Up Front With Martin B. Deutsch for 1983

December 1: A DINER'S BILL OF RIGHTS
I find myself forever reviewing and rehashing my culinary adventures with business associates, staff members and friends. What with the cost--nay, the investment--of eating out, the frequent diner should know what to expect from his reservations, and what to do when he’s less than pleased.

November 1: ACKER IS ON THE (BIG BLUE) BALL
The likeable, low-key chief executive who appears to be leading Pan American World Airways out of the wilderness is C. Edward Acker. Pan Am recorded a profitable 1983 second quarter, the carrier’s stock had risen from the neighborhood of $2 to a high of above $8, both union and nonunion took pay cuts, executives were willingly working long hours, and domestic hub-and-spoke systems were being developed to feed the line’s international routes.

October 1: MEDICINE ON THE FLY
This month I offer my suggestions (assisted by several experts) for the medical kit every wary traveler should have. The minimum requirement is a seven to ten-day supply of a broad-spectrum antibiotic, an antihistamine, something to alleviate and/or control stomach cramps, and aspirin or another painkiller.

September 1: HOW HIGH IS UP?
Business travelers have astonishing demographics: high income, huge job responsibilities and titles to match and lots of interesting travel habits. All of that makes the frequent flyer a market that advertisers are desperate to reach.

August 1: TRIPS THAT TRY THE SOUL
Readers frequently send us correspondence about the phenomenon of trips that try the soul. The letters generally fall into two classes: those in which there is anger directed at an individual or a specific company; and the ones that merely recount a frustrating experience, where the fates have been cruel or unfeeling. Tales of woe in both of these categories are frankly part and parcel of the travel syndrome.

July 1: BORMAN BLAMES LABOR
Colonel Frank Borman, a two-time visitor to space, a beleaguered executive and a rather severe figure on the home screen, emerges as sensitive and personable as he addresses a group of travel industry leaders in New York. Now chief executive of Eastern Airlines, he has a message: It's all labor's fault.

June 1: FAIR SHAKES FOR FARES?
Only time will tell whether the first tenuous steps toward the simplification of domestic air fares will ultimately take hold and stay in place. You’ll recall that in March, American Airlines publicly pledged allegiance to four basic fare levels (first, coach, off-peak discount and Super Saver), along with a business level on some routes. Many other carriers, though not all of them, opted to follow AA on an identical or similar path.

May 1: LOUD AND CLEAR
The message I hear from your letters to me about first-class travel is loud and clear: The bottom line is service, service, service. Incidentally, quite a few of the respondents made a point of differentiating between domestic and international flights; first class in domestic generally gets lower marks. A reader even told us that the carriers of Eastern Europe had “excellent” first class. I find that difficult to swallow, but keep writing.

April 1: IVAN IN WONDERLAND
What happens when I make a mild joke at the expense of Russia and its repressive government? Russian tourist authorities throw a tantrum. And is it "flyer" or "flier"? The New York Times and I disagree.

March 1: IN VINO VERITAS
"In wine, like anything else, things are always in a state of change, business people have to know wines, it's an occupational necessity," says Kevin Zraly, Hilton International's wine expert. "It's an area of expertise in which people do not want to make a mistake. But we downplay the snobbery aspect: People come in as snobs, they go out with a level-headed appreciation."

February 1: NO COMMENT
As 1982 limped to a painful termination, I've been amazed by some commentary emanating from the travel industry. So here, without comments of my own, are some leading travel executives talking about deregulation and its aftermath.

January 1: UEBERROTH'S OLYMPIC MOMENT
After twenty years in the travel industry, Pete Ueberroth's moment of truth is fast approaching. The 1984 Olympic Games will be more than mere games. They will be a big business endeavor funded by the private sector and run in a classic corporate style. “It’s so much harder than anything I’ve ever done,” he says.

Copyright © 1980-2007 by Martin B. Deutsch. All rights reserved.