Luggage/Baggage Fees go up again!

No big surprise I guess, but it's still funny to me the nickel-dime, nickel-dime action going on at the airlines!!!
Did you know......
Now with USAirways, they charge the SAME service fee to call in for a ticket as we at Travel Leaders Suntime Travel do.....that is insane! Do you think when you call USAir, they give you the same service that a travel agent would?
Same service fee, WAY different service.....

Also, the luggage and baggage fees are on the rise.....big shocker.....
The first bag is now $20 and the second bag is now $30 IF you prepay online
But at the airport it's up to $25 for the first and $35 for the second. (non-prepaid)

I'm assuming that the other airlines will follow suit, as they all do beat to the same drummer in most cases.....

Have you been on http://www.suntimetravel.com/ yet?
We have a fabulous guide that can assist you in planning for your luggage fees, and so much more! Click on Traveler's Tools, and click on Airline Luggage Guidelines and Policies, then click on your specific airline. How helpful!!!!!!!!!

As with all of these nickel-dime fees that the airlines are charging, who are they helping, and who are they hurting? Ultimately, it's always the traveling public that is hurting......always.

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day!!!

This just announced from Disney!!! For 2010 travel!!!!

You all know that I'm a true Disney fan, and I just want to share my enthusiasm every time they put out a new promotion......
Disney wants to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service to a participating organization in their communities. So they're celebrating their good works by giving each of them a one-day admission to a Theme Park at Disneyland@ Resort or the Walt Disney World@ Resort, free* (must pre-register, and restrictions apply)

The 'What will you celebrate' campaign will be coming to an end at the end of 2009.

Contact me to help you book your next Disney vacation!!!!!!

Family Reunion in Serbia

http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/event/article/id/92909/

I'm not sure if this link will work, but I had the pleasure of assisting Vera with a visit to her family back in Serbia that she had not seen in decades!!! Some of which she had never met!!!

In the photo above, she had T-shirts made up for her family members, that say "Someone in River Falls, Wisconsin Loves Me."

I was truly moved by her story. Thank you Vera for sharing this with us here at Travel Leaders Suntime Travel.

More iPhone Apps

http://www.travelsavvymom.com/blog/family-travel/top-iphone-apps-for-kids/

I found this great little website, for us Travel Savvy Moms out there!!!!

The list at the Apple iPhone Apps Store can be overwhelming. Here are the 10 applications this author's children like best. Many are free, and all work in airplane mode.

Totally fun!!!!

YouTube Family Travel to Disney

Thank you to Travel Leaders on TWITTER, for posting my video!!! How fun!

Now you can see me........yes me!!
I'm online...... Minnie Mouse ears and all!!!

Check it out:
Insider tips for family vacations to Disney - watch video from our expert!

CLICK HERE: http://bit.ly/j4HGV

Twitter with Travel Leaders!

For those fellow tweet friends out there, check out the Travel Leaders Twitter page!!
http://twitter.com/TravelLeaders

Currently, you can see my fellow co-worker Jody talking about destination weddings, and the owner of Suntime Travel Debbie talking about eating ants with her family!!
WILD!!

http://bit.ly/DZHeV for Debbie

http://bit.ly/j4HGV for Jody (and others)...scroll down to Jody Meyer...

Thank you to Travel Leaders for posting these great videos, it's great to get first hand info from agents who have seen and done quite a bit in this business!!!!!

World Perks will now be Sky Miles

For those of us lucky enough to be in the midst of this 'integration' (is what they're calling it), updates are much needed, as there is some very confusing and conflicting information out there!!!

Here is the latest info, that will hopefully clarify how our World Perks accounts will become Sky Miles accounts...... This came from an email from Northwest Airlines.

"In October, the WorldPerks program will officially merge into the SkyMiles program. At this time, you will receive a new SkyMiles account number which will be sent to you via e-mail and in a new SkyMiles Program welcome kit that you will receive in the mail. Your existing WorldPerks status and account information will be transferred into your new SkyMiles account, including your redeemable, Elite qualifying and lifetime mileage balances. This mileage deposit into your new SkyMiles account will be considered activity, which extends your 24-month mileage expiration date. Moving forward, as long as you have any qualifying earning or redemption activity in the account at least once every 24 months, your miles will never expire."

So as you can see.........

Please refer back to my previous blog posting:
http://melissasuntimetravel.blogspot.com/2009/04/prevent-your-frequent-flyer-miles-from.html

YES, your frequent flyer miles will expire.
The answer to that question is YES!!!!!!!
So make sure you're proactive and are preventing this from happening! Buy a flower or a magazine or something to keep those accounts active. That's the last thing you'd want is for all of those precious miles to expire right out from under your nose!!

Now the posing question...... when does the ticker start for this '2 year' expiration? Does it begin when you get your Sky Miles account, or does it date back to when you were a World Perks Member........stay tuned, hopefully we can find the answer together.

Clear as mud.....

As always!

Airlines want you to pay for the privilege of purchasing a ticket

DON'T WE DO THAT ALREADY?

I read a lot of articles in the travel industry, and rarely do the airline 'rules' make any sense in the real world. How is it logical that once you've paid for an airline ticket, you cannot do a name change. In the real world, if you buy a shirt but your friend wears it, the retailer doesn't charge you a fee for this change...... Airlines are goofy. Really goofy!

Here is an article posted by Charlie Leocha with consumertraveler.com, and once again it really makes sense!!!!

http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/airlines-want-you-to-pay-for-the-privilege-of-buying-tickets-dont-we-do-this-already/