February 12, 2010
To Our
Valued Clients:
This past week has been a challenge to all of us and
it's not over yet as we all continue to dig out, get our
lives back to normal, and face more winter weather ahead.
Record-breaking back-to-back storms shut down all
three local airports, the Federal Government, county school
systems, shopping malls, major universities, and businesses,
and brought the Mid-Atlantic region to a virtual standstill.
During this time Travel-On has maintained our
full operations with all staff working to accommodate
our clients left stranded as flight after flight was
canceled. To provide you with the optimum service
possible during this event, we called on our airline
relationships; leveraged insider information and breaking
news received from our airline partners, and accessed
all booking methods available to us as a travel management
company. Our business continuity plan worked well so
that we could be here for you when you needed us the
most. Our teams maintained an efficient system for being
on hold for hours waiting to speak to someone at an airline
so that you wouldn’t have to. This has been an
unprecedented event for everyone including the airlines
whose waiver policies continued to develop along with
the complexities of the storm.
The overwhelmingly positive feedback we've received over
the last several days is a testament to our very special
agents and the lengths to which they've gone to service
our clients.
We appreciate your business, and as your travel management
partner, each person at Travel-On remains committed to
doing whatever it takes to meet all of your travel needs
even through historic blizzards.
I am very proud of this amazing team and assure you that
they will continue to take exceptional care of you and
go that extra mile each and every time.
Sincerely,
Karen Dunlap, CEO
Everything
You Need to Know About Airport Security: A Primer for 2010
It's been quite a few weeks for
airport security, following the failed Christmas Day attack
and several subsequent breaches and mishaps. But now that
the dust has settled and airport security procedures have
stabilized—for the foreseeable future, at least—it's
time to review all the new rules and refresh the basics
every traveler should know before heading to the airport.
And if something changes, fear not: we will update this
document as new rules emerge and old ones are amended. Read
more
ALSO IN THE NEWS
American
Airlines to stop offering free blankets on domestic flights
Chilly on the plane? Bring a sweater, or $8 for a blanket-and-pillow
pack, if you're on a domestic American Airlines flight. On
May 1, the carrier will begin charging for a pillow and blanket
set on all domestic flights, as well as those to or from
Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America,
according to American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith.
American
Airlines to Charge $50 for Coach Standby
Next time you think about flying standby on American Airlines,
be prepared to give the gate agent your name and $50. The
days of hanging around the agent's desk, hoping for a free
switch to an earlier flight are over at American for many
passengers.
Airlines
Seek Return to Normal Service After Snow
After thousands of cancellations, airlines will begin aiming
for normal schedule on Friday. A return to normal could be
days away for the nation's airlines after they canceled thousands
more flights Thursday following the second of two major East
Coast snow storms. Check
the status of the local airports.
Storm
fallout: Airlines must rebook about 1 million fliers; cancellations
will 'become new norm' Airline passengers across the
East Coast and Midwest face lengthy waits through the weekend
and into next week as carriers struggle to recover from
one of the worst disruptions to U.S. air travel. Snowbound
airports in the Northeast reopened Thursday and by evening
were humming along at near normal levels of activity. However,
it could take days to rebook the passengers aboard as many
as 15,000 flights that were canceled since a string of
storms hit Feb. 5, according to airlines.
DFW
Airport Canceling Flights, Including Into Easterwood
More that 200 flights had been canceled Friday morning
at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport due to heavy snowfall
in the Metroplex. That includes American Eagle flights to
and from Easterwood.
