I was back in Los Angeles a week after my trip there to run the Santa Monica Classic 10K (read about that here), this time taking Amtrak to Burbank Airport station. I had to go for a work thing (yes, I do have a day job). It took place at the Sheraton Universal, a slightly dated but borderline-iconic LA hotel with some period flavor that allows it (just) to get away with being a bit past its prime. My daughter was attending another part of the same event, coming in from the Bay Area, and so my wife joined us as well, making it a family jaunt.
The morning after, we headed for LAX — but not to get on a plane, at least not that day, but to go to Dorkfest. I’ve posted about Dorkfest before, but — in brief — it’s a gathering of aviation geeks (“avgeeks”) that takes place every September at LAX. My post about it comes up prominently when you search about the event on Google.
My daughter — although a keen traveler — certainly isn’t an avgeek. It’s debatable whether my wife — an airline pilot — is, but I tend not to think of her as one. People who fly professionally can be all into aviation (although some surprisingly are not), but not necessarily from a “geek” perspective. One of the litmus tests of whether an airline professional is an avgeek — and some are — may be what they do with their spare time. I myself — and I’m not an airline professional — am on the avgeek spectrum, though much less than some people.
There are some serious and very knowledgeable avgeeks at Dorkfest. We met one such person who had purchased no less than 12 revenue-passenger, round-trip tickets for himself on Alaska’s new nonstop service from Seattle to Seoul, all to be completed within a matter of months. He didn’t have any particular connection with South Korea, and booked the flights so that he mostly turns around and heads back immediately after getting there. But he got some great deals — as one sometimes can on new routes — so why not?
I probably wouldn’t have gone to Dorkfest this year, but for the fact that my wife and I had been invited to be guests on a podcast, The Non-Rev Lounge, two of whose hosts were attending and recording there. It’s one of my favorite podcasts, and I’d been listening to it — mostly while running — for almost three years. It’s put on by three people — a flight attendant, gate agent, and ramp worker — who work for a major U.S. airline.
To listen to our appearance, look out for episode 238 wherever you get your podcasts. The episode ran for over an hour, and covered a lot of ground — this blog (which my wife describes as “curiously compelling”), how my wife and I met through aviation, how she got into aviation and then returned to the airlines after a 25-year break while we were raising a family, our non-rev travel strategies and experiences, and more.
Quite soon after our episode went live, the podcast announced a hiatus. UPDATE: It is back, although a little less regular than before. I am glad it has returned, as they have created something that, in the world of non-rev life and avgeekery, has been developing quite a following. ✈️ 🏃