Up Front With Martin B. Deutsch for 2002

December 19: Prognosticating About the Coming Year
Start a conversation these days about the outlook for travel and you get the inevitable post-September 11 caveat: "Political developments and their impact on travel are very hard to predict in this kind of fluid situation." Beyond this by-now obligatory hedge, however, travel expert John Martinen appears ready, willing and able to prognosticate about the coming year.

December 16: The Passing Scene
In this edition: An observation on United; the cruise conundrum; the state of Caribbean travel; Las Vegas flying after the National collapse; corporate gift giving; and the rebound at St. Regis.

November 7: The Deutsch Cure for Stress: Take a Sea Cruise
The prospect of a relaxing voyage on the high seas is particularly pertinent for business travelers whose blood pressure is under constant attack. I've taken approximately 80 cruises in the last 45 years and while some were obviously better than others, I've never felt that I was better off staying at home.

October 10: Working for the Airlines--and All That Jazz
Why profile John McGhee on a site for business travelers? Well, at night, John McGhee plays drums with the world's jazz greats. But, during the day, he's at his desk at Japan Airlines as vice president of marketing for North America. Not surprisingly, the two careers are intertwined and mutually supportive and McGhee says his life on the road has been "magical."

August 22: The Flight and Plight of First Class
I wonder if the embattled and withering first-class cabin will ever recapture the glory and stature that it once enjoyed. Sure, there are still air carriers with beds up front, fancy menus and designer champagnes, but the trend is heading the other way: shrinking legroom; declining meal standards; and an economic environment that favors one-class, low-fare operations.

August 1: Where, Oh Where, Is Carl Icahn?
I've been waiting for corporate raider and former TWA chief Carl Icahn to reappear. Why? Because it doesn't seem unthinkable that Icahn and other astute investors might emerge from behind their bankbooks and gobble up one or more of the Big Six airlines, whose market capitalization is now hovering at or below $6 billion.

June 20: Life in the Skies at Supersonic Speed
Concorde has been declared extinct prematurely so often that its latest reincarnation conjures up an image of a stubborn phoenix rising from the ashes. If the skies continue to be graced by a supersonic transport, I think it's got to be Concorde. Nothing looms on the horizon as a successor and there are no prospects on the drawing board.

May 9: I Still Like Being on the Road
People always ask me why I travel as much as I do. My short answer? Travel is a wonderful thing. To invest your business days and years in this heady pursuit is dynamic and rewarding.

April 25: Assessing the Endangered Safari Market
After enduring the frustration of a business life on the road, we're hard-pressed to generate much enthusiasm for traveling on a vacation. But I've been talking to a major operator of African safaris and he says that we may be the last generation to enjoy the abundance of wildlife in its natural surroundings.

April 11: Whatta Guy!
Several major airlines say they will soon remove their in-flight phones. But I'm going to miss those phones. They've often been an unintentional window on the souls of some of our fellow flyers.

Copyright © 2001-2004 by Martin B. Deutsch. All rights reserved.