Travel Planning

Tag: United Airlines

  • Helpful Travel Apps for You to Explore the World

    Looking for some helpful travel apps to help you explore the world?

    If you’re a frequent traveler or a not-so-frequent traveler, there are Helpful Travel Apps that can help you explore the world a little bit easier.

    Before, we get to the “sexy” Helpful Travel Apps, let’s take a look at an airline app and the INCREDIBLE things it can do for you!

    Helpful Travel Apps
    Helpful Travel Apps

    If you live in New Jersey/New York/Connecticut, San Francisco/Bay area, Chicago-land, United Airlines may hold a dominate position in your air travel choices.  What’s in it for you if you download and use United’s App?

    • Access your boarding pass
    • Cancel flights
    • Make important flights changes within App is coming soon
    • United Club Check-in
    • Real-time bag tracking is coming
    • Access boarding passes for Partner airlines when connecting

    Let me tell you what is Not on this list – NOTIFICATIONS of re-booking!!  By using the app or at least providing United with your email allows them to notify you of re-booking if your flight is canceled.  This one feature that can save you huge amounts of time and the frustration of waiting in line at the gate after your flight is cancelled.  Here’s a popular post about my 21 passengers on a flight that was cancelled from San Francisco to Honolulu.

     

    Next up Daydream Excursions has a very helpful travel app for you; it’s GoSiteSee.

    I’ll load up the details of your itinerary in my GoSiteSee app for you (included with most of my custom planning packages).   This helpful travel app includes:

    • Full trip itinerary
    • Flight & accommodation bookings
    • Flight check-in & real-time flight alerts (when applicable)
    • Daily itineraries
    • OFFLINE maps & navigation
    • Rich travel guides for each destination
    • Trip journal, postcards, currency converter, weather & much more
    • Itinerary in PDF & online trip page

     

    You know how important I feel Trip Protection Insurance is for your trip!  I don’t want to see you losing any money and will fight hard to get it back (for a covered reason).  Allianz now offers their TravelSmart Mobile App which features:

    Policy Information
    Access all your Allianz Travel Insurance policy information right in the palm of your hand.
    TravelSmart Hotline
    Contact our award-winning team of assistance experts whenever you need help.
    Claims
    File a claim and track its progress.
    Flight Status
    Track your flight, check for updates, and find your boarding gate—all in real time.
    International Hospital Search
    Locate the closest pre-screened medical facility with a geo-aware hospital search.
    Country Information
    Know what numbers to dial if you need police, an ambulance, or the fire department while overseas.
    RX and First Aid Terms
    Find the right medication anywhere in the world with a medication dictionary, and translate first aid terms into multiple languages.

    Check out Packpoint for a helpful travel app for packing:

    • PackPoint Builds Your Custom Packing List
    • Will you be hiking, traveling internationally, swimming, working, traveling with a baby, or ?
    • PackPoint builds your packing list accordingly so you have everything you need for your travels.

    Entrain will help you avoid Jet Lag:

    Entrain is a free app that connects users to lighting schedules developed by researchers at the University of Michigan. These schedules are mathematically proven to adjust you to new time zones as quickly as possible. Light is the primary driving input to the circadian clock, and by recording your lighting history, we can simulate your body’s clock and make recommendations for behavior.

    Enjoy GateGuru not just to learn about your gate(s)/gate change(s) but to also learn more about the airport:

    For users that add flights, much of the magic of GateGuru’s day-of travel solution is behind the scenes, as we automatically connect the relevant parts of your day-of travel based on your flight information. So the amenity list view automatically shows information that is personalized to your trip – based on your departure or arrival terminal. If you want to see all of the amenities in the airport, just tap the terminal filter bottom in the bottom left.

    Google Translate is a must download travel app:

    Translate between 103 languages by typing
    • Tap to Translate: Copy text in any app and your translation pops up
    • Offline: Translate 59 languages when you have no Internet
    • Instant camera translation: Use your camera to translate text instantly in 38 languages
    • Camera Mode: Take pictures of text for higher-quality translations in 37 languages
    • Conversation Mode: Two-way instant speech translation in 32 languages
    • Handwriting: Draw characters instead of using the keyboard in 93 languages
    • Phrasebook: Star and save translations for future reference in any language

    Finally, please checkout coChange and helpful travel app for saving both time and money.

    With coChange app, find easily the exchange offices offering the best rates and services for your currency. Benefit from our service in the entire world for free!

    You don’t have time to chase the best currency exchange offices…

    coChange is a free and collaborative mobile app to simplify currency exchange operations.

    • Find the bureau de change that best fits your needs among thousands referenced across the world, and share with the community.
    • Exchange offices are small family-hold businesses. Use their services rather than ATMs to support local economy!
    • Become an actor of the country’s local development.

     

    Which of these will you try out?  And, what are your favorite travel apps?

  • United Airlines Remarkable New Low in Customer Service

    If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard about United Airlines remarkable new low in customer service.

    United Airlines Boeing 767
    United Airlines Boeing 767

    Do you want to check out some interesting tweets: United Incident Tweets   Warning – expletives on that link!  Note: there is a lot more to this story than the video showing the man being dragged off the plane…not saying good or bad nor right or wrong!

    So, will you stop flying United airlines?  Read on!

     

    PS United airlines updated its policy for transporting crew member to prevent this incident from happening again.  United airlines announced that crew members are not allowed to bump a seated passenger.

    Does United’s bumping policy reflect a new low in customer service?

    Even been bumped from a flight?  I have!  Once in Chicago, I was asked to get off, gave up my seat and waited at the gate for my goodies.  After a while, I was informed that my volunteer deplaning was no longer needed and ushered back-on.  Unfortunately they took me to a much worser seat and offered nothing for my troubles.  This is what happens when you focus on maximizing “passenger-seat-miles,”  industry-speak for squeezing all of the cash you can  for each seat on every plane for every flight.  Is this a crime?  NO! Is this in the terms and conditions? YES!

    Key takeaway here: always read the fine print.

    Here are the rules on “bumping”

    Do you know your rights if subjected to bumping:

    Bumped due to Overbooking?

    Looking for United Airlines among a recent top airline rankings – surprised?

    Top Airline Rankings

    Well, you won’t find United Airlines on that list and I will hazard a guess that the industry focus of competing solely on price and commoditizing air travel may be partly to blame.  Maybe even more than partly!

    Cheap Cheap Cheap, get your Cheap airfare here!

    By going on Google, Kayak, etc., everything is focused upon the lowest price.  What if Luxury cars competed on price?  “Buy your BMW-er on the second Tuesday of the month for the lowest price!!”   Not really, but what if it came to that?  Does Maserati state how much cheaper a Ghibli is than a Ferrari 488 GTB?  Make sense?  There’s more than price, and with all of the consolidation, it seems to me like pricing is all that matters for United.  Further, United just offered a new United basic economy fare which is so stripped down and insulting, I would not ever offer it to my clients! Cheap cheap cheap, but what about the experience?

     

    Competing on more than Price

    1. Delta offers a great Economy plus (Delta Comfort+(R)) experience for flights to Europe from at least Newark (EWR).  I have many people going to Amsterdam (AMS) and back from Paris (CDG) this summer.  The upgrade price from economy to Delta comfort+ was very reasonable.  The Comfort + section is an almost-separate-psuedo-alcove-like section from economy.  Flyers get nicer seats, complimentary alcohol, and nice meals.  United economy plus just offers a little more legroom.
    2. Jet Blue is the happiest airline IMHO.  Been on JetBlue?  The crew has a different attitude than on United or other “legacy” carriers.   JetBlue will even give you a free bag of chips and a free seat-back screen with DirecTV.
    3. Heard of Norwegian Air Shuttle?  Norwegian broke the boundaries of whatever many perceive as a “shuttle.”  Norwegian is  a relatively new entrant offering long-haul flights on Boeing 787 Dreamliners.  I booked my first ever tickets for some dear clients who are traveling back from London to Florida.  they were interested in a business class option and Norwegian delivers a reasonably priced business class experience on the what could be argued as the most comfortable airliner.

    These are just three examples of competing on more than just price.  When JetBlue first offered serve from Newark (EWR), they had to compete on price. Now, their pricing is at parity or in same cases more than United.  That’s getting beyond more than competing on price!

    Will anyone actually stop flying United?

    If you live in a “hub” city, probably not.  Airports including Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO), Houston (IAH),and Chicago (ORD) have a huge United Airlines presence. Thus, it is increasingly hard to simply abandon United for direct flights and good connections.  On-board happiness is another question.  I refer to a tweet from @billwinterberg, “If you live in a United hub, you’re not going to change carriers. route and schedule convenience rules all,even price, in air travel…”

    So, in the final analysis, United’s stock may have dropped along with a PR mess but I wouldn’t count them out of any long-term market share!

     

     

     

  • How I Stopped a 767 from Taking off for Disney Aulani

    Interested in how I stopped a 767 from taking off?

    Please read on!  This story started back in November of 2014.  I’ll start with a quick question?  Do you like the idea of someone monitoring your flights in anticipation of any problems?

    The Hawaii Trip to Disney Aulani

    A new client asked me about planning a sweet 16 trip to the Disney Aulani resort in Oahu, Hawaii.  She invited friends and family to the party

    United 767
    By Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
    at the resort and already selected flights on United Airlines.  The first flight was from Newark to San Francisco; while the second flight was from San Francisco to Honolulu.  From there, I arranged for multiple car rentals to take them to the resort.

    This trip involved an immense amount of planning for all parties.  The mother of the guest of honor extensively planned out details of an onsite party with wonderful Disney accoutrement.  I advised my travel guests on the various types of accommodations both at the Disney Aulani resort and the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Villas onsite.

    The flight situation in Newark

    Everyone arrived bright and early at Newark International airport anticipating a long travel day!  It’s a long road to Hawaii from the East Coast of the US!  The pilot noticed an issue with the brakes and had to pull back to the gate.  Eventually, everyone had to leave the plane and wait for hours.  My crew of 21 anxious travelers re-boarded the plane and then were further delayed by paperwork as the pilot had to sign-off on the repairs. Then the plane was refueled.  At last they were off – bound for San Francisco and then Hawaii by night.

    I use flight aware to track my clients’ flights.  I carefully watched their estimated landing time in San Francisco (SFO) and the next flight’s take-off time.  Do you know when you get that sinking feeling that things are not going to work out?

    Anticipating the race to get to San Francisco (SFO) for the next flight

    As I watched flight aware to track both flights, I was losing confidence that my 21 people could make the next flight. I called both Untied Vacations and United Air Lines looking for help!  Not knowing what to do after speaking with a United Vacations Rep. I called United Airlines directly and asked if it was possible to delay the take-off of the next flight.  A representative at United said he’d call SFO airport management.  The rep, came back and said they could hold the flight for 30 minutes.  Adding that on to the already slight delay for the next flight to Hawaii was just enough time for my clients to board the next flight.  I felt like a rock star super hero as one of my people let me know that they made it on the next flight! My clients were keeping in touch with me via cell phones, emails and Facebook. Hooray, look at what I’ve accomplished!!! But my celebration was premature.

    The flight situation in San Francisco

    Boeing 767 Interior - LAN Airways

    B767 By FcoRiveros2000 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

    Everyone made it on board hoping their luggage was with them too!  This plane was a Boeing 767 loaded with lots of personal entertainment gear and a lot more fun technology than the plane for the flight across the US. Bear in mind that no one had really had a meal since very early in the day.  My main contact let me know that they had to go back to the gate due to another strange sound (second time in one day for this group).  After arriving back at the gate the pilot thought they could take off again – maybe.  Some passengers onboard became irate and there was some degree of screaming and crying. Finally, all passenger had to leave the plane and wait at the gate hoping they could once again be en-route to Hawaii that night.

    What to do after the flight is cancelled

    It was just past 6:30 pm California time when my buddy called me from the gate to tell me the flight was cancelled.  The on-line flight tracker showed the flight as over the Pacific Ocean from the first time it pushed back from the gate. Now what?  There was a 767 full of passengers angry that they were not going to Hawaii and many of them not making it to the Disney Aulani Resort for their first night in Paradise!

    My clients were commanded to wait in line to rebook their flights/pick-up meal vouchers/receive hotel and transfer accommodations.  I had already looked at other airlines with flights out that night but it was getting later and United Airlines had re-booked all of my guests for a flight early the next morning.

    TIP: if an airline cancels your flight, you have the right to demand that they put you on another carrier’s flights. They are NOT going to tell you this and it may not work but I want you to know you can always ask…Or ASK me!

    AND, the luggage never made it on to the original plane from SFO to Hawaii.  Again, all of the flights were re-booked for the next morning on the same flight.  I started pulling up everyone’s United reservations and reviewing their seat assignments to share with the group.

    The line for hotels lasted for hours with only 4 reps. to take care of all of the logistics for the night.  Some of my clients elected to sleep in the United Terminal to avoid the stress of catching to shuttles and checking into a hotel at who knows what time!

    The next day

    Disney Aulani Resort
    Photo courtesy of Michelle Kraft Cook

    The flight from SFO to Honolulu went off early the next morning with little delays transporting my guests to beautiful Hawaii. The Disney Aulani resort was waiting for them.

    While the car rentals were supposed to have been on hold for 24 hours after the first flight was supposed to land, at least one of my clients had issues picking up their car.

    To top it off, a client could not find his license after landing in Honolulu.  With no license, I advised him to switch over the car rental to his wife, BUT how was he supposed to board the flight home?  Turns out that that is a story in and of itself.  (He actually found his license but after much effort I can tell you how to board a plane IF you lose your ID.)  The DMV assured me that there was no way they could get a replacement license to Hawaii in time for his return trip home.

    FINALLY, all of my clients eventually got to Aulani and their rooms were waiting for them!

    Trip Insurance as a remedy

    Now that everyone has returned from Hawaii, I still have 21 clients who lost their first night at Disney Aulani Resort and also multiple car rentals which lost one night of use.  As everyone had trip protection insurance, I initiated claims for their trips after they returned home.  Now, they all need is proof from United Airlines that the flight was cancelled in order to file their claims…I’m waiting for that to come in.

    Hear comments from my clients before they left Hawaii:

    Happy Travelers at Disney Aulani Resort

  • Airline Seats: 9.1 Ways to Get Them on Your Next Flight

    Obtaining airline seats is getting very tricky!

    English: New interior on Delta Air Lines' Boei...
    English: New interior on Delta Air Lines’ Boeing 737-800 fleet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    Just last month, I was trying to seat a family of four together on a United flight.  While the family had assigned seats, they were not all together which was not good for a family with children.  It took 3 calls including one by my client, to get the airline seats together.   Airlines are making it increasingly difficult to sit together and even choose your seats in advance.  Why are they doing this?

    Use Seatguru for all of their fabulous information like seat map details, seating configurations, and more.

    seatguru
    seatguru (Photo credit: Beth77)

    Here are the insiders tips to help you get your airline seats:

    1) Buy your tickets early when there are more seats available; this sounds obvious but try to plan and book early whenever possible.

    2) If you are able to select a seat, do it even if the choice is not optimal as you can try to change seats later.

    3) If you do not get a seat assignment at time of booking, plug your confirmation number directly into the airline’s website and try to select/change your seat(s).

    4) Can’t get ANY seat assignment? Call the airline directly or contact your travel planner if they booked your flight.

    5) Look out for code share flights! If you booked a flight on United but the operator is actually Lufthansa, you may need to go directly to Lufthansa for a seat assignment.  (This happened on flights I recently booked!)

    6) Keep checking on your assignment as the type of aircraft may occasionally change which may result in the loss of your originally assigned seats.  (While this situation is rare, aircraft can change.)

    7) Check in 24 hours prior to boarding as airlines may have released other seats for your selection, and you may save time checking-in at the airport.

    8) You may also pay an additional charge for a “premium economy seat or just a preassigned seat on some airline like British Airways.

    9) Want a really useful tip: use a travel professional to research, plan, book, and service  your air reservations.

    10) Please consider buying air tickets as early as possible…Oh, I already said that but it’s just that important.

    Would you like to add anything about your own tricks with seat assignments?  Please share!