Weathering the Storm with the WP#72

​It has been a very interesting week and while the question of testing negative to enter or return to the United States has been resolved, for now at least. The government did say, they would reassess in 90 days from when it went into effect, so we shall see, but for now, we can breathe easier, or so we thought. If it is not one thing, it is another and right now, and has been the issues of schedule changes and cancellations and not just your run of the mill schedule changes and cancellations, but total overhauls, or should I say wholesale cancellations. The effect of Covid certainly is still holding its grip on the industry in the area as airlines, hotels, tour operators, cruise lines can’t seem to get back on track as people don’t want to come back to work once, they were let go. Yes, others have found new work to move in their lives and hold times on calls continue to be excessive.

---

But, when I heard the other day, from a client who was to fly from London to Barcelona that his flight was cancelled as it was overbooked, I was shocked.  Airlines have always overbooked flights to protect against not having empty seats, but to cancel a flight as they were overbooked. Why? Maybe it was stated incorrectly to the client, that they did not have enough staff to handle the overflow, or the pilots did not show or were already over their number of allowed flying hours, but they do speak English in England. At least I think they do. In any case, he did arrive in Barcelona, a few hours later, as they were able to get him on the next flight that was supposedly overbooked as well, so he is on the move again. The airline, for the record was British Airways which notoriously wholesale cancelled flights in the month of June and it is still not over. 

I believe this will continue to be an issue of trying to staff to pre-pandemic levels into 2023 for sure and perhaps beyond, but I really hope not. I am there for my clients and will address every schedule change and cancellation or delay with professionalism, but this situation is fixable, and the airlines and other travel entities should have planned for this during their down time. What were they doing? I can’t figure this out as I was still working and making sure I was taking care of my clientele during this time of craziness.  I was studying and re-training and staying up on the progress of the time and yes, I know it was a balancing act, but they should have known it would end at some point or at least wain to the point where life could move forward and in this area, the moving parts of travel failed and now they are paying the price and it is affecting everyone whether their travel was booked with a trusted travel advisor or independently. In the end, I will be there for every client and do the best I can for them as these changes, cancellations and delays will continue for the foreseeable future. 

---

Of course, the other part of my life is just a few short days away, 10 days to be exact as of this post. On the 30th of June, I fly across the pond for the summer to be with Rosa as everyone now knows and I could not more excited as I count down the days. This past weekend, I broke up the time to take a weekend road-trip of some 700 miles (1100 KM) to hear some rock and roll music led by the lead singer of the rock and roll band (drumroll………) BOSTON and I was not disappointed. One of my main pleasures in life is to hear live rock and roll and as you know, my favorite band is BOSTON, so when I heard  that within a days drive of where I currently reside and I would have the chance to hear the music again, I jumped at the chance to do so, The play list was the same as at a BOSTON concert and it sounded really good. The musicians, including Tommy Jr., before Tommy came out, did a short Styx set, but the classic songs of BOSTON were covered in concert order (and I have seen them 28 times and hopefully counting) from Rock ‘n Roll Band to the encore of Party and Smokin’ and it sounded great. 
The weekend was also wonderful, as I finally, after so many years, had the chance to meet two couples, clients of mine who lived in Upstate New York, one near the concert venue and one near Albany as I drove back yesterday. It was such a pleasure to meet both couples in person. I have been working with them for years, and I am so lucky, and with hard work, earned the business from clients all over the United States, yet some, I have never met in person, and so this was a wonderful experience. The more I travel in country when I do, I try to let my clients know if I will be in their “neighborhood”, so I can finally have the pleasure after years of phone calls, zoom meetings, texts and emails, to meet them in person, and some, I have met in person overseas, which is even more special when my travels coincide with theirs which I have arranged. So, thank you for the amazing weekend of music and friendship as I do consider many of my clients, friends, as well. 
As always, I am interested in your thoughts, comments, questions and adding to the discourse is always appreciated be in on the site itself or on Facebook, Twitter or wherever you read this. Thank you for your support of this small business and it is truly appreciated!!!