I was chief executive and president of Fox Music for 18 years, and in that position I was flying all the time, too. The locales got a little more exotic, from small Czech villages one week, to Australia or Thailand the following month. Now that I’m out on my own, after starting Kraftbox Entertainment last year, I’m still flying a lot.
The big difference is that I no longer have a big corporate travel office to make my reservations. Now I do it on my own, and honestly, I’m not particularly good at it, which is really embarrassing and humbling.
A few months ago, I needed to fly to London from New York City. I went online and bought my ticket, selecting a flight that left Kennedy Airport for Heathrow at 7:40. At about 4 that afternoon, I looked online to see if my flight was on time, and noticed that the Web site said, “This flight has already departed and arrived.”
I rebooted the site, assuming it was inaccurate. When the same information came up again, I called the airline, intending to let them know their Web site was wrong and they were experiencing some kind of computer glitch.
I made my call, feeling pretty righteous, only to be very politely informed that the flight indeed left Kennedy at 7:40. But that was 7:40 in the morning, not 7:40 in the evening, as I thought. The agent had the good grace not to laugh. I felt stupid.
Since I missed the flight, my entire itinerary, including my return flight to my home in Los Angeles, had been canceled. I elected to postpone my trip, and bought a coach ticket back to Los Angeles later that evening. It felt like a very long flight.
Everyone is thinking about Boston. The tragedy just plain hurts. I love that city and I’m sad. I’m praying for wisdom and strength.
I fly to Boston a few times a year for meetings, and occasionally benefit from the fact that I share my name with the much more famous Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots. A few years ago, I flew from Los Angeles to Logan Airport in Boston a few days before a big Patriots playoff game.
As I boarded the plane, an attendant said, “We are so thrilled and honored to have you flying with us.” She mentioned that “everything has been taken care of,” and ushered me into a first-class seat. I asked no questions. I’m a frequent flier on this airline and thought maybe they were being exceptionally generous, except deep inside I think they thought I was the other Robert Kraft.
It got weirder when I landed. I usually take a cab to Cambridge, but my flight arrived late at night. It was freezing, so I hired a local car service. I waited on the platform as every other cab and car drove off, until I was finally the only one left outside, except for a long, black stretch limousine.
After a few more moments in the Arctic temperature, I tapped on the limo window and asked the driver who he was waiting for. He said, “Robert Kraft.” I said, “I’m Robert Kraft.” The driver gave me a withering gaze and said, “No you’re not.”
He knew what Robert Kraft looked like and he didn’t look like me. After some back and forth and a peek at my driver’s license, the driver relented and I got my ride. Beautiful, wonderful Beantown. I love it. And that driver.
By Robert Kraft, as told to Joan Raymond. E-mail: joan.raymond@nytimes.com.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/business/flying-when-your-name-is-prominent-but-you-are-not.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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