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JOHNNY JET'S Q & A
With Traveler-at-large ~ Tony Kahn

PROFILE

Tony Kahn is one of public radio’s best thinkers, writers, story-tellers, and producers. He brings to The Savvy Traveler a rare ability to delve beneath the surface of places, people, and events to find fresh perspectives, emotional meaning, and unusual connections and delivers them in powerful stories that have a strong personal voice. Listeners will hear Tony’s personal and thoughtful approach to travel writing on The Savvy Traveler several times each month.

Tony's earliest memories are in fact of travel. When he was 5 his family fled for political reasons from Los Angeles to Mexico and for one reason or another - mostly better - he's been on the road ever since. To cover political developments for The World, Tony has been to three continents. And because his wife insists on taking vacations to nice places, he's also been to many beautiful mountain sites and seacoast towns in Latin America Europe and the former Soviet Union. Tony's also an armchair traveler. Some of the best trips you can take are in and out of your minds.

Tony's award-winning work work spans radio, television, print, and the scholarly climes of academia. He serves as alternate host for PRI's "The World," to which he also contributes weekly features. He appears on WGBH/NPR's "Says You!" on a weekly basis, and comments regularly for Marketplace and NPR Morning Edition. Tony has written, narrated, and produced numerous shows and series for television and radio. Other works include various plays, screenplays, and scholarly translations of Russian literature. Tony looks forward to the chance as The Savvy Traveler's traveler-at-large to expand the meaning and excitement of travel for The Savvy Traveler's listeners. He looks forward to working with Diana Nyad, Rudy Maxa and Savvy's wonderfully resourceful and (neat) producers.

Tony graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard, and earned a Master's in Slavic Studies from Columbia.

You can learn about some of Tony's latest projects at transom.org.

TONY'S ANSWERS

HOW OFTEN DO YOU FLY?
About every month to six weeks..
IN A YEAR HOW MANY MILES/POINTS DO YOU EARN?
I do not earn miles, since I never cash them in. This is at least bad record keeping, if not entirely crazy, but my assignments are often last minute and/or booked by others and there is no consistency in my choice of airlines. At my age, keeping track of where I put my keys, much less my files on whom I flew with where is hopeless.
WHAT CLASS OF SERVICE DO YOU MOSTLY FLY IN?
Coach
FAVORITE AIRLINE?
No favorites. I expect little in the way of amenities and am never disappointed. I try to stay away from Aeroflot, but am not always successful.
FAVORITE AIRCRAFT?
Anything with a jet rather than a propeller. All the near accidents and nausea I or my loved ones have suffered has been on small propeller-driven airplanes. Not a scientific conclusion, but few preferences and biases among the travelers I know seem to be.
FAVORITE HOTEL?
None. I prefer Hotels that allow me to spend time with the staff and guests, from whom I tend to get the most interesting local color for my radio stories. That tends to mean cheaper hotels and operations where the staff has not been trained to be impossibly polite and un-forthcoming, Bed and breakfasts are great.
FAVORITE HOTEL AMENITY?
Personable, friendly staff with the time to spend schmoozing about what’s going on in town and in their daily lives.
FAVORITE AIRPORT?
None. I recently profiled Paul Mijkskenaar for public radio’s “The Savvy Traveler.” He’s a well-known designer of airport environments and signage (including the much acclaimed Schipol Airport at Amsterdam). If some of his better ideas ever get implemented (like comfortable places to read or sleep, and live entertainment, like street performers) I’ll be happier and far more tolerant of the delays. Then again, given my work, an airport with big problems can mean a good story. Where there are problems, I often amuse myself talking to fellow victimized passengers and staff. Shared hardship creates a great sense of community and even airline officials warm up when approached with a genuine curiosity about what the problems may be rather than a reproach.
FAVORITE AIRPORT TO PASS TIME IN?
See above.
FAVORITE CITY?
Possibly San Francisco. But Honolulu, which I just came back from, is a close second, because of its wonderfully friendly and incredibly sophisticated multi-racial citizens.
FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
I rarely get a chance to dine well on someone else’s budget and so have few great dining experiences or recommendations. If anyone would care to educate me, I would be grateful.
AISLE OR WINDOW?
Aisle. Bladders seem to shrink with age and altitude.
ETICKET OR PAPER?
No preference. I’ve found airport procedures dealing with both can be equally efficient and/or problematical.
TRAVEL AGENT OR ONLINE?
Generally, my flights are booked by travel agents working for my radio program(s). I also like giving them the work. They’’re more motivated to come up with creative solutions than ever and they’re more eager to correct mistakes and shoulder costs than many on-line operations.
FAVORITE TRAVEL COMPANION?
My wife.
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A TROPICAL ISLAND, WHAT THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU?
Gifts of friendship for the locals
Tape recorder (my favorite tool for capturing great moments and stories)
Cell phone to let people back at home know I may be running a little late.

BEST TRAVEL TIP:
Look for differences from what you do, think and feel back home. Try to get into the emotional life of the locals — that tells you a lot about who they are and brings you closer.