Two years ago, a pilot we know realized he had a problem. Out of respect for his anonymity, let's call him Issac.

On one hand, things were going great. He was doing the thing he loved—flying the skies, seeing the world, and rising through the ranks on his way to becoming a a commercial pilot. 

But Issac's pursuit of those goals started to take a toll on him without him noticing. 

The advantages of the "fly life"—the excitement, new people, and new scenery—also created challenges. For a while, he simply dealt with them. But eventually these small challenges became a big enough problem that he was forced to change.

“It all sort of hit me at once,” Issac said. “It was ugly.” 

Those who have flown for long enough can likely name those challenges. They stem from one unavoidable fact about life on the go— the ups have equal and opposite downs, and  some of those downs can create real struggle. On the bright side, understanding and planning for the potential downsides can go a long way toward mitigating them or preventing them in the first place. And Issac noticed just in time to turn it around.

His first struggle stemmed from lack of stability. 

“Before I started flying a lot, it was easy to build a routine, to understand and control my schedule," he said. "About six months into flying, I started to realize that my schedule was getting very unpredictable. Those things I used to do all the time—martial arts, healthy, and getting great sleep—they started to slip a little.” 

The lack of stability compounded with the lack of predictability.

“I just didn’t know when I was going to be added on a line or when I’d have to jump a flight," he said. "So it became tough for me to plan."

That lack of planing often left Issac in a tough spot, especially deciding what to eat.

“It’s pretty hard to fend off that great Popeye’s smell when you haven’t eaten anything but pretzels and Biscoffs in eight hours,” he said, laughing. “It seems like when you’re in the most need of food, the least healthy options start calling.”

Unfortunately, it took Issac a few years to realize the negative effects of fly life, and by then things had gotten bad.

“I realized one day—man, I’m like 50 pounds overweight, I’m eating horribly, and I completely stopped being active," he said. "My entire fitness routine had disappeared. At that point, I knew I had to make a change.”

Many of you may be on a similar journey. Taking an exciting, fast-paced job that keeps you on the move, seeing how it starts to limit control and stability, and decreasing your ability to stay healthy. It happens to a lot of people, and many of those people are now airfare customers. We've heard their stories, and they're on their way back to good health.

So what did Ike do? He started taking back control and kicking ass. Literally. 

Isaac remained a reserve pilot and had to fly when the schedule beckoned, but he made a personal commitment to get back to healthy habits. He set goals, made plans, and started the long process of resetting is overall health. His path included one of the things he loved most—Taekwondo.

“The first thing I did was get back to martial arts," he said. "I knew that would get me going, because I always loved it. The problem is, it’s hard to jump and kick and spar when you’re overweight—specifically on my knees and lower back. I knew I had to get back in shape. So the second thing I did was started planing out my routine, and getting back to it.” 

A critical part of that new routine was the final element—diet. Issac told us that he started planning out meals, cooking more at home, packing healthy food, and of course, “I started gettin’ me some airfare.” 

“You  just make it so easy to eat healthier options when I’m on a line," he said. “I don’t have to worry about running into a Popeye’s because I always have that backup to get me through. I just wish I found you two years ago. It would have made starting a hell of a lot easier.” 

It's stories like Issac's that keep us going because they are exactly why we created airfare —to help people by making it easier to eat healthy on the go. 

The truth is, our part in helping Issac was minor. He made the decision to change and took the difficult steps in a positive direction. All we did was help him realize his goal. Nonetheless, we are thrilled to play even a modest role his journey, and we’re proud to have done the same for hundreds of other pilots, flight attendants and frequent travelers.

If you are (or someone you know is) on a similar journey to Issac's—looking for an easier way to eat healthy on the go—maybe it’s time you let us lend you a hand. 

So try us out, grab some snacks. If you don’t like a snack, tell us, and we’ll send you two more for free (did we mention we have more than 50?!). If you’re unhappy with any part of the experience, we won’t just refund you, we’ll send you back double what you paid. That’s right...double.

Bottom line: click HERE and allow us to help make it easier for you to stay fly while keeping yourself healthy. 

See you in the sky. 

-Justin, Geremy in the airfare team