This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ A `Yeah, Right' for Million-Mile Fliers September 2, 2003 By JOE SHARKEY THIS column generates a fair amount of reader response, including on those occasions when it might be argued that its proprietor is full of baloney. Take this e-mail message from Michael Ellenby, which began: "Million miles? Not bloody likely!" Mr. Ellenby and others wrote to challenge an assertion in last week's column that a few business travelers claim to fly more than a million miles a year. The purported million-milers turned up in a survey by Consulting Magazine, a publication for the management-consulting industry. Consultants, the magazine's editors say, are among the most hard-core business travelers. The survey elicited responses in a range of categories like preferences in hotel amenities and in car-rental companies. But it also asked about annual miles flown, and this is where the commotion began. A third of the consultants said they flew from 51,000 to 100,000 miles a year. Another third said they flew from 101,000 to 500,000 miles a year. About 3 percent said they flew more than 500,000 miles. All plausible, so far. But then the survey claimed that four consultants reported flying more than a million miles a year. Some readers did the math and said it did not add up. "Assuming planes fly at 400 miles an hour, this means flying 2,500 hours for the year," or 50 hours a week, considering two weeks' vacation, Mr. Ellenby wrote. "I am from Australia and we have a couple of colorful phrases in reaction to claims like that." Most commercial planes fly faster than 400 miles an hour. But the numbers still do not hold up, according to Anker Heegaard of the Compass Group, a Washington consulting company. "I have to point out that one million miles in a year, at an average speed of 500 miles an hour, would equal 2,000 hours of flying time and another 500 or so hours in getting to and from the airport," he wrote, adding: "The standard 40-hour workweek is 2,080 hours per year." Francis Hawkings wrote: "I am not one of your four million-mile consultants, though I was in the 100-500K group for many years. But do you believe the four?" And R. J. Pazarra said, "I think you can rule out the guys who claim one million miles a year. My guess is those four guys looked at their mileage statements and saw a million miles total increase, which, of course, includes a large amount of bonus miles at the gold and platinum levels." I agree it's a stretch. When I was researching the column on the survey, I double-checked with Jack Sweeney, the editor in chief of Consulting Magazine, to ask whether the question about annual miles flown was clearly about actual miles in the sky, rather than total accumulated annual frequent-flier miles (which usually include bonuses and miles points from credit card purchases and the like). He checked and replied that it was. But Mr. Sweeney got just a little wobbly on the point a few days ago when I phoned back and told him some frequent-flying readers were hooting at the million-mile claims. "We went back and looked at that question, and we're not certain; we're going to look into it more," Mr. Sweeney said. Though he said he still thinks the million-milers exist, he acknowledged that there might have been some confusion on the survey between miles flown and total-mile points accumulated. The four consultants who claimed to be million-milers all opted to have their identities kept confidential, but Mr. Sweeney said the magazine would follow up. "In our next issue we will ask our readers to help identify who among them belong to the million-mile club," he said. Meanwhile, I called a few seasoned business travelers to ask what they thought about the million-mile assertion. "I don't buy it," said David J. Satler, a vice president of Prudential Securities, who is a member of Continental Airlines' highest elite status level for frequent fliers. Mr. Satler said he usually flies about 200,000 miles a year, mostly in short domestic flight segments from New York to places like Richmond, Va. "I sometimes go down to Richmond two to four times a week," he said. Mr. Satler said he never heard of anyone flying a million miles a year. Even a weekly round-trip between New York and Hong Kong would only add up to about 832,000 annual miles, assuming anyone had the reason or stamina to do it, he reasoned. On the other hand, Zachary Coffin said he thinks it is possible. Mr. Coffin is an investment consultant who flew about 300,000 miles a year when he worked for KPMG, until he opened his own company, Coffin Capital, six months ago in Los Angeles. He said he thinks that a handful of million-milers probably exist - nearly always aloft, like some corporate reflection of the Strategic Air Command's never-grounded B-52 fleet during the cold war. "I wouldn't be surprised. Sure, it sounds striking, and obviously there aren't that many. But there really are those kinds of people" capable of flying a million miles a year, he said. "People who are really the top road warriors start living on the road - I mean really living on the road," he said. "For most business travelers, the mind-set is, I'm based in one place and I'll schedule around that. But for these people, in this kind of travel, it's different. The frame of reference is the schedule. Their location becomes flexible." He added: "I know people, real V.I.P.'s, who in a month could be in 20 countries. Now, I've done 10 countries in 20 days - but I haven't done 20 countries in 30 days. That's what separates the 300,000-mile flier from the million-mile one." Well, as I said last week, I'd sure like to hear from one of those mileage millionaires. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/02/business/02ROAD.html?ex=1063510288&ei=1&en=d3ed2226ec4c1174 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company