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Welcome

Friends,

Yesterday I flew on a PSA Airlines CRJ-700 from Reagan Airport in DC. As we departed, all I could think about were the passengers and crew on American 5342.

Each day is a gift from our creator—life is fragile and precious. I am heartbroken by the tragedy that took their lives.

Tonight, I am writing this email to you while en-route again—back to Texas. My family is laying over at a Hyatt in Birmingham we’ve come to know well over the past six months.

This stay is different though. It marks the end of a wonderful season living in Tennessee.

853 words—let’s get going.

Links

For all the current coverage, Southwest is not getting enough credit for their remarkable reliability in 2025. It is a major comeback from their operational woes in the past few years (most notably when they tried to cancel Christmas in 2022).

The preliminary accident report on Delta flight 4819 has been released, and provides a material level of detail. You can read it here.

American is inviting disenfranchised Southwest fliers to come out to DFW and give them a try by offering a status match for A-List and A-List Preferred frequent fliers, among others.

Story

My perspective on airports changed dramatically after becoming a flight attendant. I could go on on and on about this—but in short, airports stopped stressing me out.

I had flown over one million miles before I joined United, so that felt kind of notable to me. The biggest thing that changed was my mindset: kindness and grace go a long way.

It is also helpful to have a good game plan.

So, I just want to quickly talk about my game plan now at airports and why they still do not stress me out (even though I am no longer actively ‘serving drinks and taking names’ as a crew member).

Hopefully this is a help to you, as I do not want you to feel stressed in airports either. These are the top four things that make all the difference for me:

1. Security—unless you live in New Zealand, airport security can be maddeningly stressful. For those living in the States, TSA PreCheck and CLEAR* are absolutely worth it if you fly more than twice per year (imo).

2. Lounges—this is the game. I largely use the CapitalOne Venture X card and American Express Platinum card to access many airport lounges pre-flight (also sometimes post-flight, to my own peril) in the USA. Chase’s Sapphire Reserve has become increasingly competitive, too. OneWorld Emerald status offers the best global lounge access of any of the big alliance status tiers, while Lufthansa’s HON Circle likely offers the best airline lounge status perk of any major airline.

3. Upgrades—this gets a touch more nuanced, so I will keep it simple: pay for what you want. If premium cabins matter to you, then book it. I can help you shop for the right fares (using cash and or points) to do so. I paid $67 more to fly first class yesterday and it was totally worth it in my book, but YMMV. Conversely, flying economy hits different when you know you got a great deal.

4. Priority—it can be nice to board early and not have to worry about checking a bag. It is also helpful to have access to an airline’s own lounge when your flight is delayed or canceled. So, if you fly with any frequency on a specific carrier then go for status AND consider a premium credit cards that includes lounge access (like American, United, or Delta’s). These also provide free bags as a benefit—so they basically convey a near equivalent of the lowest tier of frequent flier status which is great if you do not otherwise qualify. I am happy to help you make sense of all of this.

Okay, there is a lot more I could write on the topic but this is a good start. To my uber-frequent fliers readers: what am I missing?

Big Picture: Reducing your wait at security and spending extra time at a lounge instead of the terminal is the best way to elevate your airport experience. Couple that with finding great premium fares alongside priority benefits and you have a winning game plan.

Happy flying.

P.S. You can get 3 free months to try out CLEAR by using this code they sent me: MD23A792CF5. To the best of my knowledge I am not compensated in any way for sharing this, so let me know if you try it and what you think?

Remember, this life you are living has meaning. Thank you for reading. I am grateful you are here and would love to hear from you. If you'd like to write me a note, simply reply to this email. Otherwise I'll see you in the next one.

Be well today. -Tommy

P.S. If I can ever help you plan your next travel adventure (slash help make your points go farther), I’d be delighted. You can schedule time together here.