How I Choose My Flights

Friends and colleagues often ask me how I choose my flights so I thought I would share my thinking in an era of connected, community and communication.

Brand loyalty isn’t always tied to the name on the door, but the name on the door is what inspires trust. As a frequent flier, I fly on average about 6 flights a month and my loyalty is based on a series of factors that include:

1. Is the flights Wi-Fi equipped? Usually this is from leading provider GoGo, but I look forward to my first Panasonic equipped international flight on Lufthansa sometime in the next 18 months

2. What time is the arrival based on what I may have to do that day?

3. Ease of connections

Here’s why those are important to a road-warrior, frequent flier, virtual worker

1. I hate wasting time. Killing time isn’t murder. It’s suicide.

2. My agency is a virtual agency. Clients, influencers and team members are used to finding me by SMS, email, iMessage, GoogleVoice, Skype, Yammer or CounterPath's Bria.

3. I’m known for always, staying connected

4. The option to fly cross country without Wi-Fi means a red-eye and I’d rather not go that route, unless it’s the only option or I’m going international

Given how I prefer to fly, GoGo equipped flights win out over airline brand loyalty points, because their monthly plan keeps it simple for me to log on and get down to work. As a business owner I can take advantage of the points I accrue to fly where I want, but not easily when I want. So with elite flyers feeling the pinch in perks and benefits, I’m finding that being loyal to my clients and my team by being reachable trumps always flying the same airline.

My primary go to airline thus is Virgin America, which is simply because of Wi-Fi, I fly the airline whenever I can because their points program is as easy to use as Southwest, but offer a far better in flight experience and seat upgrade options. Ever since they arrived in San Diego, my Southwest flight and elite status went from being an A lister from the very start of their program to being just another passenger.For me, having the ability to stay connected and be in touch may actually mean a higher fare, a connection or when time permits a less than direct route.

But by flying on a GoGo equipped plane on AirTran, Virgin America or Delta, it means as a business traveler, work gets done, and travel isn’t time off for me, it’s part of the work day.