What if the world starts thinking like airlines....??

OK, this is an oldie but a goodie.......

Thank you to tripso for posting this again. I have read this one, and a couple other that are similar, but it always makes me giggle.

Hope this brightens you day too!!!

The following scenario may sound far-fetched when applied to buying a pair of shoes. But substitute the word airline, and …

Customer: “I’d like to buy a pair of the “Supercool Superfast” running shoes you have advertised for $39.99, size 8 medium.”

Clerk: “Certainly ma’am, that will be $159.99.”

Customer: “Wait a minute,the advertised price said $39.99.”

Clerk: “Yes, but that’s per shoe.”

Customer: “That’s still only about half of what you are charging me.”

Clerk: “Yes, but that doesn’t include the fuel costs involved to get the shoes to our store. And of course sales tax, a fee to cover our store security, and local taxes from China where the shoes were made. Plus there’s a couple others, I don’t remember them exactly.”

Customer: “That doesn’t really seem right.”

Clerk: “And that final price does include a surcharge for my personal assistance. We do have to charge a little more when you don’t order online.”

Customer: “So I could have gotten a better price without actually coming to the store?”

Clerk: “Yes, if you could have figured out our Web site, I have been told it’s a little confusing. And then there would have been a restocking fee if you didn’t like the shoes.”

Customer: “So there really were no shoes available at the advertised price?”

Clerk: “No, the ad is correct. But actually, it’s all explained in the fine print. You know the price would have been cheaper if you came in Tuesday or Wednesday night. And the least expensive price is only available for size 5 narrow. Most sizes are more. Just be glad you don’t need one of our premium sizes.”

Customer: “Well, I need the shoes, and they are supposed to be great. So fine, I’ll take them.”

Clerk: “Great, and would you like laces for an additional $20?”

Swine Flu Updates

Looking for the most comprehensive updates?
Here it is.........more information than you could possibly want, from twitter messaging to Centers for Disease Control to World Health Organization alerts, and more.....

Drumroll please..........
Here it is:
http://www.netvibes.com/btc#Flu

We're all trying to stay updated, and this is a great resource.

Swine Flu and Travel, Everyone's Talking!!!

Thank you to Yahoo News for this article: (please read it!)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20090427/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_swine_flu_airlines;_ylt=Ag42NS.ZdLz5koQcgDUbHtQ8sM0F

As of right now, the airlines have not cancelled any flights due to the Swine Flu.
Many are offering a waiver to make changes, but most are to change your ticket by a week or two at most.....

(Yahoo News) U.S. health officials declared a public health emergency Sunday, saying 20 swine flu cases have been reported so far in New York, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California, primarily linked to recent travel to Mexico. Canada became the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu Sunday and multiple nations including New Zealand and Spain also suspect infection. Some are moving to quarantine travelers from affected regions and advising their citizens to postpone travel to certain areas in Mexico.
U.S. officials said they will begin asking travelers about illness if they're entering the country from regions with confirmed swine flu.

As of right now, Northwest Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Continental Airlines are all offering some form of waiver. Each are a little different, and none are a full refund that I've seen.....

Happy Vacations

Not-So-Happy--Happy Vacations.......

As some of you may have heard, Happy Vacations is re-organizing........
http://www.happyvacations.com/

If you currently have a trip booked with Happy Vacations, and are looking to re-book onto another similar trip, please CONTACT US!!! We'd be more than happy to assist you! We have many tour providers that we work with that have been graciously offering exclusive discounts for us to help you out.......

We will need your current reservation information to submit, and then we can assist further.

Here is what the Happy Vacations website currently says:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2009
Happy Vacations to Reorganize
Several weeks ago Happy Vacations secured limited financing as an interim step towards a recapitalization. The company has been in discussions with a number of interested parties to add more capital and to potentially buy all or part of the company. Those discussions continue. Happy Vacations, however, has yet to obtain the needed funds and has no choice, at least in the interim, to cease current operations.
“The company has some viable components that are less affected by these very difficult economic times, and we will build on these to emerge from reorganization as a stronger company.”
“After 40 years in the business we at Happy Vacations are heart-broken about the turn of events and our difficult decision to disrupt our current operations. We truly appreciate the support and concern from our Travel Agency and vendor partners. We apologize for any disruption, inconvenience or losses.” said David Marshall, President, Happy Vacations.
Happy is working with other travel providers to protect as many travelers as possible and will distribute this information throughout the week. Travel Agents are advised to take immediate action to ensure that your clients’ trips are not disrupted.
Check this site for future developments.

Twitter's the word...Twitter...tweet tweet!!!

Here are some of my fav's

Travel Leaders (of course!!): http://twitter.com/travelleaders

Andrew Zimmern (love this guy!!): http://twitter.com/bizarrefoods

I'm a huge Disney fan (this twitter site is un-official, but I like it): http://twitter.com/TheDisneyBlog

Another great site with great YouTube links, thank you to The Disney Blog: http://thedisneyblog.com/2008/06/26/disney-parks-slowly-moves-onto-twitter/

Barbados: http://twitter.com/BarbadosTravel

Do you have a favorite that you'd like to share with me? Please drop me a line!!!

Princess Cruise Lines Twitter

Do you Twitter?????

This term is unheard of for some, and old hat for others....but if you don't "Twitter", maybe this would be a fun way to start twittering.....

Here is the webpage to follow: http://www.princess.com/goldendrydock/

Here is the TWITTER page to follow: http://twitter.com/PrincessCruises

There will be a daily photo progress report and other fun tweets. Check it out!!!!!!

Prevent your Frequent Flyer Miles from Expiration!!!

Thank you to Money Blue Book, for posting this great article:

This post dates back to October 2007. I'm sure there are updates to these programs, but here are some great tips to keep your account active....

I used to fly a lot and racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles over the years, but now I have to be extra careful. Airline travelers who don’t use their frequent flyer miles…well, frequently, may soon discover that their miles have expired. It is a growing trend, but airlines have shortened the time period that an account can remain inactive before miles expire. In most cases that time period ranges between 1 to 2 years.

Here Are the Expiration Policies For Some of the Biggest Airlines(current Oct 2007):
AirTran: Points in A+ Rewards expire after 12 months.
American Airlines: AAdvantage® miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.
Continental Airlines: OnePass miles do not expire. There is a written policy that says they do, but the airline does not enforce the policy.
Delta Airlines: Delta SkyMiles expire after 2 years of inactivity.
JetBlue: TrueBlue points expire one full year from the date that they are earned.
Northwest Airlines: Northwest WorldPerks miles expire if none are earned for 3 calendar years.
Southwest Airlines: Rapid Rewards points expire after 2 years.
United Airlines: Mileage Plus miles expire after 36 months of inactivity. Starting December 31, 2007, miles will expire after 18 months of inactivity.
U.S. Airways: Dividend Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.

How You Can Easily Prevent Mileage Expiration
The way to prevent your miles from lapsing due to inactivity is to simply generate miles-earning activity for each airline that you have an account with. Other using than using a specialized miles-generating credit card rewards like the Starwood Preferred, another relatively easy way is by making a purchase at the airline’s own shopping portal, where you earn miles for each purchase. This will allow you to earn a few miles, enough to reset the inactivity clock. Most of the popular stores such as iTunes, Best Buy, and Circuit City can be found at each airline’s shopping website.

Links to the Major Airlines’ Shopping Websites:
American Airlines: AAdvantage® eShopping
Continental Airlines: ShopOnePass
Delta Airlines: Delta SkyMile Shopping
Northwest Airlines: WorldPerks Mall
United Airlines: Mileage Plus Mall
U.S. Airways: Dividend Miles Shopping Mall

Make Sure Your Purchases Count To Reset the Account Activity Clock
--- To ensure that you receive mileage credit for the purchase made through the airline’s shopping portal, make sure your shopping cart is empty before doing the click through. For example, don’t visit Best Buy, add something to your cart and then revisit Best Buy by clicking through the airline’s shopping portal website. You may not receive mileage credit for the items already in your cart. Visit the store through the airline’s website first before making purchases to receive proper mileage credit.
--- There is no minimum mileage you need to earn to reset the inactivity clock. If you can make a quick purchase for a $1 item that allows you to accrue a few miles towards your frequent flyer plan, that is sufficient to reset and prevent expiration.
--- One way to track your miles and monitor your most recent activity in each of your frequent flyer accounts is by using USA Today’s downloadable MileTracker application.