Rich Kao

This article gave me the chuckles.  While I've been an elite flier for several years now because of my ministry travels, we are not nearly the upper-crust, privileged few that this article makes us out to be.  While the details of elite flying as reported below are true, the comedic, over-the-top tone got me laughing, as if eating bread with peanut butter is worthy of envy.

 

Wednesday, April 01, 2009
By Paul Eisenberg

Just who do these people think they are?

You know who I’m talking about. You see them at the airport sailing through special check-in and security lines, boarding before you, snagging prime overhead luggage space. And then there’s what you don’t see. Their free and automatic upgrades, dedicated hotlines and, get this: their bags are not only checked surcharge-free, but they’re also loaded on board last so they’re the first ones to hit the baggage carousel.

Who are these people?

They’re your airline’s elite status members. They fly a lot, year after year. The more they fly, the higher their rank and the better their perks. The problem for the rest of us is that even if you just started flying a lot, or take a few high mileage flights each year, elite status can be difficult to reach. And once you reach it, it can be hard to keep.

Fortunately, a few airlines offer various shortcuts to elite status – largely unpublished, undocumented shortcuts that the airlines will tell you about only if you ask them.

Want to be the next Jason Bourne? A world class traveler? Or a Great Commission worker?

Which is the best passport to own? US? Switzerland? Canada? UK? See interesting results below.

The Henley Visa Restrictions Index is a global ranking of countries according to travel freedom their citizens enjoy. Henley & Partners has analyzed the visa regulations of all the countries and territories in the world. It has created an index which ranks countries according to the visa-free access its citizens enjoy to other countries. This is the first time that a global ranking shows the international travel freedom of the citizens of the various countries as well as the international relations and status of individual countries relative to others.

Note: There are 195 countries in the world. The following ranking does not take into consideration such factors as negative perception the world has of a given country's passport (e.g. US in the Middle East) or the vigor in which a country will back and aid their citizens in another country in case of emergency situations, arrests, etc. The study is solely based on visa free access.

The winner? Denmark, although the material difference between the top 10 countries (24 nations in total due to ties) is probably negligible (access to 157 countriees vs. 146). US (#3) & Canada (#4) are have just a one country difference and are only two and three countries less than #1 Denmark in terms of visa free access. Says Henley, "The Canadian passport is one of the best-regarded in the world and offers extensive visa-free travel."

 

Rank		Score	Rank		Score
1	Denmark	157	14	Malta	139
2	Finland	156	24	Israel	118
2	Ireland	156	17	Hungary	131
2	Portugal	156	20	Argentina	127
3	Belgium	155	23	Brazil	122
3	Germany	155	26	Romania	115
3	Sweden	155	27	Mexico	114
3	United States	155	29	Croatia	108
4	Canada	154	35	South Africa	88
4	Italy	154	38	St. Kitts & Nevis	84
4	Japan	154	42	Turkey	75
4	Luxembourg	154	44	Dominica	71
4	Netherlands	154	53	Russian Federation	60
4	Spain	154	54	Taiwan	59
5	Austria	153	61	Thailand	52
5	Norway	153	61	United Arab Emirates	52
6	France	152	70	Saudi Arabia	42
6	United Kingdom	152	72	Bosnia and Herzegowina	40
7	Australia	151	75	India	37
8	New Zealand	150	78	Egypt	34
8	Singapore	150	79	China	33
9	Greece	149	82	Jordan	30
9	Switzerland	149	83	Korea, Dem People's Republic	29
10	Iceland	146	87	Pakistan	25
11	Malaysia	145	87	Iran	25
12	Korea, Republic of	144	88	Iraq	23
13	Liechtenstein	140	89	Afghanistan	22
14	Cyprus	139

Well, our family just hit the half way point of our mini-family reunion in Hawaii (Wakiki and Ko Olina), compliments of Grandpa and Grandma Kao  (thanks Mom & Dad!).  Here's a quick update...

Top 10 Benefits of a Vacation in Hawaii.

10. Being far away from home (Vancouver, BC) really helps one unwind.  Helps you leave behind the nitty-gritty details of work and ministry.

9. The ocean actually does wash away stress - amazing therapy.

8. It's easy to get a nice tan. (No more pasty looking white feet, or "cottage cheese" looking legs as my mom likes to put it)

7. Being away from the nitty-gritty details helps one see and meditate on the big picture.  Very helpful.

6. Learned a new water recreation activity - paddling on stand-up surf boards, something invented by photographers that needed to take pictures of surfers before there was water-proof cameras.   A unexpected hit with the kids - couldn't get them off the boards!

5. It's a total blast getting tossed around like a rubber ducky by the ocean tides.

4. Seeing 80 year sea turtles crawl onto the beach for some sun!

3. It's a great opportunity to teach the kids thankfulness (it's not everyday one gets to vacation in Hawaii).

2. Family memories and bonding grows - with grandpa & grandma, and with own family.

1. Having devotions by the ocean; God seems nearer.

Lotsa pics and albums to follow when we return home.

Having been a travel bug for nearly 40 years, here are my top 10 airport rankings (I love airports).  This ranking is completely based on my own travel experience  (Europe, Middle East, Asia, N. America, Latin America; no Africa) and is by no means exhaustive.  It's based on my subjective take of an airport's design, layout, ambiance, esthetic, service, technology, efficiency in moving masses of people around, signage, cleanliness, food, shops, parking, sense of hospitality and more. So here goes!

1. Singapore.  My goodness, this airport is so nice, it's almost too much.  It's borderline oppulent.   It's like a 5 star hotel and detailed perfectly to the max.  Great use of space, greenery, glass, shops and more.  It's a site to behold, besides just getting on your plane.

2. Hong Kong.  Almost like Singapore's airport but without the over the top luxury feel, but close.  The shops in this airport are like a high-end mall.  Very airy, and you can't help but love the buzz of this airport.  

3. Zurich.   A beautiful full-service airport befitting Switzerland's status as the #1 destination in Europe.  Clean, modern, upscale, visually pleasing, and full of luxury shops catering to the wealthy clientele that flow through the city.  Interestingly, this airport is as nice as Geneva's isn't!

4. Vancouver.  I love Canada's sense of architecture - modern, sublime, clean.  The walk to the international processing area is fabulous (however recent changes in the exit areas took away the vaulted ceiling feel; strange change).  Not the mega size airports of some cities, but great sense of proportion for his international city.

5. Minneapolis.  Maybe it's the feeling of home, but I love the Minneapolis airport.  The front ticketing areas could be improved, but once you cross the security check areas, it opens up nicely, with a friendly and modern feel.  You don't get tired thinking about transiting through this airport; you look forward to it.

6. Amersterdam.  This airport would rank higher than Vancouver or Minneapolis' except they way they check luggage is weird.  You get everything scanned at the boarding gate.  This is very cumbersome, tiring and inefficient to me.  Otherwise, it has the big airport feel of Hong Kong, bright, airy, lots of nice shops and open space.  A great first impression for people landing in Europe for the first time.

7. Seattle.  Very comparable to Minneapolis, with great inter-airport transit system.  Some of the wings which service the local carriers, however, are older and a bit cramped.   

8.  Beijing Terminal 3 (built for the Olympics; picture above).  Awesome and huge facility befitting the largest country in the world.  It's new, spacious, well lit and designed, and is ready to move lotsa people for the 2008 Summer Games.  I rank it lower than the others because it's part of an older system, and the airport hasn't been time tested.  But in term of brick for brick esthetic and design, it's up there with Hong Kong and Singapore.

9. Columbia, South Carolina.  This is just a little airport, not even close in size to the above ones, but it's an amazing little airport - clean, modern, new, and really nice.  Its feel is warm, pleasant and inviting. 

10.  Dubai.  Actually, I haven't been to this airport, but I can't wait to go there some day.  I suspect it'll be up in the top five after I actually visit it.

Which airports are your favorites?   Thoughts on this list? 

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