The audacious “product placement” in Up in the Air, the Jason Reitman comedy released today, is so blatant that I found it insufferable at first.
The film follows the peripatetic Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney, as he travels 300-plus days a year around the US making people redudant in offices where the management doesn’t want to do it themselves.
Repeated flashes of Hertz, American Airlines and Hilton Hotels logos, properties, uniforms and grinning staff were almost unbearable, but as the film wore on, I was reminded of my own brand loyalty.
A few weeks ago I booked flights for two friends and asked them to transfer the money to my bank account so I could get the extra frequent flyer miles. Behold: the bizarre behaviour of the frequent traveller and their dogged loyalty to travel providers in a bid to notch up “miles”.
In the case of Clooney’s road warrior, he repeatedly returns to the same car rental, airline and hotel companies, and relishes the VIP treatment that comes with his status.
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Collecting points becomes the aim of travel.
In the film, Bingham eschews the introduction of video conferencing because he wants to stay on the road, where he is treated like a dignitary because of his loyalty status.
He orders more food than he can eat (within his $40 per day expenses budget) to rack up more miles, he probably books flights that are less convenient or more expensive just to earn those miles, and probably even takes trips that aren’t necessary to swell his “gold card” ego.
To some extent, I’m sure that all business travellers have been guilty at one time or another of tossing aside logic and financial consideration to boost their points.
Of course, we all intend to spend these “miles” on enhancing our leisure time, like taking the family to the Caribbean, or the spouse on a weekend break. We intend to make up for the impact that business travel has on our private lives by using our business miles to boost our free time, but the lure of creeping up through the ranks stops us.
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“It’s a number,” Bingham tells his protege, Natalie Keener. “Let’s just say I have a figure in mind and I haven’t got there yet”.
Bingham wants to be the seventh person ever to collect 10 million American Airline miles. He ‘s obsessive about it. He’ll get to meet one of the airline’s senior captains, achieve elite status for life, a dedicated phoneline and an engraved ID card.
He already revels in skipping the queues at airline check-in, getting his choice of car and automatic upgrades at the hotel reception. But he wants more.
Clooney’s character does reach his target, but it’s not the triumphant moment he’s dreamt of. It’s a somewhat deflated scene when an emotionally battered Bingham is lost for words as the captain appears mid-flight to shake his hand amid champagne and applause from fawning air hostesses.
Of course, Bingham’s shortcomings go way beyond not using his free miles for pleasure. Instead he hoards them for little more than a massaged ego and a chance to queue jump at check-in. He would have got more pleasure from giving them away - a lesson he finally learns in the film’s closing scenes.
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What’s not mentioned in Up in the Air, is that unspent miles in an inactive account can be deleted by airlines or frequent flyer schemes. Bingham doesn’t have that problem because his constant travelling means he’s always earning miles to keep his account active, but mortals who keep their feet more grounded may find carefully accrued freebies are lost.
The message? Use them or lose them.