Up in the Air; Travels With Mitt Romney

Nov. 1, 2010 — -- This is not a presidential election year, but Republican Mitt Romney is running -- well at least hurrying -- to catch an airplane.

Two years ago, when he was vying for the Republican nomination for president he flew on a campaign plane with a staff of aides. Now he walks through the airport rolling his own suitcase, fumbling for his ticket like any other passenger.

"It's just the way normal life is," Romney said.

You might call it the new normal. This year, Romney will have traveled to 25 states in two months, flying coach by the way, despite his fortune of several hundred million dollars.

When asked about his choice to fly coach, Romney said he didn't see a reason to fly first class "unless you are going a long distance or there is a real reason for it, like if I have [my wife] Anne with me."

Romney has flown coach since his days as a young employee at Bain Consulting; it was part of the corporate culture there. The retired corporate titan will accept a free upgrade if he qualifies.

For this trip, it's just Romney by himself, and he's on a mission. Romney said that he is working for a historic victory by the Republican Party.

"There are a lot of races that are very, very close and, you know, I think we peaked very early in this season," Romney said. "I want to make sure that the energy that you saw in September continues to November.

On the day ABC News trailed along with Romney, he had lunch with Senate candidate Ken Buck in Colorado and dinner with New Mexico's Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez.

"My hope is to bring a little local media to the campaign, to raise some money, for folks that perhaps haven't given money yet and just to bring a little more enthusiasm and say thank-you to the volunteers that make the calls and get people out to vote," Romney said.