Source: http://worldcityweb.com/home/MIA/publications/magazine/19/709/

Sky Warrior

by Joachim Bamrud

You know you’re a SkyWarrior whenyour wife checks into a local hotel because she doesn’t like to stay alone with your kids every time you travel. “She began to check in to the Omni Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables during each of my trips. This certainly got my attention,” says JUAN PABLO *CAPPELLO, *principal shareholder of the global practice group at Miami-based international law firm Greenberg Traurig.

Cappello, a native of Chile, who has worked as general counsel of Sky Latin America and also done a stint on Wall Street, took some 25 international and 10 domestic business trips the past year, spending roughly 100 days away from home. In 2003, he had the dubious distinction of being Platinum Executive on American Airlines and 1K on United (their highest frequent flyer status). While emphasizing some of the downsides of heavy travel, Cappello notes that there are silver linings, too: “My kids really enjoyed the mini bar at the Omni Colonnade.”

How many air miles did you log in total last year?

150,000 miles flown on AA. I also spent time on various other airlines that treat me significantly worse

*How many miles did you put on your car last year? *

7,000 miles

*Three most frequent destinations? *

Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Madrid. My least frequent destination is any Duty Free Shop. I have very little interest in cigarettes and tequila in airports.

What do you do to relax when you are away on business?

Work out, swim and visit local museums. Ha-ha. Not really. Like most people who travel too much, usually I have a couple of drinks and watch CNN. Though I always have three NetFlix DVDs with me, oddly I find myself watching a lot of Larry King.

Favorite hotel for business travel?

The Four Seasons in Mexico City is about the best-run hotel I know. And in the courtyard one barely feels the chaos of el D.F.

Favorite restaurant that you go to when traveling?

I don’t know if it is really a favorite, but at the Four Seasons hotel restaurant, one can see about 20 percent of Mexico’s GDP having lunch or dinner on any given day.

*If you had to spend a weekend away from home on business, where would you prefer to get stuck? *

Buenos Aires (this commentwill not make my relatives in Santiago very happy).

What airline do you prefer to use for business travel?

American Airlines. Virgin, if going to London.

*How do you pass the time while onboard? *

Office paperwork, then, by inserting a movie into my laptop, falling asleep.

*What is your favorite (least favorite) airport? *

Getting back to M.I.A. is always a relief. Rio de Janeiro’s airport is the most unexpectedly poor. Why is there virtually no place to eat non-fried food?

TECH TALLY:

Which of the following items do you usually take with you when traveling?

a) PDA Yes

b) Laptop Yes

c) Digital camera: No. Please, no evidence.

d) Portable DVD player: I use my laptop as a DVD player and rent through NetFlix

*e) iPod: *Yes

f) Other: The killer tech gadget that has changed the way most of us travel is the Blackberry going international. Mine works in most of the capitals except Buenos Aires. No more spending late evenings responding to e-mails. I almost don’t mind the hour long traffic jams in Sao Paulo as I can work through my e-mails in the back of a taxi.

PET PEEVE:

When traveling on business, what annoying thing or problem or inconvenience drives you absolutely crazy?

Getting woken up on a flight to be asked if I want breakfast.

WORST NIGHTMARE:

What was your absolute worst travel experience?

I had the good (sic) fortune of arriving in Rio when the immigration authorities decided to treat Americans to four-hour waits to get through customs. They decided that, although I had a Chilean passport, I seemed like I was “with the Americans”.