A Special Interview with a Six-Million-Mile Flyer

In this experience we are happy to bring you a special interview with senior leadership advisor Marco Villa.

Over three decades Marco has flown more than 2800 flights and 6125000 miles.

Geoff and Marco flew together in 2022 on internal flights in Mozambique complete with a crazy trip to Nampula (listen to experience 64 for more details).

We ask Marco about his alliances and statuses. With all of these flights, Marco has almost achieved lifetime gold status on British Airways. He holds status in three different alliances along with Emirates.

It all started for Marco in the mid-1990s when flying staff standby tickets with Lufthansa, which sponsored AIESEC conferences that Marco (and Geoff and Vinod) attended. 

We ask Marco about his business travel and his top “weird” destinations. Eritrea tops the list and Tajikistan being another exotic destination.

We ask about Marco’s pet peeves – he shares his thoughts about issues on the ground, in the air and at the hotel. He also shares an interesting “worst flight on the planet”.

We ask about Marco’s travel hacks and habits and learn what he never gets on a plane without.

What airlines or hotels are at the top of Marco’s list? Marco wishes that customer service comes back at the major airlines at some point in the future.

We ask about what airlines he feels are at the bottom of the list. It is a really populated place for both major carriers and low-cost carriers.

We ask what Marco would like to see in travel for innovation. Marco also shares his emotional attachment to his paper boarding passes.

If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 61. "A Very Special Interview. Selling Airbus in China." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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