In good weather, the flight from New York (JFK) to Munich via London can take as little as 12 hours. In bad weather, the trip can stretch to perhaps 15 or 20 hours. But the storm that last week buried much of the East Coast of the United States in a blanket of snow shut down major airports, closed thousands of businesses, and left tens of thousands of people stranded at places other where they wanted to be.
In my particular case, the storm, which set new records in …

The American Airlines terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport never seems crowded, even when it’s running at full tilt, thanks to its airy and open design that keeps passengers moving without long waits.  American offers a quiet, dedicated first class check-in and I only waited two minutes before I was in front of an agent who cheerily greeted me and handed me my boarding pass, wishing me a pleasant flight.  A dedicated priority line for first- and business-class passengers meant that the wait for security was also about two minutes …

Even though it’s been open for several years now, it never ceases to amaze me how walking into the American Airlines terminal at JFK places the business traveler in an oasis of calm.
The design of the terminal, with its towering 65-foot roofline, reduces the stress of air travel and makes each departure seem exciting.  The new terminal replaces American’s two terminals (8 and 9) at JFK.  Terminal 8, which served international traffic, had been built in the early 1960s and sported what was once the world’s longest stained glass installation, …

After a pleasant (and very fast) drive in a BMW M3 from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and a few days of meetings there, I returned to New York via American Airlines Flight 22.  Similar to the outbound flight to San Francisco, once we hit 10,000 feet, I was able to turn on my Lenovo ThinkPad X300 and find several Gogo hotspots.
For most of the flight, I was able to surf the Web, watch videos, read news, send and receive e-mail, and even check the flight’s exact position.  I …

ON BOARD AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 15, 11:45 A.M. EDT
American Airlines was the first U.S. airline to announce in-flight Internet service for domestic flights. The first (test) phase of the American Airlines Gogo Internet service started in the middle of last year on the company’s fleet of 15 767-200 aircraft, which fly its transcontinental routes.
Recently, the company announced it will expand the service to over 300 domestic aircraft (the service doesn’t work over the Atlantic or Pacific oceans).
I am writing this from American Airlines Flight 15, New York (JFK) to San …

Business travelers have long known that travel takes its toll on body and soul.  But the toll it takes on our planet is rarely considered.  Every step of a business trip has an impact on the environment.  How much varies based on choices made, miles or kilometers flown or traveled, food consumed, and items purchased.  You may think this all beyond your control but the extent to which you can lessen the impact may surprise you.
Although I always believed I had a fairly highly developed sense of awareness about environmental …

I was unable to print my boarding pass from my home computer because the printer had run out of ink, so I had to check in at American’s new Terminal 8.  There was only one passenger ahead of me in the first class line so I waited all of two minutes.  The agent greeted me by name, directed me to the Admiral’s Club, and wished me a pleasant flight.
BOARDING
Our departure was scheduled for 6:10 p.m. and approximately half an hour before, we began boarding.  The gate areas in the new …

Check-in at JFK Terminal 8 was a breeze since American Airlines now allows international travelers to use self-service kiosks. The machine scans your passport and issues a boarding pass after a roving agent verifies your credentials.. This was probably my last Terminal 8 departure as that terminal will soon close. And I will certainly be sad to see it go in some respects, Terminal 8, built in the early 1960s, sports what was once the world’s longest stained glass installation, designed by the artist Robert Sower.
It was close to departure …