...


SNOB, OF COURSE !!!!


any info on the airlines you will take ? just to give them some time for preparation...(crews beware, the wine-loving hawkeye is approaching...Nellie and Westcliff, look after your aircondition )

[This message has been edited by ngfan (edited 10-24-2002).]

...or CEO of Watson Air and Watson Express hotel group

And lead trainer of the International Boot Camp For Flight Attendants and their Lookalikes, of course

[This message has been edited by ngfan (edited 10-24-2002).]

Rather than answering what appears a simplified multiple choice question, allow me to offer the following observations:

� Your trip reports are very well written, a pleasure to read, and a very good basis to decide which First Class to chose before a trip.

� On a US biased site, which FT is for all its virtues and faults, it is refreshing to read a clearly non-PC report by someone who bases his strong opinions on fact, rather than on hearsay collated to suit a particular point of view.

� Having said that, and taking into account the considerable effort on your and your secretary�s part to produce such reports, I do not know whether the cost-benefit analysis warrants a continuation. After all, there is unlikely to be significant change of the content in the future. You are travelling at a frequency exceeding that of even the most slave driven pilots, and I fear that your future reports would be more of the same. Reading your most recent report could become required reading for all new members, and whoever wish to enjoy themselves can read it as often as they like. Fly SQ PAR-SIN, or UA LHR-SFO, or QF MEL-FRA, barring something special (which you could always write up quickly) we are not going to learn much more than what we know already. And as your style remains the same, the entertainment value will wear off.

� In your place I would report on different airlines (eg IB if you eventually fly them to GIG), or if there is something memorable to report. There is no need to devalue your currency by issuing it in excess.


With view to the content of your reports, I am afraid that you seem to suffer from a skewed relationship between reality and your expectations. In short, you expect an elmtree to bear cherries. Of course we have the right to obtain value for money for the services and goods we purchase. Of course the service in what generally is called First Class is no such thing. It may not quite be cattle class with wider seats, but in many aspects it is. If we compare real prices with those thirty years ago, even the full F fare (RTW even more so) is ridiculously cheap. The real income of the staff in F has multiplied, something has to give, and it is the quality.

You and I had the opportunity to travel extensively in F and pay for it. This gives us an insight into the price quality ratio which no employee of an airline, often not even the CEO, can match. Half the cabin staff is jealous that you are sitting in their seat (UA), the other half feel that you are interfering with their routine from the minute you board. Contrary to decades of attempts to inculcate the basics of liberal market economy into the general population, very few employed service providers grasp the concept that customers make payday possible. This problem extends far beyond the airline industry, (banks being another example).

To complain about this state of affairs may be justified, but it is a bit like complaining about a taxidriver from Chicago not finding a street in New York. While it may not be difficult for you and other New Yorkers, there is no point in complaining about the shortcomings of the guy from Chicago. Just grin and bear it, reluctantly accept the notion that travel even in so called first class is a necessity rather than a pleasure, and concentrate on the real pleasures and luxury that you can find outside planes.

Have a good meal BEFORE you board a plane, then drink lots of water, have a glass of average wine and sleep. A cup of coffee when you wake up, and a proper breakfast at Hotel of your choice. Above all, if you can not travel First Class, stay at home in First Class !

What Zorro said, however if you and your Secretary enjoy writing trip reports then feel free to continue, we can choose to read them, or not. I'll probably read it.

SNOB

Even though some of your trip reports may possibly start sounding the same due to the sheer frequency of your travel and the fact that you are always traveling first class, each report is still different because little things here, and little things there, are different. Your observations of service and attitudes displayed by travel company employees are most helpful.

If someone is going to give you grief about being a SNOB, hell, please provide us with what you are actually paying for all this travel. I wouldn't mind knowing how much your hotel rooms at the (insert super high end luxury accomodation here) cost or how much a bottle of some high priced booze is costing vs. what the bottle of swill they are pouring costs. I want the full WOW factor so I can tell people that I know someone (in a virtual sense of course) who pay $xx,xxx for their flights and $x,xxx for their hotels etc.). Sort of like an online version of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

For those of us who live and die by Priceline and/or scrounge for miles to take a flight, reading about how others travel lends itself to better daydreaming.



[This message has been edited by onedog (edited 10-24-2002).]

Please continue to post all of your trip reports. You are not a snob, that is a relative word. You simply seem to be a person that enjoys the finer things in life and can pay for them. More power to you, and you should ignore any negative comments about your ability to pay for the finer things in life. Finally, with the amount of money that travelling first class costs, irregardless of whether by plane, train, or automobile, you should expect perfection.