ua1flyer - A "Real" Up-In-The-Air GS
 

I'm posting the article here, because there's a fair amount of copy about UA / GS. My feelings won't be bruised if Mods decide it belongs in Newsstand. :)

Frequent Flier VIP: Meet the Guy Who Never Waits at the Airport

Airport lines are a thing of the past for Tom Stuker. So are middle seats, waiting on hold when calling customer service and missed connections.

Instead, his air travels bring him complimentary cocktails, first name greetings and a hidden check-in process.

Stuker has flown nearly 700,000 miles this year alone, criss-crossing the globe for work as an automobile sales consultant. Over the years, he has racked up nearly 8.8 million miles on United Airlines, making him the top member of the airline's Mileage Plus frequent flier program.

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/george-...ory?id=9341566

Hmmm. 700,000 miles flown already this year is over 2,000 miles per day. (Or, 2,700 per day if you exclude weekends). Is this physically possible? I wonder if they meant earned 700,000. This could bring him down to half that number or less, if they're counting booking miles for using a Chase CC, bonus miles, etc.

Yes it is possible. Theere have been other first reports of similiar amounts. rare but possible and a lifestyle I leave to others. Note the other interesting quote also look at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...er-thread.html for some insane amounts

Do they announce first entry to the cafeteria for Skull and Bones members before every meal? The Global Services tier isn't exactly hidden..

This isn't news to us on FT :D but is news to many of the non FT folks.

I have to give UA a big ^. UA is the only airline I've flown who sometimes goes far and beyond for its top elite customers (DL and CO don't care). Some of the things mentioned in the article I have personally experienced as an 1K, not even a GS, such as FAs remembering me and saved a meal choice before I even asked because the purser remembered I liked the pasta, ground crew taking me to the front of line, purser giving me a nice wrapped bottle of wine at the end of flight, agents doing me favors during irreg operations, super agents like annie SYD upgrading me and other 1Ks, 1K desk rescuing my friends and family during irregular operations (long story)

Although domestically, UA doesn't offer the best product, things like these keep me flying United.

I wish being GS was as sexy as the article makes it out to be.

Sheesh, seems like I'm been missing out on a WHOLE lot of special treatment!

I was thinking the same thing. How many people fly that much in a year?

I suspect I know this person to be a FTer, but in respect for their privacy, I'll let them choose to make that disclosure, should they wish to.

http://www.flyertalk.com/help/rules.php#q69

Thanks for everyone's understanding.

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
United Mileage Plus Forum

By my figuring, 700K BIS in 350 days means

Midcons: 216 LGA-DEN rount-trips or one completed r/t every 1.6 days (!)
Transcons: 135 JFK-SFO round-trips or one completed r/t every 2.5 days; or
Transatlantic: 95 IAD-LHR round-trips or one completed r/t every 3.7 days; Transpacs: 31 JFK-SFO-HKG-SIN round-trips or one completed r/t every 11.25 days.

The only one of these that might make sense would be 31 transpacs, but that would mean four days home, 1 day in transit, five days away, 1 day in transit...repeated 31 times. Okay, that's :"doable."

What kind of job keeps you on a plane that much? Why not just get relocated at that point?

I am not sure why 7K BIS would be that unfathomable for you true FF's. I flew 1.3K BIS with NO DEQM from either period. I do not feel like I flew anywhere near as much as most of you elite Frequent Fliers I see every week. It sounds like this particular person was flying internationally on most of his trips. This seems perfectly possible to me. I am sure that some poor SOB flew his Million Miles in one year. Maybe we can put Lucky up to the challenge of seeing if that is possible :)

as with all things in life there are GSs
and then there are GSs
and then there are a few GSs

The article mentions frequent trips to Australia - so lots of transpacs in the mix. Also that he's some sort of auto industry consultant.

But I also have to question - if someone eats 23 sequential meals on airplanes, when is he doing the business that is the point of flying?? Does he just hop from one plane to another? What's the point of flying somewhere for business if you aren't even on the ground long enough to require a meal?

Is GS really THAT coveted of a status? :rolleyes:

I had a good chuckle, nonetheless.

That's my question.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8900/5.0.0.411 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Sounds a lot like someone right here in this forum.