A million air miles in 60 days

This guy makes me look sane.

Marc Tacchi accumulated over a million frequent flyer miles on Air Canada in under 60 days. For about $6000, he bought a two month flight pass which allowed him unlimited flying in continental North America. For most of October and November, he spent every day flying several back and forth flights between Vancouver and Victoria (18 minutes in the air, credit for 500 miles each way), and did two cross-continental flights each evening. After reaching Air Canada’s elite level, he got massive bonuses which allowed him to accumulate a million miles with a mere 400,000 or so in the air.

He would have racked up a million miles much faster if not for his day job… as a contract pilot flying 747s loaded with cargo. Evidently Air Canada doesn’t give you the miles when you’re flying the plane.

What’s amazing is how freaking boring his blog about the experience is. Sounds like Marc spent the vast majority of his flights sleeping – his girlfriend reports he’s better rested than he’s ever previously been. Most of his entries are about Air Canada’s food (he recommends the pot roast and the fruit plate) and the comfort level of the various seats. The best posts come from his girlfriend, who’s pleased that their Friday “date night” starts taking place in Los Angeles or Winnipeg (what a romantic guy…) instead of Vancouver.

It makes some sense that Marc’s account isn’t exactly riveting. You don’t accumulate a million miles in 60 days because you’re excited about seeing the world. With the $60,000 in free tickets he received from Air Canada for becoming a million mile flyer, he evidently plans to take his family – first class – someplace more interesting than Regina. Because after a few hundred thousand miles of flying, what I really want to do is fly to Australia.

And yes, there’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black going on here. I’m typing this entry in the Albany, NY international airport and will upload it in Detroit, before flying to London Gatwick, taking a bus to Heathrow and flying to Charles De Gaulle. But hey, I’ve actually got a destination – Loïc Le Meur’s Les Blogs conference – and might even duck out for an afternoon and go to the Louvre.

I won’t, however, accumulate a million miles this year or, god help me, any year in the future. Props to Marc for achieving his goal, peculiar as it was.