Tue, Jan. 25, 2011
Courtesy: Henry Zhang Mr. Robinette poses in front of the newly christened "Spirit of Atlanta."

Ed Robinette racked up the majority of his Delta Air Lines Skymiles on domestic flights while working 23 years at Panasonic's Peachtree City operation.

But working for the Japanese electronics giant also took him on many long-haul routes across the Pacific. Though he's retired from that job and working with another Asian company in Atlanta, he took nine trips to Tokyo and one to Malaysia last year alone.

He met Delta CEO Richard Anderson a few years ago on a Tokyo flight. The Delta chief had worked to transform Tokyo's Narita Airport into a major Delta hub after the acquisition of Northwest Airlines Corp. Mr. Robinette embodied the rationale behind that move, that U.S. businesses are increasingly interacting with Asian partners.

On Jan. 21, the two men met again on stage at one of Delta's maintenance hangars, where the airline hosted a major celebration marking 70 years since moving headquarters to Atlanta. In front of a large crowd that included some of the state's top business leaders and government officials, Mr. Anderson honored Mr. Robinette as the airline's most frequent flier. Since Delta instituted its loyalty program in 1981, Mr. Robinette has accumulated more than 7 million Skymiles.

I asked him how he deals with jet lag when traveling to Asia, a somewhat selfish question considering that I was leaving for Tokyo three days later.

“I never get jet-lagged,” he said simply before offering a few pointers for those of us who don't have enough miles to circle the equator 280 times.

The formula is relatively simple, he said. Drink a lot of water on the way, and once you arrive, resist the urge to nap. Staying awake until bedtime forces your body onto the time zone of the destination country. By the second day, you should be better acclimated.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to have pleasant service on your flight so that you arrive refreshed.

“Delta's got some of the greatest flight attendants in the world,” he said, adding that the airline's lounges are one of its major attributes. "I've flown 7 million miles, and I can honestly say I don't remember a single bad experience."

Related Countries: Japan
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