Effective 12:00AM Eastern Standard Time on August 21, 2008, my 23 year tenure as a non-revenue (free flight) dependent had come to a close. It's extremely sad to me that I can no longer have the world at my fingertips with the click of a button, and I feel really small and confined in California against the backdrop of a world that has become quite huge again.

The good news is that I've gone to so many places, seen so many great things, and met so many cool people along the way. I've been asked if by a few people if I'd ever documented my travels or compiled any stats. As a tribute to my illustrious "career", I thought I'd put those stats into a note, both for my own self interest and those who might care. Also, a few interesting "what Delta was a few years ago" flights.

As a background, my mom worked for Pan Am from 1966 to 1991, and Delta from 1991 to Present. Children of airline employees at all levels are entitled to travel benefits, and in Delta's case, absolutely free domestic & international travel in the most premium cabin available. This standby travel, or getting space in the highest cabin or even on the plane, is ordered by active/retiree/affiliate and seniority.

Anyway, here we go:

I've been to:

• 29 countries (thanks Vatican City!)

• All six inhabited continents

• 27 US States

I've Cleared US Customs through 7 gateways in order of frequency:

• Atlanta (Asia, Europe, Middle East, South America)

• New York (Europe)

• Los Angeles (Asia, Central America, Europe)

• Miami (Central America, South America)

• Cincinnati (Europe)

• Honolulu (Australia)

• Salt Lake City (Mexico)

International Connections:

• Cleared a connecting flight from Cairo in CDG (Paris), a connecting flight to Athens in FCO (Rome), a connecting flight from Dublin to New York in SNN (Shannon), and connecting flights to/from Singapore in NRT (Tokyo).

US Noteworthy/Major Cities I've Been To:

• Anchorage, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Cincinnati, Columbia, Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, Honolulu, Ithaca, Kahului, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Tallahassee, Trenton, Washington DC

Major/Noteworthy International Cities I've Been To (Non-Connecting):

• Amman, Amsterdam, Aqaba, Aruba, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Colonia, Cordoba, Dubai, Dublin, Eliat, Guatemala City, Heidelberg, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Madrid, Mazatlan, Melbourne, Milan, Montevideo, Nice, Paris, Petra, Rome, Rosario, San Salvador, Santiago de Chile, Sevilla, Singapore, Stuttgart, Sydney, Tangier, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Vatican City, Venice, Victoria, Vienna

Favorite Cities

• Amsterdam, Barcelona, Boston, Buenos Aires, Charleston, Dubai, Honolulu, Madrid, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Seattle, Sevilla, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Venice

Countries I've Been to More Than Once:

• Argentina, El Salvador, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain

Airlines I've Flown (In Order of Frequency):

• Delta

• Pan Am
• SkyWest, ExpressJet, Comair, ASA\

• Southwest

• American

• United

• Qantas

• Northwest

• Air France

• Alitalia

Top City Pairs (Possibly Via Connecting Gateways):

• Los Angeles-San Francisco

• Los Angeles-Salt Lake City (to get other places)

• Los Angeles-Atlanta

• Los Angeles-New York

• Los Angeles-Honolulu

• San Francisco-Honolulu

• San Francisco-New York

• Los Angeles-Orlando

• Los Angeles-Seattle

• Los Angeles-Oakland

My More Interesting Flights Mostly Outside of Atlanta/New York:

• Los Angeles-Melbourne (QF)

• Los Angeles-Hong Kong (Delta)

• Los Angeles-Guatemala City (Pan Am)

• Melbourne-Sydney (QF)

• Sydney-Honolulu (QF)

• Miami-San Salvador (Pan Am)

• Miami-Buenos Aires (Pan Am)

• Paris-Los Angeles (American)

• Cairo-Paris (Air France)

• Rome-Athens (Alitalia)

• Tokyo-Singapore (Northwest)

• Salt Lake City-Mazatlan (Delta)

• Honolulu-Salt Lake City (Delta)

• Kahului-Atlanta (Delta)

• New York-Nice (Pan Am)

• New York-Istanbul (Pan Am)

• Los Angeles-San Francisco (United 747)

First Flight:

• Los Angeles-New York (Pan Am 747)

Longest International Flight (Tied):

• Dubai-Atlanta (15h:15m)

• Los Angeles-Melbourne (15h:15m)

Longest Domestic Flight:

• Atlanta-Kahului (9h)

International Flights in Coach:

• Aruba-Atlanta

• Tokyo-Atlanta (1 of 2)

• Rome-Athens

• Los Angeles-Melbourne

• Melbourne-Sydney

• Sydney-Honolulu

International Flights in a Premium Class:

• everything not listed above

Domestic Flights I've Flown In a BusinessElite Cabin (long since discontinued):

• New York-Los Angeles (763)

• New York-Salt Lake City (763)

• New York-Cincinnati (763)

• New York-Atlanta (763, 777)

• Atlanta-Los Angeles (763, 777)

• Atlanta-Orlando (777)

• Atlanta-Denver (763)

• Atlanta-Kahului (763)

• Cincinnati-Los Angeles (763)

• Orlando-Los Angeles (M11)

Flights With Startling Capacity Levels (long since discontinued):

• Salt Lake City-Los Angeles (763D)

• Salt Lake City-New York (763D redeye)

• Cincinnati-San Francisco (763D)

• Orlando-Los Angeles (763D, L1011, M11)

Other Tidbits:

• never had a bonafide in-flight emergency

• longest layover in an airport: 17 hours (ATL, 6A to 11P)

• longest continuous sleep: Atlanta-Dubai, 10.5 hours

• longest time overseas: 3 weeks

• shortest time overseas: 19 hours

• farthest point from Los Angeles: Singapore

• states not mentioned in cities: New Mexico, Kentucky, North Carolina

• Planes I've Been on: MD88, MD90, MD11, 727, 732, 733, 738, 747SP, 744, 757, 762, 763, 764, 777, DC10, L1011, A310, A320, A330, CRJ, CR7, CR9, ERJ

And yes, I'm a nerd :)