{"id":1370,"date":"2019-07-26T23:30:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T23:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2019-07-26T19:35:45","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T19:35:45","slug":"this-week-in-the-world-of-travel-july-26-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/this-week-in-the-world-of-travel-july-26-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week In The World Of Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every once in a while, I like to take a step back from the miles\/points aspect of the business and see what else is going on in the world of travel. Inevitably, there’s something interesting, funny or crazy going on in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Man With The Golden Airline Ticket<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No, it’s not Willy Wonka. Rather, the article about the man with the golden ticket<\/a> is the story of Steven Rothstein, who paid $250,000 in 1987 for the ultimate airline perk: free first class flights anywhere that American flies, for the rest of his life. Two years later, he added a companion pass for “only” $150,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story, ultimately a sad one, traces Mr. Rothstein’s use of the pass and his battles with American after they confiscated it. But the emphasis on his relationships with airline employees and sense of freedom that he got make it as much a human interest story as a travel one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airline Earnings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once per quarter, the publicly traded airlines hold a conference call to announce their earnings to the world and take questions from Wall Street analysts. Inevitably, Delta boasts about its performance, Doug Parker sounds despondent and the CEOs tell us that their tens of thousands of employees (right before they brag to the analysts about their cost cuts). Here is some of what we heard this quarter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n