T hree days ago marked the fifteenth anniversary of the official newsletter of FlyerTalk known as the TalkMail newsletter — and I thought I would celebrate that milestone by posting a link to the first issue which appeared on November 5, 1999.
One glance and you will notice that it harkens back to a different time as noted by a few examples listed below:
- Randy Petersen was in charge of FlyerTalk at that time. BoardingArea would not be launched for another eight years; and Milepoint — the current version, anyway — would not be introduced for another 11 years.
- FlyerTalk member AusTXHiker was named as the winner of the now-legendary Party in Paradise sweepstakes.
- Hosted on the WebFlyer.com servers at that time, FlyerTalk was getting ready to be switched to its own Internet web site, which it occupies today.
- The first TalkMail Tip was imparted by the late Paula Fischer, who was known as FlyerTalk member TravelWeary. She passed away on February 19, 2009.
I suppose it goes without saying that frequent travel loyalty programs were far more rewarding 15 years ago than they are today — as well as earning elite level status.
Here is a little bit of trivia for you: at least two people who currently “blog” at BoardingArea have written and edited the TalkMail newsletter at different times during its history. I am not going to reveal who they are, as at least one of them prefers to remain anonymous even though it is a loosely-kept secret.
If you would like to catch up on every single issue of the TalkMail newsletter, be sure to click here for all issues from May 9, 2005; and click here for all issues from November 5, 1999 through May 11, 2005.
How was your life different 15 years ago than it is today — especially with regard to frequent travel?
