I like to take stock of each year’s travel as we pass from one year into the next. There’s the qualitative side: which trips did I enjoy the most? Which did my kids enjoy most? What were the key factors? What went wrong? How can I make our future travel better? This is the important side. But as a points and miles nerd with a numbers brain, I also like to tally up travel quantitatively. Things like how many new airlines, new states, new countries, etc. And that’s what this post is about.
Two New States
As I creep closer to hitting all 50, I find it difficult to add many more these days without being completely intentional about it. This year, I added two: Kentucky and Tennessee. Oddly, I checked them off during separate trips. In January, I visited Memphis, enjoying a long weekend in the Home of the Blues. Kentucky’s time came during our summer trip.
This brings my U.S. state total to 41 out of 50. Still missing:
- North Dakota
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- And the six that comprise New England
Just nine to go. It’s getting more difficult every year.
What About Airport and Airlines?
Eight. The answer is eight new airports. My new additions are overwhelmingly domestic, with only one international hub added to the list. The tally includes:
- Austin
- Honolulu
- Memphis
- Nashville
- Ontario
- Palm Springs
- St. Louis
- Vancouver
Tennessee’s airport both began and ended the year (as I sit here writing this from Nashville).
Overall, air travel was lower than the previous few years. I flew a little over 38,000 miles across five airlines. United was the favorite, even with a resurgence in Southwest travel since I have a Companion Pass for the first time. Sadly, I added no new airlines to the tally.
Speaking of Zero…
What really stings is the lack of international travel. After years of consistently adding new countries to my tally, I came up dry. My only international trip was to Mexico, which I’ve visited eight times (I think…having difficulty counting). I had other travel planned. But nothing else panned out.
I really want to step up the international travel this year. Not to crazy levels. Maybe just 2-3 new countries. If the current travel plans work out, this’ll be a success. Most of the world has opened up post-COVID, and I really want to get abroad once more.
How did your 2022 travel stack up? Was it everything you expected? Do you track flights, airports, states, and countries like I do?
