Welcome

Friends,

I am writing this message as the first of my new, weekly email. 

Why? Largely to capture what I am learning and pass it on, because Warren Buffett said that was a good idea. Also my family moved overseas in January (more on that later) and it has been largely facilitated by airline miles. That almost made me laugh out loud to type, because it is both hilarious and real.

Okay; here goes.

Video

Links

SQ321 has made headlines globally (for good reason): here is a helpful point of commentary from a former airline pilot alongside a video from SQ's CEO. I write about it below in the Commentary section, too.

LifeMiles are crazy valuable: I will probably write more about this soon, but Ben Schlappig's blog post on them here is a great recap. Message me for more.

I made a first run Loom video explaining SpeakScale’s roadmap tool: I popped a blood vessel beneath my eye during a workout last week, earning me extra "you look bedraggled" points.

We're currently living in Australia; while I quite obviously am not Australian, I cannot get enough of this Qantas ad.

Southwest fares are now on GoogleFlights: this will be, as others have put it, a game changer.

What happened to Vasu? Here is the press release from American. I am not seeking to be overly negative, but this raises + validates (fair) questions.

Commentary

While I had planned to write this first commentary on a lighter topic, I wanted to process the recent turbulence on Singapore Airlines’ flight 321.

SQ321 has captivated the world. 229 passengers and crew took off from London, with the implied expectation of landing unremarkably in Singapore 13 hours later.

As the crew prepared for their pre-arrival service, the seatbelt sign came on shortly before the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. One man, seated over the 777's wing in the premium economy cabin, tragically lost his life.

Before proceeding, I want to recognize both the gravity of what occurred and my sadness towards it. I do not write about any of this lightly.

I have flown as a passenger over the Bay of Bengal and the Irrawaddy Basin many times. One such journey in May of 2009 was a flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia: our late afternoon departure took us into darkness and around many very large thunderstorms forming over the Bay.

It was memorably turbulent, albeit not near the level of what the passengers on SQ321 experienced. What 9V-SWM flew through is exceedingly rare.

SQ321 is one of four daily Singapore Airlines services from London's Heathrow airport to Singapore's Changi airport, operated by a mixture of 777 and A380 equipment. On a daily basis, Singapore Airlines flies thousands of seats non-stop between the two cities. British Airways also operates two daily non-stop flights, and Qantas operates a single, return A380 service as well.

The reality is the rest of the non-stops on May 21 landed unremarkably. As did tens of thousands of other flights between different city pairs across the globe. Flying is so remarkably safe we tend to take it for granted.

And yet, as this incident reminds, things can go wrong quickly. The ordinary can be shattered in something of an instant. And then, just as quickly, normalcy can return again. Passengers onboard SQ321 expressed as much: the experience was fast and devastating.

In the aftermath, Singapore Airlines' response has been largely strong and recognized as such. While they are not responsible, per se, for what occurred, they have taken ownership of the situation. They've communicated openly + frequently, their CEO has been deliberately visible, and all other commercial communication from their social channels was temporarily suspended.

Come to your own conclusion, but they've reacted in a way that makes you think they (from the top down) genuinely care about what has happened. As if they feel the weight of what occurred.

That is no small accomplishment from what is otherwise just another multinational brand, because a brand on a standalone basis is just that: a brand.

And that leads to the last point of commentary: the crew onboard. Every account I've read or listened to has cited the cabin crew. How they were all visibly injured. Yet they did not stop caring for the passengers.

That is beautiful and compelling.

I will write about beauty in another commentary, but I am learning a lot about it in this current season. When death bluntly crashes into the ordinary, it is (at the very least) sobering. Respectfully, it is a lot more than that, too.

Control is an illusion.

And so when I hear of compassion from strangers pushing back against that darkness, I think we see something of the image of God every human is made in (if you believe as much, that is). I am moved by the accounts of the crew’s actions on SQ321. 

Go push back against the darkness you encounter this week. I pray I will do likewise.

Updates

My family is back in the USA for the (northern hemisphere’s) summer. I’d love to catch up with you.

This is my favorite card for everyday spending (it is seriously fantastic). Sign up for it here and you’ll get a bonus and I will get a bonus and the world will go round (the last bit happens either way).

My YouTube channel is “pre-viral”, which is a way of saying I have virtually no subscribers. Get in as a subscriber (while you can) here.

Forward

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Remember, this live you are living has meaning. Be well today.

-Tommy