WorldCity Business Magazine

Sky Warrior

by Mary Dempsey

Gaston Taratuta is about to do what most executives dread: travel more. But he’s not complaining. Brazilian Internet service provider UOL and Grupo Folha, which owns Brazil’s biggest newspaper, have hired Taratuta to develop their business and ad sales in Latin America and the United States. Taratuta, an Argentine who is fascinated by aviation, now logs about 115,000 air miles a year (versus the nearly 12,000 miles he puts on his car).

What’s the best thing about traveling on business?

Shaking hands with people that you always talk to on the phone. Priceless.

**Speaking of phones, what cell phone service do you use?

T-Mobile in Argentina and Europe. I rent a CDMA cell in Brazil from mobile phone company Vivo.

**Where are you most likely to fly?

So Paulo, Buenos Aires, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London.

**And your favorite destination?

So Paulo. It was home for me for two years and I like Brazilian culture. The city has excellent food and I enjoy the atmosphere.

**Do you have a favorite business **restaurant?

Figueiras in So Paulo. It’s No. 1 in Latin America. I always order a sirloin steak, the picanha sumus ou a tirita. I also like Cabaas Las Lilas in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Its bife de chorizo is a must!

**What about a favorite hotel?

The Hilton Hotel So Paulo. However, there is a hotel in Paris, really close to the airport, that impressed me a lot. The Hyatt Regency Paris-Charles De Gaulle. It looks like an airport hangar.

**With all that travel, how do you kill time at the airport?

Usually I get there just in time to board the plane. If I have a few minutes, I work a little or relax playing with my flight simulator software.

**Flight simulator software?

It’s in my laptop computer. It’s very sophisticated just like flying a plane. The cool thing is that the software is so perfect. Airports with real scenarios, interaction with the tower

**How long have you been doing flight simulation?

About three years. At home I program a flight, take my wife out to dinner and come home in time to land the plane. Or sometimes I program New York to So Paulo. That flight takes eight hours and 40 minutes. I take off at 11 p.m. and when I wake up in the morning I land it.

**Sounds like you have a secret wish to fly.

Maybe I do. With all this flight simulation, I really think I could fly a plane one day!

**What’s your favorite aircraft?

The new generation Boeing 777 with the new French seats in place.

**Your least favorite?

The MD-88 and the Airbus 320.

**Name a business travel innovation that grabbed your attention.

I like the service that JetBlue offers. Aside from being extremely effective, I enjoy the perks they offer like live DirecTV channels.

**What’s your top memory from a business trip?

The most incredible thing was taking off in the pilot’s cabin of an Airbus 330. June of 2001, on a flight from So Paulo to Miami. It was simply amazing.