Today, I am very honored to become part of the BoardingArea family of bloggers and look forward to writing airline, hotel & travel industry news, reviews & opinions for my regular & new readers. For those of you meeting me here for the first time, a proper introduction is in order.

My name is Darren Booth and there is nothing I love to do more than head to an airport, visit the lounge, fly around the world & check into a hotel upon arrival. Oh, and rack up the miles & points, of course, to eventually redeem for first class flights on the premier air carriers of the world, staying at the finest resorts for next to nothing.

I grew up fascinated with the industry, loving hotels as a child on road trips with my family, and confirmed my passion for airlines after my first flight in 1982 at 9 years of age. Initially it was the focus of my career, and I earned my undergraduate degree in Aviation Business Administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1993 I completed two internships, one in airport operations at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and the other with United Airlines at their Executive Offices (EXO) in suburban Chicago in the Flight Dispatch department.

Post-graduation, I eventually worked full-time for United as a Flight Analyst in the elusive Inventory Management department. I also held various positions at two wholesale travel tour operators specializing in packaged vacations to Las Vegas, Hawaii, Mexico, and other destinations. My work experience gave me an intimate knowledge of global distribution systems (GDSs) and other travel industry technology, as well as a unique, passionate perspective on travel overall. Okay, enough of my resume.

Nowadays I travel mostly for pleasure and have held elite status with United Airlines more on than off since 1990, maintaining 100,000-mile annual 1K status since 2008. I’m also expanding my loyalty this year to American Airlines and will achieve Platinum status in the AAdvantage program by summers end. On the hotel front, I’m currently a Silver member of Club Carlson (Radisson, etc), and a Gold with Hilton Hotels in the HHonors program.

Two of my regular features on Frequently Flying include Vintage Airline Seat Maps and Amenity Kit Reviews. You’ll learn I’m a geek for all things airlines, so I love to review & reminisce about seat maps from the past, and enjoy collecting and very critically reviewing the amenity kits I receive. I even had an Executive Vice President of one of the amenity kit manufacturers stop by & leave a comment commending my rather “unique” level of detail.

Here are a few other popular posts from my legacy blog:

Mileage Running 101: How I construct a mileage run – Part 1

Mileage Running 101: How I construct a mileage run – Part 2

Airfare pricing buckets & airline fare basis codes REVEALED!

My United Airlines mileage tracking spreadsheet

Anyway, I look forward to bringing informative and entertaining posts to all readers here at BoardingArea. Please feel free to reach out and ask any questions you might have of me at darren@frequentlyflying.com. I look forward to our mutual future together.

First Class wishes,

Darren