Airport Life: Business Travel

This post is a continuation of Harrisburg International Airport's mini-series in blogging: Airport Life. This series explores the airport community from business and leisure travelers to airport staff.

Aside from those who physically work at an airport, business travelers spend much of their time frequenting the sky and the gateways that lead to it. This week we caught up with Bill Forster the executive vice president of Maine Pointe, LLC and Gary Bupp a national instructor for Tyco Electronics.

With frequent flyer miles being the common thread that weaves these two businessmen together, both Forster and Bupp spend a considerable amount of time away from home. For example, every Sunday Forster leaves his home in south central Pennsylvania. Traveling throughout the week to many different locations across the U.S., he doesn’t return until Friday night to spend the weekends with his family. A military man, serving in the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Air Force Reserves, Forster has spent much of his time in and out of airports.

After serving in the armed services, Forster became a field consultant for Chick-fil-A, opening several hundred stores in malls across America. In fact, to-date Forster has traveled globally for various jobs since 1982. Currently Forster works as the executive vice president of Maine Pointe, a position he has held for the last six and a half years.

Leaving home just a little less than Forster, Bupp usually travels for two weeks every month, where he is gone for three to four days at a time. Roving internationally with a focus on the United States and Canada, Bupp has worked as a national trainer with Tyco Electronics for 27 years. In this hands-on role, Bupp is able to work with a network of employees worldwide on emerging technologies.

While both find life as a regular traveler trying at times with various weather and general delays rampant and missed time with family, both Forster and Bupp admit that they still enjoy traveling. Some of Bupp’s favorite locations include California, Colorado, Canada, and Florida,where he is able to spend time with his son. And while it may seem with the amount of time spent traveling that these men must have visited the entire globe, there are places they still need to cross off their maps. For instance, Forster has traveled to every state except Hawaii.

Both living in the south central Pennsylvania region, Forster and Bupp have racked up enough frequent flyer miles to land themselves in the Susquehanna Club before they leave for their destinations. Visiting various reward lounges like Delta, U.S. Air, and United Airlines, they both agree that Harrisburg International Airport’s customer-based club is a nice, quiet substitute to airline-exclusive clubs.

The Susquehanna Club

While life up in the air can often be tiresome, both businessmen take pride in the services they are able to offer. While Forster jokingly described traveling as an “evil means to an end,” both Forster and Bupp assert it is the new people and new experiences that always keep airport life enjoyable.