A new travel blog takes wing

Welcome to “Up Front,” a new travel blog.

While it’s in the nature of blogs—especially new ones—to be somewhat freewheeling in their coverage, I feel duty-bound to begin by sketching out a general sense of this blog’s direction. With the understanding that we’re always free to stray outside the lines.

Travel blogs are about travel. And travel is about being somewhere else, somewhere different.

That other place might be worth visiting for its culture, its natural beauty, its storied history. It might be the site of a reunion with friends or family. Or it might be a locus of business activity.

Whatever the destination’s virtue or allure, time spent there, on the ground, is only part of the overall travel experience. In order to be there, you have to get there; and eventually, you have to get back.

The focus of “Up Front” is the getting there part of travel—the plane tripping, car renting, hotel staying that we endure in order to temporarily relocate. We’ll look at the business of delivering those services to us, the traveling public, and at the actual experience travel suppliers provide.

And of course, because it’s an area of particular interest to me, the loyalty programs of the airlines, hotels, and credit card companies will be recurring topics.

Finally, because this is a blog, it will be more personal, more casual than my other writing, which is constrained by adherence to the more rigid format of my columns.

With that, fasten your seat belt… we’re off!

Thanks for visiting “Up Front.” We know you have a choice of travel blogs and appreciate your interest and feedback.