Up Front With Martin B. Deutsch for 1994

December 1: Continental’s BusinessFirst Is Well Worth the Price
The DC-10 carrying me from Newark to Rome had a split personality. One side of the aircraft carried Continental Airlines’ logo; the other said Alitalia. But the novelty of that flight went beyond the plane’s exterior. The cabin looked like first class, the meal service was almost first class; but, in reality, I was experiencing Continental’s hybrid innovation--BusinessFirst.

November 1: Rome’s Le Grand Hotel Celebrates 100 Years of Grandeur
Most of us will never make it to the age of 100. For that matter, I don’t know of too many hotels that enjoy this distinction either, since taste and needs change with the times. But there are exceptions such as Rome’s Le Grand Hotel, which opened its 170 rooms in 1894 to great acclaim.

October 1: Who Is Bill Franke?
William A. Franke, chairman and chief executive of America West Airlines, is one big reason why the Phoenix-based carrier is still in the air--and in the black. Franke, a stranger to the airlines until early 1992, shaped the strategies that would ultimately win the bankruptcy court’s approval. Not only is America West out of Chapter 11, but the last six quarters have generated black ink.

September 1: What Frequent Travelers Really Want
I attended the unveiling of the 1994 results of the National Travel Monitor, an annual study of U.S. business and pleasure travel trends conducted by RY&P/Yankelovich Partners. While most of the findings were predictable, there were a few curveballs.

August 1: Putting a Price Tag on Frequent Flyer Awards Doesn’t Work
In its May issue, the personal finance magazine Worth carried an exhaustive article, “The Frequent Flier Fallacy.” The message: The value of frequent flyer miles isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and it’s the airlines that are the real beneficiaries of this marketing ploy. After some thought, I decided to recruit expert opinion on the subject.

July 1: Hiding Behind an Electronic Screen
Nothing is going to get in the way of the information superhighway or interactive communications. Whether we want it or not, whether it’s good for us in an ultimate business or social sense, whether it’s necessary. But hiding behind an electronic screen is no way to do business.

June 1: My Rx for Stress
I’m convinced that much of the stress we suffer is in direct proportion to the exaggerated obeisance we pay to this popular malady. My theory is that the more we dwell on stress, the more it’s likely to dwell with us. What can you do for stress, aside from slavishly trotting to the shrink, gulping Valium or playing golf and tennis till you drop?

May 1: Changes in the Cockpit
The winds of change are a-whispering at Frequent Flyer magazine and the rising barometer signifies that a full-blown relaunch lies just over the horizon. What is this all about? What does it mean to the reader? To the advertiser?

April 1: The Forces Shaping Our Lives on the Road
The travel industry is subject to the influences of time and circumstance--and the must- fly business traveler is particularly vulnerable to economic and political forces. Travel management daily, has enumerated a number of issues that are shaping travel this year and they’re worth sharing.

March 1: Medicine Kit in a Suitcase
All road warriors worry about their health while they’re away from home. What will happen if they fall sick in an unfamiliar U.S. city or in a foreign country? I’m no doctor, but I am a walking pharmacy at home and abroad, so I’m about to dispense some free advice. A caveat: My advice works for me, but it may not work for everyone.

February 1: Where Do We Go From Here?
The fragility of our deregulated airline industry was brought home vividly when flight attendants at American Airlines chose a strategic 11-day period to strike. Strikes and other job actions play hell with the customers. I’m not suggesting for a moment that we re-regulate. But where do we go from here?

January 1: Dreams of a Frequent Flyer
Each New Year, I take an excursion into fantasy and draw up a wish list for business travel in the coming year. The editors of Frequent Flyer have joined me in this Walter Mitty endeavor. We look for your input as well, as we hub-and-spoke into 1994.

Copyright © 1992-2006 by Martin B. Deutsch. All rights reserved.