I came home, one of them had written on the wall 'I hate Dad.' So that made me scrutinize even more when I have to travel. People don't like to travel with me sometimes because I'd rather take the 4 a.m. flight than go out the night before and miss a night with my family. I like to go, be efficient, and get it done."

Ideal hypothetical seat mate: "I would want to sit next to the Wright brothers or Mozart … pioneers who came to Plymouth rock or who crossed the country in covered wagons. It'd just be amazing to watch their faces and their enjoyment of the technology."

Favorite travel trends: "The trend toward better seating in coach and more room for business travelers is awfully nice. The airlines that haven't done that certainly make the bottom of the list when you're going to book. The other thing that's really nice is electronic ticketing."

On-road interests: "I take those projects that are in boxes at the house and put them in a suitcase, so I have something to do on the road. I like to tie flies and prepare for fishing [he says he can whip out a dozen wooly buggers from Phoenix to Dallas]. I like to research my family's roots, things I can do on the Internet. I'm a creative traveler, but also a very efficient traveler."


BRAD GENTRY
Runner-Up, Sales/Sales Management Category
Pentacon Aerospace
Director of Business Development
Age: 41
Headquarters: North Richland Hills, Texas
Travel route: all of the U.S. and South America
AAdvantage miles logged in 2000: 67,705

If we had a category for best Road Warrior Couple, Brad and Toni Gentry would have been a shoo-in, and we enjoyed Brad's entry and follow-up interview so much that we had to name him runner-up. Both of the high-energy, good-looking Gentrys are Platinum AAdvantage members who like to travel as much on their off time as they do for work.

Favorite travel trend: "I'm 6'2", and for me, it's American making more legroom throughout their fleet."

Fantasy seat mate: "It'd be crowded sitting beside him, but I'd like to find myself seated beside Shaquille O'Neal. It just seems like he's got a tremendous personality, seems to be a funny guy. I'm a big sports fan. I read about him in American Way, and he just seems to be a really neat person to know."