Road Warrior: 'On the Road Again, Just Can't Wait to Get on the Road Again'

Rebooking an international connection was certainly a new experience for me. In the midst of the crowd of people pushing for the attention of the single agent, I struggled to extract a word or two of a language I knew nothing about! During my week in Istanbul, I learned a grand total of three words; yes, no, and thank you (thankfully the word toilet is known worldwide!). Each of us had our own stories, many trivial, and some not.

My attention was focused on a gentlemen and his spouse, being helped by his friend who seemed to know the ways of the airlines a bit better then the average civilian. This couple had an appointment at one of the Boston hospitals on Monday morning, a trip they apparently make every six months. As they were Turkish, their ability to transfer or layover in specific airports became a complication that I didn't experience. Out came the good old Research in Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry.

I quickly started searching flights and routes that might get them to Boston, with the friend translating (I'm assuming) every word. For all I know they could have been complaining about the American throwing flight information at them! There's a British Airways (BAIRY) flight from Heathrow. Try KLM (AFLYY) from Amsterdam. Even if you get to Philly, or any of the New York airports, getting to Boston from there is a snap. Try to take advantage of the Star Alliance and hop through Munich or Frankfurt on Lufthansa (DLAKY). Unfortunately, due to their visa issues, their only option was to take the same set of flights a day later, putting them in Boston at 8 PM Sunday night, for a meeting on Monday, and a return to Istanbul on Tuesday.

This past week was a difficult one ... my first international trip of 2010, and a week at a hotel that was conveniently close to the customer site, but a fair taxi ride to civilization. I was excited to visit Istanbul and learn some of the history, but instead spent nearly every minute at the hotel or customer site. Back home, one of the most important elections in some time was taking place, and for the first time in my life I felt like my vote counted. Luckily I was able to vote absentee, but still missed out on the banter, conversations and excitement of election day. My home responsibilities grew like many of the snowballs of the winter. However, with all of these issues, problems and complaints, my heart goes out to the couple making their way to the Boston Hospital.

I think it would behoove us all to remember that as difficult as our problems seem to be, they are often insignificant in comparison to others. The road warriors have one benefit, we know the system. We know how it works, where the hubs are and which airlines partner up and offer codeshares. The next time you are stranded or delayed, take a look at the people around you. The elderly couple. The mother traveling with three children. The kids on university holiday. A little help for those "amateurs," could go a long way for us all.

Robert Jackson is a systems engineer with Camiant, which makes broadband network management software. He travels frequently for work and writes about his experiences on the road in this column.