Travel

DIY travel pro bringing seminar to Anchorage

scott_mcmurren_logo_2.18.09In today's ever-changing travel environment, it's great to get the counsel of an expert. This is especially true in the age of "do it yourself" travel.

"Everyone thinks they're an expert," said Nick Kralev, founder of "On the Fly" Seminars.

After a journalism career that took him to all four corners of the globe, Kralev recently left his post as a diplomatic correspondent with the Washington Times to concentrate of giving "how to" seminars to travelers.

Specifically, Kralev's seminars are designed to give travelers an inside track on cheap fares, upgrades and earning free travel.

That's a tall order. How does he do it?

"This all goes back to what I call the democratization of travel," said Kralev. "I've flown more than 2 million miles and I've visited 82 countries. And I've learned some things along the way," he said.

I spoke with Kralev yesterday -- he's coming to Anchorage next week to give one of his seminars. How he is getting here and what he'll receive after flying from Washington, D.C., tells part of his story.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Most travelers from Washington, D.C., to Anchorage would fly through Chicago or Minneapolis to connect," he said. "However, I'm flying from Washington to San Francisco, then back to Denver and up to Anchorage. It's perfectly legal. And because of that, I'll earn 11,500 miles. And since I'm a top-tier frequent flyer, I get a 100 percent bonus, resulting in 23,000 miles for the round trip," he said.

There are three key areas Kralev covers in his seminar:

1. How to get around the mediators of raw airline fare and schedule data to view the real-time information. I agree with Kralev -- this is crucial to get a quick apples-to-apples comparison on a specific itinerary or fare offering.

2. How to build an itinerary to get the most for your money. For example, it's oftentimes less expensive to fly all the way around the world than it is to fly point-to-point internationally.

3. How to maintain top-tier status in your favorite airline's frequent flyer plan.

These three steps are big hurdles for novice travelers. But Kralev encourages all of his students to bring their laptops to his seminars so he can give real-time training. "Not all of this information is free," he said. "But it's out there if you know where to look."

Kralev's background as a diplomatic correspondent meant that he often accompanied the Secretary of State on international trips. On his beat, he has accompanied four Secretaries of State around the world, including Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

"When we first started flying with them, it was pretty nice. The State Department has reconfigured Boeing 757s, with 2-by-2 seating, similar to domestic first class," he said.

"But after awhile, they needed to put in more communications equipment. So they replaced our first class seats with coach seats. And 17 hours in a coach seat is murder. So I started flying back from foreign trips on my own," he said. "That's where I started learning how to take advantage of the deals that are out there," he said.

Kravel's seminars typically stretch over two days. But in Anchorage, he's scheduled a one-night marathon session on Tue., July 6, 2010 to give Alaska's travelers a leg up when they're planning their travel. At press time, they still were looking for a venue. But watch the website for details.

There is a $100 fee for the class, which comes with a study plan and features hands-on teaching on subjects like booking classes, rules/fares, round-the-world itineraries and more.

Kralev belongs to a class of travel gurus that can provide actionable strategies for travelers to start saving real money right away. Other travel geeks like Chris Guillebeau and Randy Petersen fall in the same class. There are tricks to every trade -- and it pays to learn from the experts how to travel more and spend less.

Online resources:

On the Fly Seminars. Check out Nick's website, where he will post the location and time of his seminar on Tue., July 6, 2010.

Chris Guillebeau. Chris is another travel guru who understands how to take full advantage of frequent flyer plans and get free trips. He's coming to Anchorage in November as part of a 50-state tour.

Johnny Jet. Johnny knows how to travel well--and it shows. He has a list of his favorite sites -- and he's always on the go. Accordingly, he knows how to travel light and take full advantage of perks and awards.

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based travel marketing consultant who has lived in Alaska for three decades, spending much of that time traveling the far-flung corners of the state. Visit his website at www.alaskatravelgram.com.

Scott McMurren

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. Subscribe to his e-newsletter at alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.

ADVERTISEMENT