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During a recent flight from Dallas to Hartford, Conn., Don Segal, with the Internal Revenue Service, sat on the aisle. Ken Sayles, a software salesman, squeezed in the middle. Business analyst Bob Hohler was beside the window. Early in the flight the three traded stories of constant travel and waking up in hotel rooms in unfamiliar cities. Then they settled into their routines and only spoke again as they waited to get off the plane.

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An airplane usually has two types of passengers. There are some for whom traveling is a novelty: They have too much carry-on luggage, enjoy striking up protracted conversations with the person next to them and they actually pay attention to the safety demonstration.

Then there are those who've got the routine down pat: find exit-row seat, stow laptop for easy accessibility, headphones on, shoes off. These are the business travelers.

During a recent flight from Dallas to Hartford, Conn., Don Segal, with the Internal Revenue Service, sat on the aisle. Ken Sayles, a software salesman, squeezed in the middle. Bob Hohler was beside the window.

Early in the flight, the three traded stories of constant travel and waking up in hotel rooms in unfamiliar cities. Then they settled into their routines and only spoke again as they waited to get off the plane.

"I don't mind talking to people . . . for a period," said Hohler, a business analyst.

Hohler and Sayles said being away from their families is the worst part of traveling.

"They've got a ballgame or they've got a play, and I missed it because . . . there was bad weather in Dallas," Sayles said wistfully.

He travels about one week a month, he said. "Traveling makes you appreciate the family even more."

The routine becomes familiar. Hotel to airport, then airport to someone else's office, office to dinner for one, dinner to hotel. There he talks to his wife, checks his e-mail and goes to sleep. Repeat in the morning.

One last thing Sayles noted: While airlines have cut back on the number of flights, they have not cut back on the rewards programs for frequent travelers. Now more people are vying for the few seats. "The days of working the system are over."