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What's Happening in the travel industry right now?
WOW!!! The economy is finally coming back up and people are beginning to book travel again.
The airlines are still charging outrageous prices on fares, they still charge for checked luggage unless you are traveling first class, and if you want something to eat, you still have to pay for it except on international flights. From Memphis, the best deals can be found with AirTran where you can upgrade to first class for up to $79. It is worth every penny, and I upgrade whenever possible. Outside of Memphis, try Southwest where everyone has the same chance at good seats.
Where cruises are concerned, there are some really great rates out there. If you are traveling out of New Orleans, Mobile, or Galveston and can drive to those ports, you will save a fortune in airfare. Carnival, RCCL, and NCL are all sailing out of these ports.
Don't forget to check out travel insurance. Here is my take on it. Do you drive your car or own your home with insurance? Do you have health insurance? If you are traveling outside the United State and you are if you go on any cruise, check with your health insurance carrier and get a copy of the page that says you are covered outside the continental USA. I'm willing to bet you aren't. If you aren't, then you need travel insurance. If you pay a little more and purchase the cancel for any reason, then you are going to get back 75% of what you paid for your trip and it doesn't matter why. Contact me at 662-288-9052, and I will send you the forms. You just cannot take the chance of not having coverage if you are on a trip and you aren't covered.
Don't forget that the best way to travel is to contact your professional travel consultant before you make your plans so that you can be aware of all of the changes that are coming your way. Our agents are constantly in training to keep up with the industry trends, so call us today.
Patricia Bannister, owner of Bannister Travel
Bannister Travel's ideas about Travel Insurance
4/24/20085:41:00 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Vacation Protection
Does your travel consultant talk to you about vacation protection or travel insurance when you plan a trip with them? They should. It is an important part of any trip that you choose to take.
For travel within the borders of the United States, you will "probably" be ok as far as health insurance goes. If you fall, break a leg, or God forbid, worse, your insurance carrier will "probably" pay your medical bills. What if your plane is late and/or you miss a connection? What if you have a member of your family fall ill and you can't take your trip? What if your luggage is lost? What if your hotel lost your reservation? If any of these things happen, you could be out a lot of money for no reason.
What if you are out of the country? Will your health insurance company cover you then? Some do, but most insurance companies will not cover you if you are on vacation outside the "Continental" United States. In 95% of the cases, if you are hurt in a foreign country, your health insurance carrier will not cover your medical expenses.
What happens if you must cancel or interrupt your trip because a family memeber is sick or injured or dies? What if your travel supplier declares bankruptcy? What about terrorist acts? What if you lose your baggage and personal possessions while on your trip, or they are stolen or damaged? Do you really want to be stuck in a foreign country because you didn't want to pay less than $150 per person for insurance coverage?
Travel Protection Policies cover many things, including but not limited to cancel for any reason, medical, lost or damaged luggage, medical expenses including flights back to the USA, even in the case of death, lost, damaged, delayed or stolen luggage, and accidental death and dismemberment.
If you travel with Bannister Travel, we are sure to tell you all of the benefits of travel insurance because we know how important it is to you, our client. We have heard the horror stories of others, and we don't want our clients to have to suffer the horrors of the lack of medical attention if they need it.
Do you drive a car without insurance? Do you own a home without insurance? Do you have life insurance? Then please think about insuring your next trip. You are spending your hard earned cash on your trip, so insure that trip and yourself and be sure that you can go on your next trip secure in the knowledge that if anything does happen, you have a way to get up to 75% of your travel expenses back.
Larry and I never travel without trip insurance. We hope that you won't either. We have a choice of Insurance Companies to offer you. We use Travel Safe or Travel Insured. They are both great companies and have great coverage. Feel secure the next time you travel.
Call one of our travel consultants listed on the "About Us" section of our home page for more information about travel insurance.
Patricia Bannister, owner, Bannister Travel, 662-560-6085
The airline industry
4/12/20083:23:37 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
American Airlines cancelled over 3,000 flights last week
What do you think about the recent closings of 5 airlines last week, and the fact that American Air Lines has cancelled over 3,000 flights in all?
Were you caught in the mess? Did you miss a flight?
If you did, we would like to hear from you, and know what you went through. Let us hear from you.
Airlines are closing their doors
This is not a good week for the airline industry - Aloha airlines announced at the first of the week that they were going to shut their doors, and now ATA airlines has followed suit this morning after they filed for bankruptcy and discontinued all scheduled flights. Also in the news is United Airlines who on Wednesday abruptly grounded all of it's Boeing 777 jets and canceled dozens of flights after discovering that mechanics failed to test a fire-suppression device as required. Are you worried about what is going on with the airline industry? You should be. At least we can be assured that United is taking care of it's situation "before" it became a problem.
Frontier Airlines also has filed for bankruptcy, but is continuing to fly their planes. Their partner airline, AirTran is in the black and is in no danger of money issues.
Go to Sea With Bannister Travel
Bannister Travel Takes a group to the Caribbean and you can be a part of it.
Larry and Patricia are taking a group to the Caribbean on a 5 day cruise on the Carnival Fantasy out of New Orleans on February 2, 2009. The prices are fantastic, and they just cannot be beat. See below:
Interior stateroom - $382 ppdo Oceanview Stateroom - $432 ppdo Balcony Suite - $892 ppdo
$100 is due now with $150 being due in September and final payment being in November. If you are interested, contact Patricia at 662-288-9052 and go with Bannister Travel on a cruise and have a great time.
Let us know what you think about our blog.
