I'm no longer traveling for business, and with my new job, I haven't had much time to explore MRing to get  myself back to EXP. I'm sitting on about 70,500 EQM at the moment (including a couple family trips between now and the end of the year).

So despite AA's generous RDU/BNA/PIT/STL double-EQM promotion, things aren't looking good for my AAdvantage Executive Platinum status:

1. I need to earn 29,500 EQM between now and December 31.

2. Between now and December 16, I must be in LA (where I live) on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and on Sundays. (More specifically, I have to be in LA all day every Sunday, and I have to be at my office 3pm-9pm Tuesdays and 3pm-7pm Thursdays.)

3. December 22-29, I cannot travel (I'll be on a family trip).

I spent about 40 minutes this morning playing around in the FT MR forums and on ITA, and I'm not feeling positive. Anyone got any bright ideas?

Yesterday, I flew LAX-DFW-JAN with my wife. On the LAX-DFW flight (on the dreaded 737-800, which has only 16 seats in first class), my upgrade didn't clear. My wife and I were seated in 14F and E. 

When the flight attendants came around to do drink service, I asked about what snacks they were stocking on the cart and then requested the chocolate chip cookie (a healthy breakfast to be sure). After handing my diet coke and cookie to me, the FA then whipped out the credit card ...

(This is Part 1 in a multipart trip report. For the background on this trip, check here.)

We arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, checked in at the Mexicana Elite desk, and headed quickly through security. (The first-class security line was poorly enforced, but that certainly isn't anything I haven't seen before.)

Our plan was to head to the joint oneworld® lounge to spend the hour or so before boarding. We took the lounge elevator to the fifth floor and ...

I've flown ten transcon segments on AA in the past fourteen days. Some thoughts:

1. Smaller Planes Suck.

AA is using the 737-800 on more transcon routes, which is bad for frequent flyers. Both versions of that plane have just 16 seats in first. Compare that with 22 on the old 757, 30 business- and 10 first-class seats on the 767-200, and 30 on the 767-300. So even an Executive Platinum flyer has a decent chance of missing an upgrade.

This played out on a recent ...

My life as a road warrior is about to end.

I'm an educator by training, and for the past few years I've worked for a small company that publishes textbooks. A big part of that job has been training teachers at school around the country, which is what has me on the road. (Last year I did about 100,000 butt-in-seat miles, but double EQM had be at around 140k when all was said and done.)

I recently accepted a job running a school. It's a good career move for me in pretty much ...

On this week's UPGRD podcast, Matt contributed to one of the more popular myths about Southwest Airlines.

He said, "If you're a consultant who travels between LA and San Francisco each week, it [Southwest] is pretty much your only good option."

Matt's point (and the seeming consensus of the great unwashed masses) is that Southwest is good for frequent short trips. I think he might be wrong. A couple weeks ago I offered up thoughts on why Southwest's ...