Hurricanes and Hawaii - What Does That Mean For Travelers?

Hurricane Iselle, Genevieve and Julio Threaten Hawaiian Islands

For the first time in 22 years Hawaii braces for its first direct hurricane contact as Iselle heads towards the Big Island with a second storm on its tail!

Currently, the Hawaiian Islands have been issued an advisory by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center for Hurricane Iselle which is 365 miles east-southeast of Hilo with sustained winds of 90 mph and Hurricane Genevieve, 1,140 miles west-southwest of Kauai with winds at 75 mph.  As if two hurricanes is not enough, Julio is now a named hurricane and is heading towards Hilo as well with 75 mph sustained winds.  But only two of the storms, Iselle and Julio, are tracked to hit the islands.  

Saffir-Simpson Scale

• Tropical Storm - winds 39-73 mph (34-63 kt)
• Category 1 - winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt)
• Category 2 - winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt)
• Category 3 - winds 111-129 mph (96-112 kt)
• Category 4 - winds 130-156 mph (113-136 kt)
• Category 5 - winds 157 mph and up (137+ kt)

Hurricane Eselle right now is a category 1 and is expected to make impact tonight! For those of you who are not familiar with hurricanes, do not under estimate a cat 1.  I am from eastern North Carolina and no matter what strength the storm is, nature is a force to be reckoned with.  I have seen entire neighborhoods taken out in floods in a category 1, it all depends on which way the wind blows, the tidal phases and how the water is pushed and pulled.  Eselle is expected to produce 5-8 inches of rainfall with isolated maximum amounts to 12 inches.  The amounts could cause life threatening flash floods and rock and mud slides.   

Then Hurricane Julio, now category 2, is expected to make landfall this Sunday.  Maximum sustained winds are near 85 mph with higher gust but could strengthen even more by Wednesday night but then, thankfully, weaken starting on Friday. 

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What does that mean for your travel???

If you were planning on joining the two hurricanes for a vacation in Hawaii this week United, American and Hawaiian airlines, among others, are going to waive reservation change fees and differences in fares for customers who have tickets booked for August 7 and 8.

Also, due to concerns over the possible effects of Iselle and Julio those customers can change their reservations without charge to flights departing through August 12.

If you have a trip booked through United Military Travel give them a call and see what their policy is on changing existing reservations.  Or if you want to head to Hawaii after these storms have passed - give them a call :) 

866-582-9579

The Dreaded OVERNIGHT layover!!!

There is nothing worse than traveling ALL day and being one connection away from home when you get told your flight has been cancelled and the next one is not until the following day.

My heart sinks...
 I get mad...

Then I stomp around...

After that I finally consider my options...

Hopefully I am in one of these cities to take advantage of their fantastic airport hotels!

Next time this happens to you book a night of luxury - after all YOU DESERVE IT!
Who knows maybe you have left over approval through United Military Travel that it won't cost you a thing that night!

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InterContinental Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport, South Africa

This upscale, stylish, award winning hotel is only 75 yards from the international terminal of the airport and offers an array of other amenities than a plush bed.  You can view the runway of the busiest airport in South Africa through their floor to ceiling windows, swim laps in their olympic size pool, or dine at an award winning African restaurant.  

Sofitel London Heathrow, UK

This hotel is directly connected to Heathrow Terminal 5 via walkway and the other terminals via free inter-terminal transfers.  One of my biggest problems when I find myself in need of a hotel in a big city is navigating their "metro" or making back to the airport in time.  While you may be paying a little more to stay here the convenience is totally worth it.  

Crown Plaza Hotel Changi Airport, Singapore

I would choose to stay here solely because of the funky architecture but another plus is that it is linked to Terminal 3 making it easy to access international flights directly.  Crown Plaza Hotel has created a tranquil oasis in the midst of busy Singapore by surrounding you with lush tropical gardens and a lagoon-style landscaped pool.  For travelers that find themselves this far from home they can take advantage of yoga classes to relax their bodies before their next adventure or if you are with kids let them watch a movie in their movie theatre or tired themselves out on a giant slide!   

Airways Hotel Port Moresby, Papa New Guinea

This quirky airport hotel is located in a picturesque mountainside setting but do not let the remoteness full you.  The interior has contemporary features with high quality furnishings and modern amenities.  With views of Bootless Bay you can take a dip in the ocean before trotting off the airport that is located just across the street from the hotel.  

Grand Hyatt, DFW, Texas, USA

This hotel is a direct part of the Dallas Fort Worth Airport International and offers guests a rooftop saltwater pool, guest rooms with pillow top "grand beds" and soaking tubs.  Also, one of the best features of this hotel is that that they let guest check in for flights directly from the lobby of the hotel!

Kempinski Hotel Airport, Munich Germany

Located directly between terminals 1 and 2 the 5 star Kempinski Hotel offers a special touch for the women travelers.  The suites are stocked with fresh fruit, magazines and fluffy blankets to make the "traveling" life easier for business women.  Also, the hotel offers an extremely attentive 24 hour concierge service to assist  with restaurant reservations or tickets to local events outside of the airport.  

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So lets remember to ALWAYS look at our situation as positive - you can explore a city that you may not have anticipated seeing or just take a night to pamper yourself.  Also, if you have booked your travel through UMT, call them and see if they can help you add the hotel to your travel loan!

Flying over war zones - do you have a choice???

War zones, trouble hot spots, or bad weather....which do pilots prefer??

In light of the recent plane crash near the Ukraine/Russia boarder this past Thursday it made me wonder if passengers have a choice of flight route or if we are even able to know our route before hand.

Apparently, others have wondered it too. 

For those of you that are unaware, a Malaysian passenger jet crashed killing all 298 people on board July 17, 2014.  Western nations are now saying that there is growing evidence that the plane was hit by a Russian supplied missile fired by rebels but Russia claims that the Ukrainian government is to blame.

 Here is an article from NBCnews.com titled "Will I fly over a war zone?  Why you can't know."  By Rob Lovitt

While most travelers think of their flights as Point A to Point B experiences, the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 has proven that it’s just as important to consider the points in between. And with news reports describing another Malaysia flight flying over war-torn Syria on Monday, you might be asking yourself, how can I tell if my flight is going to fly over a war zone or other trouble spot?

Unfortunately, you probably can’t — at least not until you’re about to step on board.

“Routes aren’t known until one or two hours before a flight when the dispatcher makes a decision as to which route to operate and then files it with air traffic control,” said former airline dispatcher Phil Derner, founder of aviation-enthusiast site NYCAviation.com. “And once a route is filed, it can change multiple times — it doesn’t become ‘Bible’ once it’s filed.”

Once a flight plan is filed with the FAA, however, the itinerary information then becomes available to third-party sites and apps, such as FlightStats and PlaneFinder, which do an admirable job of showing a plane’s current location. Others, including FlightAware and WindowSeat, show complete route information but are limited to North America and, of course, rely on flight plans that are subject to subsequent changes.

“If there's no choice but to fly over dangerous weather vs. a possible geopolitical hotspot they [face] a tough choice.”

Determining an international flight’s exact path is even harder. “The timeline for filing routes is about the same,” said Derner. “But there are a lot of areas in the world that don’t have as amazing resources to track weather, volcanic activity or war zones.”

Complicating matters further is the fact that different aviation authorities approach problem situations differently. While the FAA had previously prohibited U.S. carriers from flying over parts of Ukraine back in April, European authorities only did so after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down.

And it’s likely that airlines will continue to fly over the world’s hot spots as they try to balance flight times, fuel burn, weather and a host of other variables.

“If there's no choice but to fly over dangerous weather vs. a possible geopolitical hotspot they [face] a tough choice,” said George Hobica, president of AirfareWatchdog. “It might only be a matter of 5, 10 or 15 minutes longer flight to avoid a country where there might be potential bad actors with access to surface to air missiles. But if a flight is already late, and there are connecting passengers who might miss their flights, I wonder if an airline might take a chance.

“With ISIS active in Syria, personally I'd rather that my pilot arrive late rather than flying over the country!”

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Honestly, never once in my entire traveling career have I thought about my flight path and what countries I would fly over.  And I am one that has always said I would travel to a place regardless of governmental status because life is just too darn short.  But this makes me reconsider some things.....

Does it you too??

TSA passenger security fee rises as of today July 21, 2014

As if rising gas prices isn't bad enough...

Now, TSA passenger security fees have risen but not to help pay for TSA security...

but to help pay off the national deficit!

I wouldn't mind the jump in price if it was going to give him  a raise

but its going here...

Thank you government - you are the best!  Lets make traveling even more difficult for the American people.

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Check out this article from CNN Travel

(CNN) -- The costs of your airline travel will rise a little today, thanks to the federal government.

Airline passenger security fees charged by the Transportation Security Administration are increasing because of the congressional budget deal passed in December.

The September 11 passenger security fee has traditionally been collected to fund the TSA's airport security measures, but not this time. Most of the new revenue will go to pay down the federal deficit.

Until Monday, a passenger was charged $2.50 for each leg of a journey. For a nonstop round trip, the cost was $5. For a round trip with a connection each way, the cost was $10.

The fee was capped at two flights each way. That means you couldn't get charged more than $5 each way or $10 round trip, even if you took three flights to get your destination.

Now, passengers must pay a flat fee of $5.60 in each direction, no matter how many plane transfers are made to get from one city to another.

For passengers flying a nonstop round trip, that means the fee will increase from $5 to $11.20.

Passengers flying round-trip with a connection each way will see their fees increase $1.20 to $11.20 per round trip, versus $10 before the fee increase.

There's one exception: If you book that terrible trip with a long layover, meaning at least four hours when traveling domestically or 12 hours when traveling internationally, the fees start over. Passengers with that much of a stopover between their flights will have to pay another $5.60 for the next leg.

The TSA's interpretation of the fee increase has been called into question. Though the TSA says the congressional budget deal eliminated caps on these fees, top congressional budget writers say that's not true. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, have written the TSA demanding an explanation.

The trade group Airlines for America has generally objected to government raising more funds from airline passenger travel and specifically objected to this fee increase and the elimination of the fee cap.

"Our government must stop using airlines and their passengers as its own personal ATM whenever it needs more money," according to a statement.

"A4A strongly opposes TSA's elimination of the regulatory regime that rejects congressional intent by removing the cap on the TSA fee increase per enplanement as it will disproportionately harm airline passengers who rely on service to small and rural communities."

Who will pay the fee? Though there's a chance the airlines could absorb some of the cost, don't bet on it.

Southwest Airlines added the fee to its list of taxes and fees charged to customers starting today.

"Effective for bookings starting on July 21, 2014, all domestic air carriers are required to implement an increase in the government-imposed September 11th passenger security fee," Southwest spokesman Nick Blampye wrote in an e-mail.

"The fee increased from $2.50 per segment (with a maximum of $10.00 per round-trip) to $5.60 per one-way trip," Blampye said. "Southwest customers can view a complete fare breakdown at the time of purchase, which includes the current security fee."

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which both declined to comment, also appear to be putting the entire cost on passengers. A flight search Monday at Delta.com showed a charge of $11.20 for a nonstop round-trip flight from Atlanta to New York's LaGuardia Airport. So did a United.com search for a nonstop round-trip flight from Atlanta to San Francisco.

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Ok, here is my thing.  Why make the American population pay even more into bringing down the deficit when we already give half of our money to taxes anyways.  Also, travel is something that most Americans push to the wayside because flights are so expensive, so by increasing the fees the government is making traveling less appealing than it already is for some.  Granted, $5.60 each way is not going to break the bank but lets get real....its just the start.  I guarantee that it will just keep rising and rising.  There is no stopping it now.  And it is just the principle of the matter!  Why not make the airlines themselves pay for it instead of letting them tell their passengers to pay it.  They certainly have more money than we do.    

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All I have to say is that this makes me even more thankful for United Military Travel!

They will still be here for us to make traveling easy and more affordable no matter how much the fees increase.  

Secrets of scoring cheaper airline tickets

Does buying airline tickets stress you out????

Follow these rules to be a "happy" traveler!

It does me and that is 90% of the reason we fly through United Military Travel (UMT) - it is 

soooooo nice to have someone else search all the websites for the best deal.  It is time consuming, stressful AND sometimes a deal breaker on whether people actually take a vacation or not.  The travel consultants at UMT always take into consideration the cheapest possible itinerary for you all while not sticking you with long lay overs and cheap airlines.  I wanted to share with you some of my little tricks when booking airline tickets with our travel consultant ; tricks that help me save money and give them the best information to work with.  Here is my family's full proof method of traveling through United Military Travel: 

• Shop earlier but don't always buy early.  Airlines start offering cheaper airfare about 4 months out, 5 months for international.  
• Holiday travel is an exception to the first rule - book early!
• Airline prices change up to 3 times a day!  So trust me when I say that booking when you travel consultant says book - you should.  Typically that means all in one phone call - not multiple ones because that is when prices jump.  They want to save you money too :) 
• Sunday, hands down, is the MOST expensive day to travel.
• Prices rise about 40% the week you want to travel - so again book early.
• Most discounts and sales are offered at the beginning of the week so call UMT then.
• Buy Tuesday and Wednesday - Fly Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Be flexible on the airports you fly in and out of - that can save a ton of money! Flexibility is the main key to scoring cheap tickets!

My families motto....

So be a happy traveler not a stressed out one - enjoy the entire process, be excited 100% of the way.  Always smile because life is to short to frown :)