Lend A Hand

I spent an afternoon with Fran before she left for Paris, London, Jeddah, and Dubai, and yes, that all has to go into one little carry on. Before we even started, Fran had checked the weather in all four places, and as she stood in front of her closet, hands on hips, she formulated a plan of attack. It went something like this:

Pick top
Check for stains
Pick pants
Pick other top that will match top
Pick dress
Check for stains
Pack needed undergarments to make sure above looks fabulous
Repack because we forgot to pack needed shoes
Pack shoes
Pack layering tools for warmth
Pack accessories
Pack toiletries
Pack pashmina if room
Pack Purse
-wallet
-passport
-tickets
-computer
-chords
-ipod
-book
-phone(good thing the fiance called, almost forgot that one)

As I helped Fran, I started asking if she had certain things, and inevitably, there was something i named which she forgot. Or the opposite, something that she was packing that would probably be handed out on the plane or the hotel. Bottom line, packing is a process, and any process is easier with a helping hand.

Opportunity: Start helping them to their seat before they've even stepped foot on board.

Why We Do It?

"You travel to break up the hum drum," Peter said as he drove me to the train station. "Hum drum? is that a technical term?" he laughed, his big belly bouncing as we rode. "Whenever you travel, when you come back, you look at things differently." He told us about his son, Noah, who had traveled to Thailand and Burma for a summer. When he came back, Noah was shocked at how wasteful he and his family had been. He started taking care in everything he did, really paying close attention. "The problem is, the impact that the adventure has on you fades. That's why you do it again. You have to keep refreshing that perspective."

Opportunity: Remind them to break up the boredom. It's amazing what a little fresh perspective can bring.

Humans

"Pompeii, it was absolutely magnificent and just so full of history. Magnificent really." Don's face looked not like the retired investment banker that he was, but of a little boy, recalling the first time he'd ever tasted ice cream. "It was just phenomenal, seeing a city that old remain, and in extraordinary shape."



He's been everywhere in the the world, and when most people say that, they mean they've been to Europe, dabbled in Africa, and possibly a toe or two in China. But Don has literally been all over the world.

"But you know what, a place doesn't really become alive with a book. I saw people standing in front of the ruins, with a Frommers in hand, and they're reading about what used to take place here. But that's not what brings it to life." he paused for dramatic effect, and you couldn't' help but smile. "Giovanni, that was our guide. It was hearing his stories, the passion that he used when he told us about the people who used to live here, or how animated he became when he explained how they excavated this city centuries later. That's what really put everything in perspective."



Victor,a private driver, remarked about the same thing. "I had to fly to Australia once for a client, and there was one stewardess who took notice of me. She just liked me I suppose. She treated me so well, I remember, she treated me like I was in first class."

"I'm not one to report people, but this one woman, I swear she hated her job so much, she was going to do her darnedest to make sure I had as horrendous a time as she did," Harlene, a Broadway producer said of her stewardess on her across the pond flight. "You know, they call it the cattle car for a reason. We're not treated like humans."

In all the commotion of the packing, the checking in, the security, the waiting, the hurrying, it all becomes a little too mechanical. Even the delays are becoming, dare I say it, a little inhumane. How long can they keep someone on a tar mat without food and water?

Opportunity: Bring the humanity back. Make the passenger feel human again.

Habitat

"First things first, on go the Sony headphones. I like to create a cocoon." Don said, a winner of British Airways most miles traveled award. "I used to chat with the person next to me, but when you've traveled as much as I have, you realize that only 1 in 5 is going to turn out to be an interesting person. So I create my silent cocoon and wait for take off."

"You know, I got on and created my little nest. Put my eye thingy on and started dozing before takeoff. As soon as I heard the unfasten your seatbelt ding, the chair went back, blanket went on, and I was gone."

Opportunity: It might be as little as the bag of peanuts they hand out, but it's what we're about to call our own for the next few hours. Help make our nest a little cozier.

Personal Habits

"I hoard my magazines and crossword puzzles the week before," she said with an air of sneakiness, as if leaving a crossword neglected was an unspeakable crime. "And I don't know what it is, but every time, I get a glass of seltzer, no ice, and a cup of tomato juice."

"Us Weekly, In Touch, Star, the trashier the better. It's my plane guilty pleasure."

"Books. I never start it on the plane, I have to have started it before I actually board the plane, but always always, I have to have a good book."

Opportunity: No matter what it is, everyone has a specific something that they do on planes, and only planes. Help them discover their plane habit.