Welcome to JohnnyJet.com! Called ‘the original travel influencer’ by Forbes, I’ve had quite the journey thus far. I created this website for fun in 1999 after four years of sending a travel newsletter to my friends, family and colleagues. It’s a long story but here is the CliffsNotes version:
Growing up in southern Connecticut, close to New York City, I used to not only be afraid to fly but at one point, I was even afraid to leave the house. When I conquered my fears, I followed my dream of moving to Southern California and attended college at Marymount College Palos Verdes and Loyola Marymount University.
I started traveling often between Los Angeles and New York to see my family so I started picking up some travel tips. Then, I dated a classmate whose wealthy parents lived in Asia and after I made my first trip abroad to Hong Kong, I got hooked on travel, business class and accruing miles.
There’s an old saying: “Once you sit up front, it’s hard to go back,” which couldn’t be any truer. I started reading all things travel, being observant and asking questions of frequent travelers about how to travel well. Then, I graduated from college and took a job as a college recruiter that had me hopping around the country to 26 states on a tight budget.
The internet was relatively new back then, so I began sharing my thoughts and tips in an email, then a newsletter and then in blog posts. I still distribute daily and weekly newsletters, chock full of travel tips and advice, which you can sign up for here.
Within three months of creating JohnnyJet.com, I was featured in USA Today and since then, I’ve been fortunate to have been interviewed for, mentioned or quoted in tens of thousands of articles and news stories, including all the major networks: ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC and PBS.
In 2012, I hosted a show for the Travel Channel called Hot Spots where I traveled all over the world including New Zealand, London, Belize, New York and Toronto but most memorably to Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island, where he gave me a private tour!
I’m a regular guest on Leo Laporte’s show The Tech Guy and also on NewsNation.
Today, I write about travel news, gadgets, deals, tips and family travel. I work with my wife, who I met on a press trip and we now have two little ones, ages seven and four. We have a team of writers that cover miles and points. Our content is also syndicated on MSN.
I owe everything to my parents. Unfortunately, they have both passed but there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of them and thank God for blessing me with two of the very best. You can get to know a little about my mom and my dad here.