Business travel isn’t sexy like George Clooney makes it seem in 2009 dramedy Up in the Air. It’s 8:15-ish on Thursday night and I’m stuck in the Tampa Bay airport awaiting a new plane. Apparently, the plane I was on had an issue that they identified too late. Now I wait for the good folks at United to find a new plane.
United roads… take me home. So while I waste time waiting to leave Florida, here are my more pressing thoughts about what’s up and what’s happening.
Cold as ice…
Despite heuristics, Tampa Bay, like most cities in the South, gets cold every winter. Just how cold? According to weather data, in the past five years, the coldest day in the Bay each year has been around 37.8*F (source: Lowest Temperatures in Tampa by Year). And yet… when you add in, what I’m calling, “Bay effect” and strong winds, it feels a lot colder.
Last weekend snow pummeled much of the United States (including New Orleans) and Tampa Bay fell to the 40s. I sat through many Uber drivers recounting that this was the coldest week on record since the ‘70s. I couldn’t find anything on the internet that corroborated those claims.
Despite the hearsay, I can attest that it feels colder inside buildings in Florida than it does in New Jersey - worthy of wearing a winter coat indoors cold. It led me down a wormhole of wondering: Why is that?
Apparently, the answer is humidity. Like legitimately, Florida has the same wet cold that Europe does (well, not exactly, but it feels the same). If rain proceeds a cold blast, then it creates higher dew points which make it feel colder. Then you add in the fluctuations of your body’s internal thermostat - in other words, your body has a certain “temperature” it’s set at based on the outside conditions. When you drop yourself into a new situation, it throws the thermostat out of whack for a few days before it can reset. The result is I’m not used to wet cold, so it felt frigid to me.
That means I need to do a better job packing for business trips.
Up in the air, and down again…
Back to the 2009 dramedy, Up In the Air, about traveling businessman, George Clooney, and his straight from college/MBA program counterpart, Anna Kendrick? According to frequent business travelers, there’s a lot that they got right: Clooney’s TravelPro luggage, the feel of soulless chain hotels, and the dredge of flying to mid-tier, generic American cities.
Luckily for anyone who wants to emulate George Clooney, you can. Business travel is back to pre-pandemic levels – an estimated $1.5 trillion for you (and a whole lot of business class.) (Business Travel Spending to Hit $1.5 Trillion This Year - Daily Lodging Report). The US, China, and Germany are leading the way.
BTW - Business travel accounts for 75% of airlines total profits (and just 12% of their trips).
Business travelers are the best at airports because they know the drill. You buy a personal item that fits neatly untop of your carry-on. They probably have TSA Pre-check. There are no children involved (love kiddos so much though <3). Most of them are, like Clooney, sensibly dressed middle aged white men who are just as annoyed they’re at the airport as you are.
I will never be a middle-aged white dude wearing sensible slacks and there’s a certain confidence to that. But I do embody the certain “why don’t you know how to do this more efficiently” of seasoned business travelers.
Why is the travelpro so liked, I just find them ugly