Today I thought I’d pull back the curtain on my work as a travel blogger and how I approach opportunities to interact directly with airlines.
A Day In The Life Of A Travel Blogger
I receive a lot of media invites for events like new lounge openings, aircraft deliveries, or terminal expansions. Blogging is not my only gig, so I generally turn those down. It’s not that I do not enjoy them (I do), but I prefer to experience seats or lounges like other travelers do so that I can provide a more honest review. I do not have a “no free flights” policy, but I know that if I fly as a guest on a carrier, the value of my review is far lower because there is no way to know if the red carpet has been rolled out.
Time is also money and I am very busy both with work and family and these events do take time and expense to reach.
United Airlines had an event in San Francisco this week that highlighted the carrier’s expansion at SFO and I decided to go. First, because it’s easy to fly up from Southern California to San Francisco. Second, because it is good to renew old acquaintances–both journalists and folks from the carrier–in person.
At 3:30 am my alarm rang and I got up so that I could work for about 90 minutes while enjoying my coffee. At 5:00 am I left for Burbank Airport (BUR), which is only 15 minutes away from my home. My flight did not depart until 7:00 am, but security lines in Terminal B at BUR can be really bad during the morning rush and I did not want to have to spend 30-40 minutes in line.
I parked in the short-term structure, walked into the terminal, and cleared security within one minute. That left an hour before boarding and I was quite productive in the gate area.
The flight up to SFO on United was smooth and quick…my upgrade cleared and I enjoyed a cup of coffee during the flight.
Upon reaching SFO, I headed out to the curb, where United was shuttling media folks over to its hangar where the event would take place.
The event itself, which I outlined here, lasted from about 10:00 am to 10:45 am. I had already had the press release emailed to me earlier in the morning, so there was no breaking news (beyond Scott Kirby’s off-the-cuff tariff remarks).
After the event, there were aircraft tours and I used the time to chat with folks ranging from Kirby and Patrick Quayle, the wunderkind behind United’s expanding global route network, to flight attendants and writers that I have come to know over the years.
Then I took a shuttle back to Terminal 3 and placed myself on standby for an earlier flight at 1:25p (which was delayed until 2:05 pm). I headed over to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge and enjoyed a delicious lunch followed by superb coffee. During that time I worked on my other ventures.
30 minutes before departure, I was cleared onto the earlier Burbank flight and assigned a middle seat toward the back of the plane. Onboard, the couple traveling together had done the aisle window trick, hoping the middle would stay open (the flight went out 100% full) and offered me the window seat.
United’s old A320s which have not been retrofitted yet do not have power in the back, but my phone and laptop were charged in the lounge and I was able to get some work done on the short flight back down to Burbank.
By 3:15 pm we had touched down and by 3:30 pm I was driving home. Back at home, I hit the gym and then enjoyed a pleasant dinner and evening with the family.
Most days I’m just sitting in my home office working from 6:30 am to 3:00 pm then again from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, but I do like days like this…they are both fun and productive.
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“Draw me like one of your French travel bloggers…”
?
Titanic?
It’s the suit, dude.
Insightful.
Why did you have to charge your laptop and phone in the lounge? Your day was two one-hour flights and a few hours in a hanger. I used my laptop from LHR-LAX and didn’t need to charge it.
Because I use an Apple Macbook from 2020 and it’s on its last leg.
I charged my phone because I took over 600 pictures/video.
So NOW we know why you are so angry about Trump potentially affecting your gig.
Hopefully things turn around for you and you can afford a new one, lol.
Use AA Shopping on an Apple multiplier day when you get a new one, adds up quickly.
I’m terrible at replacing technology. Always have been, always will be. In this case, it is not a matter of cost but an aversion to certain expenses among them for computers.
“Because I use an Apple Macbook from 2020 and it’s on its last leg.”
A very poor choice for a mission critical device.
“I took over 600 pictures/video.”
That shouldn’t dent a fully charged iPhone.
Well, I have a 15 Pro Max and the battery isn’t great.
As for my Mac, that machine certainly needs to put out to pasture…but it has served me very well. I’m thankful that machine has made me so much money!
Matthew Klint has the BEST trip reports; so thorough and so many details it feels like you’re tagging along. And what an amazing event to attend! So cool.
SO what was the United event about???? Did you have a real plane from Burback vs a CRJ???
I linked to what I did in SFO in my story and you can see from the pictures I was on mainline (737-800 going up, A320 going down).
https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-fortress-hub-sfo/
I have a dumb question I wonder if you’d answer. It’s fine, if not.
I generally feel like you’re fairly transparent about buying a ticket and also honest that you aren’t always flying business class in some cases.
Some of your main “rival” pages often seem to have an unlimited supply of miles, to the extent where it’s far beyond any reasonable view of credit card sign ups or credit card spend.
Are the airlines or credit card companies giving them hundreds of thousands of miles? I realize there are referral links and such, but I assumed those were a $ issue, not a mileage item.
We all love the journey across the globe in Emirates first class or route specific A380s, but I do find myself wondering where these hundreds of thousands of miles keep coming from?
I also don’t mean to be accusatory since I think most of the travel sites have disclosures but I also feel like I’m missing something there or don’t know what I’m missing. Am I actually this bad at accruing sign up mileage bonuses?
An interesting question that I also wonder about.
As well as constantly churning cards, the bigger bloggers also have referral programs where every reader who signs up also earns them miles.
Once you’re big enough it might be possible to earn enough miles through card spend, maximizing sign-up bonuses, referrals, buying miles when on sale and even the old fashioned route of earning miles through paid-for tickets.
But yeah, reading the blogs makes it seem like some infinite mileage tree.
Happy to answer this question. In the case of Ben and Gary, remember they each scored like 8-10 million AA miles during the pandemic by donating to that charity…one of my great regrets in life that I did not take part!
They are both very wealthy by now and can buy points at 1-2 cents each during promos and come out way ahead. Referal links for credit cards are always paid in USD, to my knowledge.
I have a business that generates points and so I earn points that way, plus of course, I got the 2MN SAS points last fall through that promo.
My balances are slowly moving downward, though, as I take an “earn and burn” approach and see increasingly little value in stockpiling points.
Matthew, my brother lives by Keystone & Glenoaks & tries to use BUR as much as possible & sometimes will accept a stop rather than going to LAX for a non-stop.
And this is why UA loves him.
There are United bloggers that just want to be Patrick Quayle’s best friend
Zach Griff is an amazing example of that. Fun trip reviews but no one finds him unbiased the way he goes after Patrick Quayle.
Matt is not one of those.
United fans are great. It’s a great airline. Delta has those too. AA wants them.
But Matt is not on the Zach level of acting like he wants to date Patrick, post mba. Matt likes United but is objective.
This is why I enjoy your blog so much. You’re not over the top attention seeking like most of the YouTubers, but you also don’t bullshit that you’re just Average Joe Traveler. Honesty is everything. Now the comment section, on the other hand…
He’s not the Average Joe Traveler because he flies in international business class a lot. He is better than us trash who fly cattle class.
Matthew we appreciate all the effort you put into this blog. Thank you
A really interesting summary. Love this.
I’m bothered by how many pictures of your children you post. It’s your choice, but each time I see it I’m conflicted about looking at them.
Yes, you’ve made that point before. But no picutures of my kids here…
You are telling us that you live within a 15 minute radius of BUR. I have a particular set of skills. I will find you.
I’m not hiding…
Great insight, and thanks for sharing. Don’t listen to the trolls above as your reviews are well written and fair. And wtf is someone questioning when you charge your devices. I mean that is so weird…to challenge someone on your battery life? These people have nothing else to do.
You gotta try the SFO Air Canada lounge’s espresso martini someday. Promise it’s worth it LOL
Have you considered a modeling career? That fitted suit is major thirst trap material (and it’s showing off your assets quite nicely). Looking good, bro!
I’ve got a really odd question that I think you may be able to ask around and find the answer to… why does United still insist on old-fashioned “EXIT” signs, even on the 787? As far as I’m aware all other 787 operators including American use symbolic exit signs.
(Other airlines also use symbolic exit signs on other aircraft types too: all A350 operators, some A321 operators like Delta, all A220 operators, all E195-E2 operators, etc.)
How old are you Matthew? You somehow manage to look both 16 and 40 at the same time hahaha
16 and 40? Wow, I’ll take the average of the two! 😉
That Maple Leaf lounge has declined over time since it opened. The bar is good for the afternoon but the food is atrocious. Breakfast is sad but the worst is lunch and dinner.
I thought the tacos and salad were pretty good, though.
Argh, you’re so handsome!!!