Saturday, January 13, 2018

End of an Era

For twenty years Terri and I traveled, several trips every year. Then, in 2017, we went nowhere. There were several reasons for this abrupt halt, none of them especially interesting, and only one that truly mattered: American Airlines radically changed their frequent flyer program. The old system along with regular fare sales tempted us to fly frequently and far; the perks that came with status (most years we were Platinum) made the ordeal of flying semi-bearable. 'Status' has unfortunate connotations of social arrogance, but in the realm of air travel it means an array of specific, highly desirable benefits: better seats with more legroom, boarding priority, lounge access, upgrades on domestic flights, and more award miles.

AA raised the costs (both of airfares and the requirements to achieve status) while significantly reducing the benefits. So we have to ask ourselves, having to pay much more for a lot less, why bother?

As luck would have it, Terri found cheap fares to Milan with a return flight a day before our current status expires. So, on Monday we're off for two weeks in Italy, with stops in Piacenza, Modena, Mantova, and Cremona. These are not tourist hotspots and the weather will be cold, but there will be plenty of things to see and do. And of course we'll be eating--as I've written before, eating is one of the main reasons to go to Italy. Who can resist a basket of puffy fried bread and a plate of cured meats? And that's just for starters.

Fried Bread and Cured Meats

Click on the image for a larger view on Flickr and more details.

This won't be our last trip but we'll never travel again as much as we once did. We'll be more selective about when and where we go, and how we get there.

9 comments:

  1. The bread and meat plate look delicious. My wife and I would like to go to Italy someday soon too and eating is near the top of my list of important things to do there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Drew, the food tasted even better than it looks. Hope you and Mary make it to Italy, the sooner the better, let me know if you want any suggestions. :-)

      Delete
  2. Best wishes from Ward and me on your travels.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks very much, George! Hope you two are doing well, I always enjoy your photos.

      Delete
  3. Have a great trip...Piacenza is the home of my paternal ancestors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting, I did not know that. Did you visit there when you were stationed in Italy? I'll try to take lots of photos for you.

      Delete
    2. I was never stationed in Italy but I did visit Piacenza in the 70's when I was traveling Europe. I didn't find anyone but my youngest brother Pat. spent some time researching ancestry etc and when he went over a couple of years ago, did meet up with cousins etc.

      Delete
  4. So sorry to hear about your grounding by the changes in AA's ff program. I loved reading about your adventures on the road...an international Charles Kuralt! Enjoy your trip!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suppose it was time for a change. I'll have to think of some other things to write about and take snaps of.

      Delete