AIR MILE S

MATTS SKOTT, 51, is director of a European race series called Otillo, which sees competitors running and swimming around lakes and island archipelagos in Sweden, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany and the UK. He also has a holiday home in Brazil, and takes between 40 and 50 flights a year. A Swedish national, he lives in Jamtland County in central Sweden.

Your races must take you to some unusual places?

Yes, we have races in the Stockholm archipelago, Switzerland’s Engadin Valley and the Adriatic. But the most unusual place I fly to is the Isles of Scilly. To get there I have to fly from my local airport Ostersund to Stockholm, and from Stockholm to London. Then I take a train to Exeter or Penzance before a short flight across to Scilly in a small propeller aircraft.

Do you travel with unusual equipment?

All the race apparatus is sent on ahead to the venues by cargo. But I do travel with my wetsuit and running shoes.

How could airlines improve their in-flight service?

Some airlines are installing wifi. But flying is about the only time you can switch off, and I prefer that.

Indispensable travel gadget?

I have a spongy neck pillow. Not an inflatable one because they get too hot. The air quality is very bad on an aeroplane. I get warm very easily, so I used to use an Evian spray bottle to cool myself down.

On short flights I take nothing else with me on board because I feel it is a moment of tranquility. I like to switch off from all media; to disconnect and relax. Doing nothing is something we forget about in modern society. Many of us feel uncomfortable unoccupied.

In-flight reading material?

On long-haul flights I read non-fiction. It has to have a narrative thread though.

Loveliest souvenir you’ve ever come back with?

A hammock from Brazil. In the summer I hang it in my Swedish garden in Undersaker.

Pipe-dream destination?

The Galapagos Islands with the kids. I want to see the untouched nature. That would make a fantastic venue for a swim-run race.