Where Eagles Dare To Drink. And Then Drink Some More.

On February 1st, Condé Nast Traveler and Lufthansa hosted a party at the Meatpacking District’s 675 Bar to celebrate my story “Triumph of the Air Warriors” in Traveler’s February issue. Sixty or so FlyerTalkers—including the complete cast of characters—flew in from Chicago, Toronto, Nashville, Winnipeg, Las Vegas and parts unknown to plot this fall’s Star Alliance Mega DO II—which has the working title “Star Wars.” Traveler’s Barbara Peterson wrote it up for the magazine’s Web site:

I felt like I was in an airport lounge with some 50 Ryan Binghams. Somehow the line “to know me is to fly with me”  kept echoing in my mind.

Randy Petersen, Mr. Mileage himself, can take credit for getting the group together-they met, virtually, on his website, FlyerTalk.com, where they trade tips and horror stories and the like.

I got a kick out of meeting some of the personalities profiled in Greg’s story, such as Art Pushkin, described as a “legend in airline circles” for his formation of a group of rebels against poor airline service.  It was called the Cockroaches—because that’s how USAirways made him feel.