ua1flyer

ideas for a title ? Subject matter? At the same time , my best writing has been in the last 2 months. The book has made a major turn. Here are 2 other things I can ask for help on. One is - what is the story you want me to tell ? And what do I want the reader to take away from reading it?

ua1flyer

As much as I respect other posters , they wouldn’t make good business partners for me . My last company myself and my emplomade hundreds of millions of dollars from my original investment of 333.00 . I have always been a risk taker. I am wandering how many of the negative commenters can write a check for a million dollars on pure speculation? Not trying to be mean or disrespectful, but everyone knows how to play the cards if they were all dealt face up! One of the customers that bought the pass died within 2 years. He didn’t do as well as united did , I did ok.

SPN Lifer

I took a similar (very much smaller) gamble as a federal government employee, investing in two joint spousal airline lounge memberships in 2000.

The U.S. Airways Club, hoping it would merge with UA, and the CO Presidents club, hoping it would merge with NW.

We all know how those turned out. I have definitely gotten a great deal with the United Club. The Admirals Club I have seldom used, even though I do not have to be flying AA for entry.

Play the game, take your chances.

Xyzzy

I'm curious hw the annuity bit of the pass works. I presumed that with these things the dollars simply accrued onto the the airlines books one time as revenue and then the tickets each year just come out as current expenses over time. I wouldn't ever expect the customer to see/hear about the back end accounting. Could/would you enlighten us about this?

zombietooth

You have to play the long game in business. Warren Buffett is another who has followed this paradigm his whole life. I've had workers/competitors mock me for some of my business investments back in the 80s and 90s. They now admire me for my foresight, and many of my old, and much larger, competitors now give me their prime contracts. I didn't have foresight, what I had was expertise and knowledge of how my business worked, and a belief in the evolutionary path that the markets would take. I've made horrible mistakes as well and lost tons of money along the way, but the money I invested in my business was soundly deployed.

jpezaris

I hope I'm not repeating myself from previous suggestions ...

Titles:
Jet Airliner
They Named a Plane After Me!
I've flown more than most pilots.
Landing gear up!

Subject Matter:
How to make the best of bad situations on the ground, and in the air.
Stuker's guide to make flying pleasurable.
How to be a good passenger.
My favorite airframe, and why.
My favorite seat on each airframe, and why.

Overall Theme (what readers should expect to learn):
What it is like to be a professional passenger.
Why someone would want to fly as much as Tom has.

kirkwoodj

(in my Irish accent and humour, for living there a long time): Ah go on Tom, we're all just jealous of ya ,like!
Honestly, you're having a great and enviable life, and I get lots of joy from your stories, especially as an Aussie, since as you know we travel!

cricketer

Take two - I think it's very much a case of to each their own in assessing an investment in a lifetime pass like this. I personally see it as a great investment and second the logic espoused by ua1flyer . Let's just say I love flying and that's worth more to me than $ in the bank.

ua1flyer

if all I got from the investment were the hundreds of great friends I have made and the time I have spent with them while I traveled I would have spent twice the price I paid! I met my wife on a trip to Hawaii ( the happiness I have gotten from her over the last 27 years would be worth the price I paid. My 3 best friends are from Australia, Canada and England. Their friendship is worth that price . In other wards , the hundreds of close friends I have made in my travels because of the pass is priceless . Bringing family and friends on trips around the world , using the pass to raise close to a million dollars for children’s cancer victims. What price can you put on all that? What s the price you would pay for your happiness and the tremendous amount of happiness you can bring to others . Don’t you, don’t any of you dare say that I made a bad investment . I am the luckiest man on earth. I am blessed with 2 great sons , I am married to an angel sent from God, I have a giant family that loves me . And I have hundreds of close friends … not acquaintances… friends! I am blessed . To me it’s not the man who dies with the most toys that wins , but the man that plays with the most toys, and shares his toys that wins.

mahasamatman

That's the kind of thing I'd like to read about in the book.

ua1flyer

there is no way the best day of my life wouldn’t be in there! You are going to love the book . It will be more stories than stats! I got some great writing done this week …all at 35,000 feet! I’m on a flight to London as I type. You are going to think I’m crazy ,but I believe God led me to the pass. I’ve experienced so much love since I bought it both ways my ability to share and all the love I’ve received.

kmersh

Mr. Stuker, I obviously don't know you and probably our paths will never cross.

So, if my question is inappropriate, I apologize ahead of time.

Soft product cutbacks are constant theme around these parts, there are entire threads devoted to it.

The latest iteration of First Class and Polaris catering are both shadows of their former selves. Compared to AA and DL, UA is objectively far behind in terms of onboard catering.

I pay for First Class because I don't fly enough to obtain status, so when putting my own money down, I get pretty chaffed when UA serves me absolute garbage.

I know someone who is a 4 million miler on UA and he says all the time that yes the cutbacks are noticeable but like yourself the travel, the friends he has made are worth every dollar he has given to UA and the cutbacks are what they are, but they don't ruin the experience.

I often wonder if folks like yourself who have flown 10+ millions of miles notices these same downgrades and if so, do they bother you, or do you not care?

ua1flyer

yes, like all the other people I have been disappointed in the food for quite awhile. I’m even jealous of Oscar (muppet) eating that bologna sandwich during that clean fuel promo video!!! But have faith. There have been improvements on many of my recent flights. Don’t ever see the days of caviar, slicing the beef in the aisle and yes the Dom Perignon ever coming back, but I had a great omelette on the way home from London. And on a few dinners recently garlic bread and improved appetizers. It’s a work in progress , they are “ leading the way in a lot of areas, I have faith that the food will get better. But here is the dilemma that United is facing, with some much food offered at the United clubs and the Polaris lounges, how much does united want to spend on board as people fill up so much pre flight?

mfirst

Tom,
you bring up an interesting concept that I have not pondered (but probably subconsciously evolved into myself) - and wonder what your thoughts are (and maybe this is a different thread - if so, please move or start)
given the issues with catering long-haul, it seems much easier and maybe cheaper to feed (and drink) people in Polaris lounges before they fly
...easier to cater the major hub lounges than deal with the headaches of outbound flights (esp at night?)

of course - on return flights, it forces the passengers to tank up in MUC/EWR/GRU/LRD/etc/etc before boarding?

-michael

lostnomad47

Longtime fan of yours. I'm excited to hear you're writing a book and would definitely love to read more about your travels.
In terms of subject matter, it would be you (of course!) and it seems you've already been writing so I'm guessing you're looking for how the story should be narrated or structured? Will the book revolve around all the flying you've done? I think there should be enough there to write a lengthy novel, so perhaps structuring it similar to a hero's narrative? Something in the lines of protagonist lives a life of content until something happens that shifts it, either tragedy, failure, discontent or some sort of conflict that shifts the protagonist to do something out of the ordinary. The journey can chronicle success and failure, as well as human growth. Perhaps you had an original reason to invest in your pass and that has evolved over time so that's something you can touch on too. From what I've read here it seems you've travelled a bit as a consultant, but you had other endeavors as well. You've mentioned using your flights for charity and I think that should be something placed in the book too.

I read biographies to learn the mindset of an individual. Yes, we're all different in one way or another but at the very core we all have some similarities that become relatable, which can give the book an "if I can do it, so can you" vibe. Despite the extraordinary accomplishments, being relatable can produce the inspiration that may push others to become extraordinary in their own way. Best of luck writing the book!

Not sure if this was an original quote of yours but I like it and speaks to me. Wouldn't mind seeing this placed in the book somewhere.