The first “On the Fly” Seminars are just days away, and I thought I’d review the media mentions of my new venture and my appearances so far.
USA TODAY’s “Today in the Sky” travel blog was first, on June 11. Its author, Ben Mutzabaugh, asked me a few questions while I was at a conference in Moscow, and did a writeup, which prompted some reader comments about the need to teach the material I offer. Here is an excerpt:
Want to become a frequent-flier expert? There’s a class for that. In fact there are two: “Saving on airfare and redeeming frequent-flier miles” is the basic course, while the “advanced” class is dubbed “Securing top elite status and flying in luxury.” Each course comes complete with its own curriculum and “recommended reading.”
The courses are the brainchild of Nicholas Kralev, who has wracked up more than 1.5 million miles during the past decade in his previous job as the diplomatic correspondent and business travel columnist for The Washington Times. A large part of Kralev’s job involved traveling with the U.S. secretary of state, a position which took him to far-flung corners of the Earth while covering the likes of Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright…
“In a way, I owe much of my travel knowledge and experience to the State Department,” Kralev tells me by e-mail. “Had it been cheaper and more comfortable to fly on the secretary’s plane — any secretary, and I’ve traveled with four of them — I wouldn’t have flown so much commercially. Consequently, I wouldn’t have figured out how to spend much less or airfare but [still] sleep in flat beds, eat gourmet meals and earn hundreds of thousands of miles…”
The next day, Tom Johansmeyer picked up the item on gadling.com, which I warmly welcome — except that he misspelled my last name, putting a “y” where the “v” should be. Not the end of the world…
Another blog, that of Travel Sentry, which its website describes as a company that “creates and manages standards which improve travel security in cooperation with government security agencies, airlines, airports and the travel goods industry,” did a post on June 14. Here is now it ended:
Not only is the cost reasonable, but just imagine acquiring the skills to fly like a king for a fraction of the retail cost. Kralev hopes to take his show on the road soon. If he comes to a city near me, I’ll definitely give him a shot.
Too bad the company’s website doesn’t indicate its location, so I can actually plan a seminar there.
On June 18, I did my first broadcast interview about the seminars, on WTOP radio in Washington, where I’ve spoken on foreign-policy issues before. They wanted me to explain how I’m able to secure the lowest available fares and still not sit in coach — in a couple of minutes. And I was afraid that a four-hour seminar would be too short to achieve that!
Airlinetrends.com, a Netherlands-based website, published a very well-written article about the seminars, which they call a “smart business-feeder concept,” on June 22. Here is an excerpt:
“On the Fly” offers 2 types of seminars: In the “Fly 101″ session, participants learn how to find and book the cheapest available plane tickets without relying on travel agents or third-party online booking engines, and how to use their accrued miles for award flights and upgrades. The “Fly 201″ course is intended for frequent travelers who aim to achieve and maintain elite airline status. Participants are given techniques on how to find seats, and explore all options their miles can get them, including flights on partner-carriers, which are usually not offered online.
