The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential: People Who Fly for a Living Reveal Insider Secrets and Hidden Values in Cities and Airports Around the World [Paperback]

Peter Greenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 2002

The author of the New York Times bestseller The Travel Detective brings you insider travel secrets only pilots and flight attendants know.

Pilots are notoriously frugal, and flight attendants are underpaid and on a budget. They may hit one city four to six times a month, but they are there for only twenty-four hours (or even less) each time, so they always know where to go to get the best value for their money. In The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential you’ll find:

• great shopping (furniture in Atlanta, silk in Bangkok, leather in São Paolo)
• great services (medical care in Paris and inexpensive manicures in Tokyo)
• great food and drink (hidden ethnic restaurants in London, and the
bars with the best attitude and cheapest drinks in Key West)
• secrets to navigating the world’s airports during layovers
• what to do and what never to do, what to seek and what to avoid

You get tips in crew members’ own words—good, bad, or ugly—that you won’t find anywhere else. Opinionated, often controversial, but always helpful, The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential is a resource no one who flies can afford to be without.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

NBC's Today show travel editor Greenberg revealed insider secrets on how to save money without sacrificing the quality of service while traveling in his The Travel Detective: How To Get the Best Service and the Best Deal from Airlines, Hotels, Cruise Ships, and Rental Car Agencies. He now writes for the traveler who must spend time in an airport or city during a layover. And who better to offer insider secrets than those who fly for a living and must spend hours in airports and cities during flight changes? This book is actually a compilation of interviews that Greenberg and his assistants conducted with flight crews, both domestic and foreign. It is laden with airport and city tips, lists of favorite restaurants, book stores, and souvenir shops, and suggestions for things to do. Addresses and phone numbers are provided where necessary. Of real use only to those who routinely have long layovers, but you might want to check out a city you know you'll be passing through.
George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

The author of the New York Times bestseller The Travel Detective brings you insider travel secrets only pilots and flight attendants know.

Pilots are notoriously frugal, and flight attendants are underpaid and on a budget. They may hit one city four to six times a month, but they are there for only twenty-four hours (or even less) each time, so they always know where to go to get the best value for their money. In The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential you?ll find:

? great shopping (furniture in Atlanta, silk in Bangkok, leather in São Paolo)
? great services (medical care in Paris and inexpensive manicures in Tokyo)
? great food and drink (hidden ethnic restaurants in London, and the
bars with the best attitude and cheapest drinks in Key West)
? secrets to navigating the world?s airports during layovers
? what to do and what never to do, what to seek and what to avoid

You get tips in crew members? own words?good, bad, or ugly?that you won?t find anywhere else. Opinionated, often controversial, but always helpful, The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential is a resource no one who flies can afford to be without.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1 edition (July 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375759719
• ISBN-13: 978-0375759710
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,812,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Tips

More About the Author

Peter Greenberg is America's most recognized, honored and respected front-line travel news journalist. He is Travel Editor for CBS News, appearing on CBS This Morning, CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, and CBS Sunday Morning, among other broadcast platforms.

Greenberg is also host of the nationally syndicated Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio show, broadcast each week from a different remote location around the world. The live, three-hour weekly radio program and a daily short-form travel feature are syndicated by United Stations and are heard on a combined 400+ stations.

An Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter and producer, Greenberg is the consummate insider when it comes to reporting the travel business as news. No other journalist brings his extensive level of expertise and experience to the travel process. Travel Weekly named him one of the most influential people in the travel industry, along with Al Gore, Bill Marriott and Richard Branson.

Greenberg was honored with News & Documentary Emmy Award as part of the Dateline NBC team for outstanding coverage of a breaking news story in a news magazine.

He is also a contributing writer to AARP The Magazine, The New Yorker, Parade, AARP.org, Forbes.com, BNET.com, and Bing Travel. He has been a featured guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Dr. Phil, and Larry King Live.

Greenberg is the author of the New York Times best-selling "Travel Detective" series. His most recent book, New Rules of the Road, offers his expert advice and insight on how to travel efficiently - and well - during tough economic times. His upcoming book, The Best Places for Everything, will be published by Rodale in Spring 2012. Previous titles include the New York Times best-sellers, Don't Go There! and The Complete Travel Detective Bible.

He was the creator, co-executive producer and host of CNBC's acclaimed prime-time specials, "Inside American Airlines: A Week in the Life" and "Cruise Inc: Big Money on the High Seas."

His investigative work culminated in the one-hour NBC Dateline special entitled, "Black Box Mystery: The Crash of the Concorde," revealing for the first time what really happened when the supersonic aircraft crashed outside of Paris in 2000.

An expert in aviation safety and security, Greenberg is creator and co-executive producer of "Secrets of the Black Box," a special series for the History Channel which investigates the world's most tragic aviation disasters. He produces and co-hosts a series of one-hour television specials called "The Royal Tour," which feature personal, one-on-one journeys through various countries with their heads of state, including the President of Mexico, King of Jordan, Prime Minister of New Zealand and President of Peru.

His Web site, PeterGreenberg.com, is one of the premier travel news resources for consumers and industry insiders.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where are the tips?, October 21, 2002

By 

Charles McCool (RESTON, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential: People Who Fly for a Living Reveal Insider Secrets and Hidden Values in Cities and Airports Around the World (Paperback)

I will call this book TD2, a sequel to the blockbuster, "The Travel Detective." Supposedly, the tips are submitted by air crew members (pilots and attendants), although the text appears in first-person format with Peter Greenberg as the author. TD2 has 370 pages of comments and tips on where to shop, dine, and visit in a couple dozen domestic and international cities; 24 in U.S. and Canada, 25 overseas. The section for each city has airport tips and city tips. A section with honorable mention cities (5 U.S. and 13 overseas) includes more listings.

Like the first book, the first item I looked up in the Index was incorrect; a misspelling in this case. I tried to not let that influence my impression of the book. Detectives are usually meticulous with their work and uncover/reveal useful information. Like the first book, however, the secrets in TD2 are few and far between. TD2 is just a listing of places to shop, eat, and get serviced. By the way, there are an inordinate number of "best" manicure and massage spots. If you crave the inside scoop on the best U.S. manicure spots, as suggested by a few flight attendants, then I suggest TD2. There are better choices for travel information, however. For instance, follow the suggestions of each city's freebie paper, with annual "bests" selected by the readers (residents).

TD2 is useful for those who desire to follow in the footsteps of air crew members or craves air crew recommendations for dozens of cities around the world. Anyone who does travel to dozens of cities would likely find little use for TD2 and would consult other sources for tips and advice. It is worth checking TD2 out from your local library.

Reviewed September 2002 by Charles McCool at LowerAirfares.com

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good book for the experienced traveler, August 31, 2002

By 

Patrick S. Mar (Tempe, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential: People Who Fly for a Living Reveal Insider Secrets and Hidden Values in Cities and Airports Around the World (Paperback)

Fairly informative book for people who have some spare time or have already been to these places mentioned in the book and want to explore the unique establishments in each city. Best italian eatery, best little bookshop, best spa, etc. It also includes some great airport tips.

However, for most travelers (like myself), I am not driving out of my way to drop off my clothes to be dry cleaned @ a recommended dry cleaners chain in Las Vegas, or go to some kickboxing joint in Houston, or go get my hair done @ a hairdresser joint in Cairo, Egypt. Get Real!!!

Take my advice: Buy "The Travel Detective: How to Get the Best Service and the Best Deals from Airlines, Hotels, Cruise Ships, and Car Rental Agencies" book and that is all the info you will need to survive in today's traveling environment.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So, ask someone..., October 19, 2002

By 

J. Collins (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Travel Detective Flight Crew Confidential: People Who Fly for a Living Reveal Insider Secrets and Hidden Values in Cities and Airports Around the World (Paperback)

like the flight attendant, or even better the person at the car rental stand. Many of the tips here are okay, I guess, but certainly anyone's who's an experienced traveler already has a few "gems" that they frequent whenever they find themselves in a certain city. If you are an infrequent traveler, or are simply a little shy about asking advice from others; you might benefit from this book. Also, its size is ideal to fit into a carry-on bag/backpack. Worth reading.