November 8, 2025 • 54 mins
Join The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean and Harry Reif for this week's Hot Deals!
And, we explore how the latest government shutdown is impacting air travel—from flight delays to TSA staffing—and how both the travel industry and everyday travelers are adapting.
Listen for expert insights, real-world stories, and a look at the unexpected silver linings that emerge during turbulent times. Whether you're a frequent flyer or a travel enthusiast, this episode offers hope, resilience, and practical tips for navigating uncertainty.
And, we explore how the latest government shutdown is impacting air travel—from flight delays to TSA staffing—and how both the travel industry and everyday travelers are adapting.
Listen for expert insights, real-world stories, and a look at the unexpected silver linings that emerge during turbulent times. Whether you're a frequent flyer or a travel enthusiast, this episode offers hope, resilience, and practical tips for navigating uncertainty.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel show and
podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well two forty
three f avenue in Harsmert and online at the wishing
Well dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcasts hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:21):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean and say hello, Chris.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
How in the world are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
You know what, I'm as good today as I've ever been.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It's good. It's good. You got a lot to look
forward to.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah, I'm on vacation here start next weeks. I'm gonna
I'm not doing anything.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I'm going to love it when people talk about vacations.
That's my life.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
I wish my vacation involved contacting you a few months
ago to set up something. I had so much vacation
time I had to use that. I am planning on
sitting on the couch for a week.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You know what, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah, no, I'm I'm excited and we're doing a little
bit of work around the house and awesome. It's fun
to see the progressions of that. And I told my
wife that I might decorate that us for Christmas next week.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So wow, awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I've always been an early decorator. I like to put
the decorations up sometime around.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Like enjoy them. Yeah, they're so pretty. You know, it
changes our whole perspective, our mood and everything. And Lord
knows we need that right now, don't we.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, how was your week?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
You know, it was eventful in a good way. Well,
you know, the travel industry right now, which is you know,
something that we're going to dive into in a big
way today on today's show. But it was, it was
you know, it included a lot of challenges.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, say, there's a lot going on right now with
everything involving travel. We'll get into that.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, but the fun part is Harry and I And
by the way, Hi, Harry, Hey, how are you guys
doing it? We are maintaining positivity? Yeah, you know, he
came in with the positive it's good to see you. Well,
it's good to see you too. You're talking about Christmas lights.
I had a different approach, Chris. Okay, I spent this
last week with some of our favorite travelers. We were
(02:16):
down at the Biltmore to see the first week that
they turned on the Christmas lights.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yes, you probably don't have a thirty five foot tall
for tree, you know what.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
You're talking about. I have been one of the one
of the upgrades that we're doing around the house. I
have begged my wife. I said, I want to plant
a pine tree in the side yard so over through
the years we can decorate it for Christmas. I'm talking
nice in your dining what you're talking about here. I
(02:43):
am not one of the Biltmore's.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
They were.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
It's family.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, that's part of his family. It was very
beautiful and we had a great time and it was
a really nice way to see Christmas lights without doing
any work except shuffling your feet down the hallway.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It's kind of gets get you in a great mood.
And I will say today, because of the topic on
today's show, Chris, We're going to forego the news, because
really the whole show is the news. Honestly, we are
going to discuss how this shutdown, the government shutdown is
affecting air travel. So I wanted to devote a good
(03:25):
bit of time to that and just take the sting
out of that particular topic and maybe try and rewrite
the ship of misunderstood things that people don't know that
are happening, and that kind of thing. So what we
did bring along in our little toolbox is our good
friend Harry over across from me has brought in some
(03:48):
good sales. I think, oh.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Yeah, we've been deluged with previews about Good Friday. Good
Friday isn't for what a few weeks yet, Black Friday,
Black Friday. Yeah, I'm sorry, not Good Friday.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Black Friday.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
It's a good Friday too.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
You can see how happy I was to see the
Christmas lights Good Fridays on my mind. But Black Friday
is coming up in a couple weeks, and we've been
receiving lots and lots of emails previewing some of the sales,
and I wanted to share some of that with you
and the listeners this morning if I can. Chris, absolutely,
and they range from one kind of trip to another,
and I want to start off with some of the
(04:24):
most requested trips that we get, and that is to
the national parks we have. Some of our travel companies
are reducing fares on tours to places like yosemitee Lake
Tahoe by up to four hundred and fifty dollars a person.
That's like a fifteen to twenty five percent reduction. If
(04:45):
you want to stay in the United States, you want
to get over the pond and go over and visit Devon, Cornwall.
You want to see Italy, you want to see Portugal, Britain, Ireland,
I'm seeing Spain, even one that has five national parks
that's got a special for this coming year, so we'll
be seeing those as part of our Black Friday specials.
(05:07):
And those are always very, very exciting because those are
great trips. You can stay in the country or you
can leave the country.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
And I think it's important Harry to make note with
folks that please don't think you have to wait until
Black Friday to book these deals. You do not. Many
of them, especially the ones that Harry's going to share
with you, are starting in many cases and have started immediately.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, they have. And one of the advantages of being
a travel agent or having a great travel agent is
we already have those, as you said, and they'll be
going out to the general public. You'll see them on
the air while you're watching the Macy's parades and things
like that over Thanksgiving. But what about thinking about those
now and making decisions and getting first DIBs on the
best deals. Besides those deals, there are also some great
(05:54):
deals from our friends at the cruise lines. One of
the cruise lines we talk about a lot is Holland America.
We like them a lot. They are previewing a thirty
percent off sale for us. We're talking about thirty percent
off of fares, which is significant savings, free pre pre
prepaid gratuities and if you want to take the kids,
(06:17):
not that you gotta, but if you want to free
fares for guests number three and four sharing a room.
And they're also reducing deposits because they know you've got
to spend some of your money on Black Friday, so
they're only taking fifty percent deposits plus giving you all
those deals. How's that for a nice enticement?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Pretty good?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
And they're not alone. We're hearing from many of the
cruise lines. Our friends at Celebrity they've got some deals
that are available to us now going through the beginning
of December, talking about seventy five percent off for the
second guest and bonuses up to seven hundred dollars if
(06:57):
you early book through a travel agent like us. Those
are good through only the beginning of next week. So
if you're interested in those kinds of specials, please please
please give us a call on Monday. These are for
sailings going all the way into this. Amaze me, Terry.
Can you believe this May of twenty twenty eight? Oh wow,
that is a long time ahead. That's our friends at Celebrity,
(07:20):
Our friends at Norwegian have some great specials out there now,
fifty percent off most every cruise, and they're doing their
free at sea, which is their gratuities, their adult beverage
package and meals and Wi Fi. So they're offering that free.
That's like two thousand dollars of value if you look
at a seven or ten day cruise, Chris, that's a
(07:41):
lot that they're giving away for free. You also hear
us talk about Oceania. They've got some fifty percent off
deals again going into twenty twenty seven sailings. And this
is unprecedent. I'm not used to seeing this, Terry. Are
you going that far ahead that they just want to.
It's gotten very competitive and guess who the winners are.
(08:03):
They're the travelers. And then lastly, our friends at Royal Caribbean.
They're doing some thousand dollars off fares and on other
ones they're doing fifty percent off. And they too are
offering third and fourth guests sailing in the same cabin.
I always think of kids, but maybe you want to
bring your brother and sister in law or somebody else.
(08:24):
But if you can stand four people in a cabin,
those people can sail for free. That's a heck of
a deal.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And I actually saw on that same announcement I think
Harry with Royal Caribbean that they are going to have, Chris,
this is one for your ears. They are going to
have cruises beginning at two hundred and forty nine dollars
per person.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Wow. Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
To where Caribbean, most likely in Bahamas.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Two hundred and forty nine dollars. We go, right right,
and that's clear.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Next weeking your food, you were to sit on the
ca out, yeah, look about wife to help.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I'm going to the Gribbia.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Yeah, no, you can third and fourth guests Chris, this
can be a party. And that's a nice thing about
a cruise line. You don't have to make your bed.
They do that for every day. You don't have to
cook food, you don't have to clean dishes, you don't
have to do anything at all. Just show up.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, we talked. While we talked about river Cruises, we
talked about our friends at Uni World. They've got a
twelve Day of Christmas event. I can't give you all
the details right now because of time, but that twelve
Day of Christmas event is actually going to start on
Black Friday. We're going to get some previews on that too,
and they don't have different things each day on that one,
so that's really exciting. And they're doing some really exciting things.
(09:43):
I hear from a little Christmas mouth with single supplements,
so that will be really great. Are the friends to
other ones I want to mention real quickly, and that
is our friends at Canard. They've got fairs on Canard.
Canard is a very luxurious line starting at eight hundred
and ninety nine dollars.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
That's a real deal for those of you who love
the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, the historic really the mega
ships known for the Royal Crown. Those are great ships and.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
They're they've reduced their deposits also, they've cut them by
fifty percent and these are for voyages again through April
of twenty twenty seven. That that offer is going to
be good all month of November and into the first
week of December. They've also got you mentioned the high
end the Queen Elizabeth. They've offered some really nice deals
(10:39):
for people that are doing what they call their grill swite,
so interested in that let us know. Lastly, I wanted
to mention our friends at Regent we like them a lot.
Another luxurious cruise line. They have a whole set of
single supplements, so if you're a single traveler, they've got
a single supplement reduction out there to zero. That means
(10:59):
you pay nothing extra to travel as a single on
certain cruises. Some of the ones I picked out were
Lisbon to Miami Athens round trip, a seven night cruise
in Vancouver to Whittier so you can go to Alaska
as a single.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
That's huge, friends, when you don't pay any supplement for
being a solo traveler, as big as solo travel is today,
that means you pay half of what that cabin is
and that's it, which is wonderful.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Yeah, so those are the ones I ran through a
whole lot. I'm sorry if I took it too long time.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Okay, you know, Harry, I remember a day in this
industry when Black Friday deals, especially for the travel industry,
were really just on Black Friday, that's when they happened,
and you had only that day to book something. Well,
I can remember being a travel agent on that day
(11:54):
and being in the office and not being able to
leave until eight or nine o'clock that night because everybody
wanted in on those deals and we only had a
finite number of hours in the day in which to
book them. I am so happy that these deals now
start now and run through many of them the first
week of December. That's great.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Yeah, it's really nice. It's like Amazon Prime Day. It's
not just a day anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
So if you'd like to take advantage of any of
those deals, you can give Harry or Terry a call
at the Wishing Well five four oh nine oh eight
twenty three point thirty three, So stop by and see
them there on nef Avenue in Harrisonburg and online at
the wishing Well dot biz our show today, Terry, Yes,
we alluded to this at the beginning of our show.
(12:41):
We're going to be talking about how the government shutdown
is affecting travel air travel specifically, and how important it
is for you to keep calm and travel on it is.
That's the name of our show and we'll get into
it next year. On a Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Let the wishing Wells experts help. We
offer fee free travel planning with built in expertise. Listeners
voted us Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab
on our website though Wishingwell dot biz, or.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Let us create a trip just for you.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Stop by two forty three nef Avenue, visit us at
the Wishingwell dot biz or call us at five four
zero nine zero eight two three three three five four
zero nine zero eight two three three three.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And welcome back to a life less Ordinary. Every Saturday
we sit down and we talk about travel, and our
friends Terry, Dean and Harry right from the wishing Well
are back again this Saturday, and Terry, before we went
to break, we mentioned the government's shutdown and how that's
affecting air travel, and I have seen lots of news
about it, and I'm sure that there's a lot of
(13:48):
information getting spread around that's not accurate, and so we
are dedicating our entire show today to getting the correct
information out and letting you know that you can stay home,
keep calm, and travel on.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
That's right. Think that that's the main thing that.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
The British always have everywhere.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeap. And you know, we we mentioned earlier before Harry
took us right into sales today that we were going
to forego the news portion of our show today here
on a lifeless ordinary because there's a great deal of
information that I know people are very anxious about regarding
travel right now, especially because we're right here on top
of the holidays and there's a lot going on. As
(14:29):
to your point, Chris, that is accurate, some that's not
so accurate. So I think, you know, not to say
we're the end all be all when it comes to
news of this caliber, but we certainly have vetted the.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
News and we appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah. And also, you know, I really want to lift
and lighten the mood today because by now, if you
have been following the news and you have travel plans
in your immediate future. You know the words government shut
down and they've been splashed across every headline. And yes,
it's having some real world effects on travel, from TSA
(15:07):
staffing to national parks all the way into visa processing.
So we know all of that's happening. We know all
of that is being affected, if you will. But today's
show is not about panic, Chris. It's about possibilities, okay.
So I want to make sure that the listeners today
do not feel heavy or like this is a dark show.
(15:31):
It is not. This is about sort of pulling the
curtain back and letting you see what happens behind those
curtains a little bit. We're calling this episode, as Chris said, today,
keep calm and travel on, and this is all about
how the industry and travelers are really rising above this shutdown. Okay.
So because even when challenges appear, this incredible resilient industry
(15:56):
that I'm so proud to be a part of, and
all of you who to explore find a way forward.
That's what we do. We are Americans. We find our way,
you know. So I want you to grab your coffee.
This morning. Buckle, your seat belt might get a little
turbulent up here this morning, but we want to look
at those silver linings together today as the three of
(16:19):
us kind of walk you through another one of life's
roller coaster rides. So let's start, Chris and Harry with
the big one, the first one. That's air travel. And yes,
the FAA and TSA are stretched right out to the
limit right now. But here's the story. Not enough people
are telling the system is still working. It is, that's
(16:45):
what it's designed to do. That's what it has done
for many, many years. It will continue to do that.
Air traffic controllers, flight crews, gate agents, TSA officers, they're
all showing up. They're keeping the skuys safe and they're
helping us get where we need to go. That's what
we call resilience. That's fabulous, you know. That's encouraging to
(17:06):
me and really motivating, you know, because it could be
so much worse, but it's not. We've all seen the
images of those long lines at the airport. But here's
the insider perspective. Airlines and airports are collaborating like never before.
When one checkpoint slows down. I've witnessed this teams are
(17:29):
rerouting passengers, shifting gates, communicating in real time, and that
is what cooperation looks like. So we've got a couple
of very key elements that are going into you know,
I think a more positive spin on it this and
that is the resilience that we're seeing and certainly the
cooperation of those who are most first line involved in them.
(17:53):
And for travelers, this is the time to travel smart.
So having said that, I want to share with you
some of my professional travel tips first of all, that
might help guide you a little bit into this holiday
travel this year specially. Here's a few of those pro tips.
(18:13):
First of all, I want you to consider if you
are planning to travel, if you have reservations already, you
might want to consider changing them. There are some waivers
in place, we'll talk about that later, but fly early
in the day. Morning departures are statistically less likely to
be delayed. The second thing is use smaller airports. When
(18:36):
you can avoid these larger airports that we know have
been targeted to downsize their departures and arrivals, it's less
congestion and you get through screening much much faster. Also,
keep your airline app handy and sign up for text alerts.
You want to know what you need to know when
(18:58):
you need to know it earlier, right now is better
than later. This is also we're having a professional travel
advisor makes a world of difference when you book through
the wishing well, You've got somebody watching over your tenerary.
And I'm sorry, I don't mean to brag, but I
think we do a pretty darn good job of that, Harry.
I read some of your emails to your clients that
(19:21):
are going out as soon as this weekend, and I
had to applaud how well you made them feel. That
was confidence, Thanks, Terry.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Yeah, I've been looking at them all night long. I've
woke up during the night and looked just to check in. Remarkably,
the good news. I have found very, very very few problems.
I know I'm luckily in that because other people are
finding problems. But we put people and done things. We
(19:52):
put people on flights, done just the things you're talking about, Terry,
and that is direct flights, avoiding some of the known
problem airports or ingested airports, and that's just things we
do every day, even before this problem case.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, and you know, it's almost like We had a
little prep ground for this when we encountered COVID and
the shutdown that that CAUs. And I don't feel like
this is foreign ground for us right now because we
were really ready and prepared for it. We've been adjusting
if we had to rebooking problem solving all behind the scenes.
(20:28):
So yes, there's pressure in the system, But the bigger
story is this aviation is holding steady because it's surrounded
by people who care.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Yeah, that's true, and I think you mentioned your travel agent. Also,
it's much easier for us to look up adjust look
ahead at flights that are booked by us, because much
like other private information Chris, like medical records, things like that,
airline flight data information is very very private, and not
(21:01):
anybody can look at an airline record. Even if I
know you and say, hey, I know Chris is going
out to see as his uncle or somebody in this city.
I can't call the airline and find out about your flight.
I have to have some proprietary information, and they like
to see our agency's name on that booking record.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah. Interesting, Yeah, I mean is It is an interesting
industry and it's an interesting time, but it is, as
Harry mentioned, a very proprietary type of industry in that
your information is protected. You're the traveler, your information is protected,
and therefore we only can gain access to that if
we've booked it. That's how we gain access and are
(21:42):
able to help you in a time of need. Now
that doesn't say we wouldn't love to try, and I'll
tell you we'll move heaven and earth to help people
sometimes and have when they haven't booked with us, But
it makes it so much easier if we are in
control of that booking. Now, before I move on through
what I brought today to share with folks, I do
(22:03):
want to share some news that came across my desk
early just yesterday, and it's important for anybody flying, especially
this weekend or even next week, because that's the immediate
threat right now or concern. I don't want to use
the word threat. Let me recind that I think it's
better to say this is a concern really not a threat.
(22:24):
But the FAA has now directed every US airline to
reduce flight schedules by ten percent at about forty major
airports nationwide as part of this ongoing shutdown. Now some
of the airports being affected that I want to mention
because they fall within our listening area are Washington Dulles,
(22:46):
Regan National Airport, and Baltimore. I also want to mention too,
that United Airlines released an update just after this information
came with some encouraging details, and they said we're doing
everything possible to minimize the impact to customers. The good
news is that United plans to maintain all long haul
(23:10):
and hub to hub flying, keeping our major connections intact.
Now I want to pause here for just a minute
and explain what long haul is. There are some flights
that go from Washington Dulles to Singapore that's considered a
long haul, and I think the reasons are pretty obvious
(23:30):
as to why that would be. Flights from Washington Dulles
to Rio de Janeiro, that's a long haul. I'm in
one of those mid hall type situations where at the
end of the month, I'm going to be going on
a cruise. My flight's going from Washington Dulles to San
Juan and today I looked that's considered a mid hall flight,
(23:54):
so it falls within that m maybe maybe not, so
you know, I do have some concerns there if this continues,
what may happen there, But I did plan smartly to
go in and meet my crews, which is why I'm
going in the first place, the day before the cruise
takes off. So hopefully I've got at least twenty four
(24:17):
hours to get myself to San Juan, Puerto Rico before
I have another concern on my hands. Now, when we
talk about hub to hub flying, let me mention what
that is. Washington Dulles for United Airlines is a hub city.
That means that's one of their major intersections when it
(24:37):
comes to connecting flights from other regional airports and or
other major cities. So Washington Dulles is a hub, Chicago
is a hub. Denver is a hub. And so for
United Airlines, flights from Washington Dulles to Chicago, Washington Dulles
to Denver, those are probably going to be pretty safe
(25:00):
in this strand scheme.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
In out the West Coast, you get out to San Francisco, La, La,
or two cities, and so they're the airports when you
go through them, they're the ones where you see one
airline you go, Holy smokes, they've got a.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Lot of gates here. That's a hub airport for.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Sure, Yeah, it is. And United went on to say
that they expect to keep operating roughly about four thousand
flights per day. That's pretty darn good focusing any cuts
that they do make on regional routes that might have
backup options available, which is a smart move. It really is.
That protects the most passengers even better, Any United customer
(25:40):
traveling during this period is eligible for full refund that's
even if your ticket was non refundable, and it said
so in the terms and conditions. Your ticket is now
as a result of all of this that's going on,
considered a fully refundable ticket, including the non refundables and
even the basic economy tickets.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
That's pretty generous from the airline.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
It is.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
They have really stepped up. And there's occasions when we
don't have everything nice to say about airlines. This last
week I got to tell you they have stepped up
their game and they are doing everything that you could
expect them to do and more. And we're talking about United.
I'm sure you know Terry means this to apply to
(26:24):
both Delta and America, the three majors and the other
smaller ones too. We don't see as much from them,
but the majors have all stepped up and said this
isn't our problem, but we're part of the solution.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yeah. And so if you're scheduled and I'm focusing right
now on UNANED because I am going to jump over
to American in just a minute, and I'm doing that
focusing on these two airlines, Chris, because they are our
two muscle players in this area. When it comes to
air travel, most often our people are either on United
(26:59):
or American. That's it, because of where we connect from
our regional airports or where people choose to drive to
to fly out. So I want to actually focus what
I'm doing today on those two airlines. There's also Delta
and they have come out with their own marginal you know,
(27:21):
cooperation in that as well. But if you're scheduled to
fly United between now and mid November, you should probably
keep a close eye on your United app, jetstream and
any Advisor updates that you get from your travel provider.
Certainly the wishing Well is doing a good job of that.
I mentioned the emails that I saw Harry had sent
(27:43):
out to his clients. Then those are going to include
some real time flight adjustments and travel waivers because that's
what we have right now, And what is a waiver?
People are going, they're listening to me this morning with
that coffee going, Is that something I need to put
in my coffee? Do I need to take a pill
for that now? So guide to sign the tarmac way
way out. No, it's not that either. A waiver is
(28:05):
a code, and it is a code that is given,
but you can think of it as a secret code
really if you want to. It's a code that's applied
the airlines apply this for anybody who now wants to
refund their ticket, and in order for you to have
the permission to refund that ticket, that waiver code is
(28:26):
exactly that. It's your permission that says I will not
get penalized and I will get my money back. That's
what a waivercode is, and they're important. They're important. Without
those on a refund, your request could be rejected when
it's a non refundable ticket.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
And those waivercodes are not something that travelers have to
worry about. Those are things that the agents worry about.
So if you're listening today, don't go looking for that
waivercode because, as Terry said, it's kind of secret, so
you probably won't find it. Yeah, it's something that we
have that allow us to over allows us to override
the restrictions on your ticket.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yeah, and I think, actually, from my perspective, that's a
perfect example of an airline leaning in, protecting its travelers,
our travelers, our customers, communicating clearly, and maintaining confidence in
the system. Because that's what we have right now to
go by, is how the airlines are going to react
(29:26):
to this. They could have reacted very badly, and they
could have dug their heels in and really not budged.
You know, that's the right, that's the prerogative. They're a business,
and that's how businesses operate, right They either do give
your money back or they don't. Now, don't tell me, Chris,
you haven't been in situations where businesses made bad decisions.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Probably more so than less. I was just going to say,
good businesses, though, know that sometimes you have to say
step up.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
This was not the airlines doing I mean, they're victims
as the rest of us are. Right now. We can
blame others, and who you choose to blame, that's yours.
It's not for this program. But the airlines have stepped
up and done exactly more than what we would expected.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
We talk about travel insurance a lot here on a
Life Less Ordinary. Is this something that if the airline
wouldn't have stepped up in the way they did, that
travel insurance would would help protect me?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Not necessarily government interventions acts of God. Sometimes those are
actually not covered by travel protection insurance. And let's just
face it, Chris, if you've bought a non refundable ticket,
you know it, and those are the terms and conditions
you agreed to when you bought that ticket.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
So no, if I know that when I buy the ticket,
if I haven't gone through through an agency.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Life probably not. I mean, those are things that people
sometimes just blindly go, you know, when you're clicking through
the screen clicking you go yeah, yeah, yeah, I know
if I want to buy this, I have to just
say yes to everything, so I'm going to say yes.
They don't really read the details. So that's an important question.
I'm glad you asked it, because some people do buy
insurance on their tickets, but this is one of the
(31:08):
situations where your insurance may not actually help you.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
It's probably one of the reasons the airline is stepped
up in the way they.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Have and I'm glad they did. I mean, again to
Harry's point, I want to actually also mention Americans stand
on this. I said I would per the FAA requirements.
Americans said they have also reduced their flight schedules by
only four percent. They're not complying with the ten percent requirement.
They are only cutting back four percent. I'll let them
(31:38):
deal with whoever they have to over that. But at
forty airports still Friday through Monday, amounting to about two
hundred and twenty flights canceled each day. Even with those cancelations,
American says, we plan to operate around six thousand daily flights.
United remember said four thousand, Americans got six. We're continuing
(32:00):
to communicate with impacted customers, they say. We encourage everybody
to check their flight status on AA dot com or
their mobile app. They say, this disrupting customer plans is
the last thing we want to do. And I believe that.
And we have issued also travel waivers for to protect customers,
(32:20):
to provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period. Customers
whose flights are canceled for any reason or who choose
not to travel. You see, we have that caveat in
this now too, which is a very new nuance to
these travel waivers. You choose, you go. I don't feel comfortable.
(32:40):
I don't know if I'm going to get to the
airport and my flight's going to go. American and United
both are saying if you choose just not to travel,
you're going to be able to change your flight or
request a refund without penalty. You.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Yeah, that's for you one year. That's a lot of flux.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Yeah. So you know, I love that we're seeing this
cooperation again, the leaning in from the airlines. I think
all that's greatly, greatly important. And as a reminder, friends,
this isn't about canceled vacations. It's about coordinated efficiencies. That's
why we're here today on a lifeless ordinary, to let
(33:22):
you know what your possibilities are, not what the tragedy
is and all of this in there. You know, there
may be some but I'm confident that if you're working
with good professionals in this industry, all will not be lost.
I really do believe that.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah. I like in this whole incident too, when you
look at the weather for a couple of days ahead
and you look and you see, hey, it might rain.
Guess what you're going to carry an umbrella, you might
carry a poncho with you. What Terry's saying to everybody today,
I think is that you know, this is a situation
that's real, So go out there with a little bit
of planning, pre planning and caution and good judgment. We're
(34:01):
going to get through this together.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
So yeah, problem Yeah, and Hearry By tightening these schedules now,
the airlines are helping keep the network safe and reliable
as we head in to the busy holiday travel season.
So again, everybody, take a deep breath, stay connected through
your professional travel advisors, and remember the sky is still open.
(34:24):
That's why we're here. That's what we're telling you. That's
the message today. Our show today is keep calm and
travel on. We've spent the first few minutes of our
show today talking about how you can still fly in
a calm manner even with the reduced flights that the
(34:45):
FAA is asking. I just want to review these pointers
that Terry gave at the beginning of the segment. Change
your plans if you can fly in the morning, because
there's less of a chance of your flight getting to
later canceled fly out as smaller airports. Use your airline
app and make sure you turn on your text alerts
and the most important one on here, use a travel advisor. Yeah,
(35:06):
I feel like Sally feels right now? You like me, Chris?
Do you really like me? You listen to everything I
said and you are absolutely right. Yes.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
We are going to continue this conversation after we take
a quick break right here on the Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Let the wishing Wells experts help. We
offer fee free travel planning with built in expertise. Listeners
voted us Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab
on our website though Wishingwell dot biz, or let us
create a trip just for you. Stop by two forty
three nef Avenue, visit us at the Wishingwell dot biz,
(35:40):
or call us at five four zero nine zero eights
two three three three five four zero nine zero eights
two three three three.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Hey, welcome back to a Lifeless Ordinary. Every Saturday morning,
we talk travel. This is your travel show and podcast
from your friends at the wishing Well. That would be
Terry Dean and Harry Rich and they would love to
talk five four h nine oh eight twenty three thirty three.
You can find them on f Avenue in Harrisonburg. Are
online at the Wishingwell dot biz. Our show today is
(36:10):
called Keep Calm and Travel On and Terry. Before it
went to break, we talked about those tips that you
gave about changing your plans. Try to fly in the
morning if possible, fly out of a smaller airport, use
the app, and turn on your text alerts, and use
a travel advisor. But what happens if you've done all
(36:30):
that and it's still goes south. Yeah, we can still
keep a positive spin on this. There are still ways
to have a great vacation, great travel.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
There are always options, and that's a great thing about
a resilient travel industry. Options are everywhere. So you know,
I've always believed Chris that a great traveler isn't really
defined about how far they go, but it's it's by
how well they handle the unexpected. That's a great traveler.
If you can do that, and you do it well,
(37:00):
you've been around a while. You know, this season, maybe
just maybe a little flexibility is going to go a
long way. Maybe that means kind of adding a buffer
day or you might want to choose destinations that are
easier to reach if delays do pop up. And flexibility
doesn't mean giving up luxury. That's not at all what
(37:20):
I want to imply. It means traveling intelligently. Now, many
of our luxury branded vendors are actually extending what they
call peace of mind policies, and I love that they're
allowing easy rebooking or cancelations. That's because they want you
to keep traveling, and they're stepping it up and they're
(37:41):
making that happen. So if you've been booking on your own,
if you're one of those people who've been doing that
and you're you know, you think you're pretty good at it,
this might be one of those times to reconsider connecting
with a travel professional. This is not some situation that
you want to try to handle without some level of expertise.
(38:02):
I would say that quite confidently because I've been in
it now for forty nine years, and I can tell
you there are some things like this that are even
challenging to me because you don't know, this is unprecedented.
This is not something we've been through before, except COVID's
that's kind of our closest equation to what we see
(38:24):
going on right now. So here's another silver lining. When
the big picture gets bumpy, you can always rediscover the
treasures right next to home. You know. That's another thing
that you can do. While some national parks are partially closed,
America's smaller destinations, our boutique inns, state parks, small town theaters,
(38:48):
really many of the very destinations and travel interests that
we've focused on Chris right here on a Life Less Ordinary,
they're all waiting for you out there, so you don't
have to necessarily maybe take that big trip you were planning,
especially if your travel plans are challenged by what's going on.
Pick something else, do something else. It may not be
(39:11):
what you wanted to do, but there's so many things
that we've covered here in a Lifeless Ordinary, I can
promise you would be just as good.
Speaker 3 (39:20):
Yeah, if you have that extra day, you might choose
a destination that is far enough that you'd like to
fly to and plan to fly to. But if that
falls through, it's still drivable and you have that extra
day before you get there, so you can still have
a wonderful vacation and not miss a beat.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Yeah, I mean, right here in Virginia. The Chandel Valley
is actually just glowing this season. You've got local farms,
craft breweries, cozy ins. Those communities are open for business
and they are deeply grateful for visitors, especially this time
of year. They welcome them in some of the most
beautiful and luxurious properties like this. It's Salamander in Middleburg, Virginia.
(40:02):
A fabulous property. One of our virtuoso properties, the Lodge
at Primland in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. Bet not too
many people have heard about that. It's going to be
a property that we're going to be covering a great
deal in the future on a lifeless ordinary. But it's
a beautiful property that's p R I M L A
(40:22):
N D in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. Or even good Lord,
the Williamsburg n in beautiful historic Williamsburg, Virginia. So instead
of canceling, I would suggest that you pivot. You know
that's going to take the sting out of whatever happens.
Take that weekend road trip, book a few nights in
Charlottesville at the Keswick Inn, or in Ashville. Harry was
(40:44):
just there near the extraordinary builtmore and watch how good
it feels to invest in some of those local experiences
and those closest to home. Sometimes the best detour leads
to the best discovery. That's just the way it happens,
and nothing has to be so perfect that you can't pivot. Now,
(41:07):
another thing that I want to talk about is how
you can stay calm in the middle of this storm.
I want to take a minute to recognize the people
that are actually keeping this industry steady, and those are
the great group of travel advisors, some of my peers
that I know and can appreciate that they're going through
the same things that we are at the Wishing Well,
(41:30):
tour managers and hospitality teams, really everywhere. I mean, they've
dealt with this, what not even five short years ago
when we did have a total shutdown of everything. But
here we go again, kind of walking into some familiar
territory that is sort of like an unwelcome house guest.
(41:50):
You know, you really aren't looking forward to them coming,
but you get through it. That's really what we do.
And during times like these though, these industry experts, their
expertise really shines. They're the ones kind of monitoring waivers,
like we talked about before, they're adjusting the schedules, holding
every client's hand through this process. And that's the heart
(42:13):
of this business, which is the human connection. We talked
about resilience, we talked about collaboration. This is about the
human connection to this. So my colleagues and partners out there,
I want to say, if you're listening to us, thank
you for all you do. And to our listeners. If
you've got a trip booked through a professional, you've got
an advocate on your side, somebody who's going to be
(42:35):
there three steps ahead of you, I hope, and helping
walk you through the most challenging and difficult issues that
you might have. Every challenge brings growth. I mean we
saw that during COVID, Good Lord, some things emerged from
COVID that I don't think we saw coming. Smarter technology,
(42:56):
flexible booking systems, clear communication, and let's not forget AI.
That all came as a result of this shutdown that
we had before. I think Zoom became a part of
everybody's jargon after COVID happened. Everybody was talking about Zoom
(43:18):
or teams, meetings or everything like that. So this is
how the next generation of travel is going to look.
Travelers are becoming more intentional, the focus to shifting from
checklists to connections. We're becoming more purposeful, informed, and resilient.
So now, what does this mean exactly for the holidays ahead?
(43:42):
You know, it's like, well, that's great, Terry, You're real
positive and wants to all, you know, have that Kumbaya
spirit about all of this. But I'm the one traveling
over the holidays. What about that? Well? As we look
forward to this holiday season, one of the busiest travel
periods of the entire year, a lot of folks are
wandering what is this going to mean and how it
(44:04):
might affect their Thanksgiving or their December travel plans. We're
hoping it doesn't go that long, but it could. The
honest answer is there will be adjustments, but they're being
handled with a remarkable amount of foresight and coordination. And remember,
the airlines knew this was coming. This did not hit
(44:24):
them out a left field like COVID did. We saw
this coming. We knew that if this shutdown continued there
would be some adjustments made, and they've already built in smarter,
leaner schedules even before they announced that they would draw
these back to preserve the most important parts of their network,
and that means again those long haul and hub to
(44:46):
hub routes are being protected to keep travelers connected across
the country and around the world. Regional flights might see
minors schedule trims, but that's to prevent these ripple delays later.
That's a proactive step, not a panic move, and I
just want to point that out and make sure we're
clear about that. Again, that's a proactive step, not a
(45:09):
panic move. And most importantly, airlines have broadened their flexibility policies.
If your itinerary changes, you're going to have options. You
can rebook, reroute, refund and right now with no penalty
at all. And I'll tell you from an advisor's standpoint,
that's what we like to see, the predictable adjustments communicated
(45:30):
clearly and with the traveler's best interest at heart. Now,
what can you do if you're planning a holiday getaway?
I want you to know that one of the best
first steps you can take is to confirm your flights
and reconfirm them. So confirm them early and reconfirm them.
Keep an eye on your Airlines app for any updates. Chris,
(45:53):
thank you for mentioning those again and again for our
listening audience as reminders build in a little extra time.
If you do have a connection, those extra forty five
minutes could save you a lot of stress. So instead,
right now, if you're booking flights and you really haven't
booked for the holidays yet, instead of that forty five
minute connection, you might want to opt for maybe a
(46:15):
two hour one. That might be a smarter move for you.
If you have to change planes, consider travel insurance or
refundable fares. We talked about that, and that's when weather
can also add its own set of surprises, So you
want to make sure that you do have travel insurance. Again,
it may not assist during times like government shutdown.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
I say, as you're talking about all of these little tips,
I'm thinking this would be great advice even if we
didn't have the shutdown and the reduced place. Yeah, I've
been on enough of those connecting your running through the
airport to get from one to the other. I wish
I would have had two hours in between you exactly,
(46:59):
exactly great advice.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Yeah, because there's also something written into most insurance policies
that talk about trip delay, not just cancelation, but trip delay.
So let's just say you are at your connecting flight.
You know, I'm going to pick like Atlanta or Charlotte
or someplace like that, and you built in a two
hour lay over time, but then you find out sadly
(47:24):
that that flight's not going to go. You're going to
be till the next day making that flight out. Your
insurance may help you for your overnight expenses, food, rental cars,
anything like that that occurs as a result of that
trip delay. You may be entitled to some compensation.
Speaker 1 (47:44):
And here are two.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Things that we talk to travelers about all the time
that I think are worth mentioning on the air also, Chris,
and that is, you know, be sure you're at the
airport early. The rules are the rules. They say two
hours for domestic flight, three hours for international. This week,
I've started advising my people put a little more on that.
Arrive at the airport three hours early for your domestic
(48:06):
flight if you can, because the lines may be a
little bit longer, there may be some adjustments going on
in there, so give yourself that extra time also so
that you can kind of, as Terry's talking about, you know,
be adaptable as things change. And the second thing we
advise people about is making sure that you have things
(48:29):
in case you get delayed, like Terry talked about, because
of a flight change or delay whatever. In case that
happens to you, make sure that you've got the essential
things that you need, and the big things that people
need are their medicines. Carry your medications with you. It's
okay in your carry on bag, maybe to have a
(48:49):
you know, a toothbrush, and you know, maybe a change
of undergarments, if not a full outfit.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
But be prepared.
Speaker 3 (48:56):
And again, like I said earlier, as you're preparing for rain,
you're going to carry in them. You're preparing for some uncertainties.
So take those extra precautions to make sure that if
something happens with your trip, you're not going to be
inconvenience very much. They might get you a place to stay.
It'd be nice to have a fresh toothbrush, it'd be
nice to have a fresh change of clothes, and it'd
(49:17):
certainly be necessary to have your medicine with you.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
And I'll tell you by now if you haven't gotten
the message. If you are booking flights, please book through
a travel professional. That's most important. And during times like
this that are challenging, you want to stay connected with
your travel advisor. We've got certainly, as we said, the
most current waivers. We can often make adjustments and split
(49:41):
decisions on your behalf before they even hit your inbox.
So while the headlines might sound a little dramatic right now,
the reality is the travel industry has learned from its
past disruptions. We're seeing proactive communications, stronger technology, much more
transparency than in years past. And this isn't a time
(50:04):
to cancel your plans. It's simply a time to travel
with intention and preparation. That's important. And in the big picture,
there's something all smart travelers already know how to do,
and that is practice all of these things that we're
talking about. So go ahead, plan that Thanksgiving reunion, that
(50:24):
Christmas market getaway, or that warm weather escape the skies
might be a little busier and the schedules a little
bit tighter, but travel itself is still very much open
for business. And I want to say, for joy, I
like that song Joy to the World. I think that's
something that we should all be kind of, that should
(50:45):
be kind of in the front of our mind, and
the forefront of what we're thinking about today is that
how can I do this and do it joyfully, because
worrying about it is not going to change a thing.
We've got people in place that we hope are going
to do that.
Speaker 3 (50:58):
And one of the things that is not been compromised
that I've not heard any words about compromise on, and
that is safety. So travel, if you're worried about it,
I think it remains at least as safe as ever
because people are very very cognizant of that right now.
And these changes that we're talking about are changes that
were made to preserve that level of safety that's out there.
(51:22):
Travels an adventure and if you want to have a
great adventure, you know, you got to be flexible, you
got to be adaptable. And that's really been the theme
of everything that we've been talking about this morning. I
think that travel is always fun. I just experienced a
week's worth of it. Whether you're traveling down the roads,
(51:42):
or you're traveling through the sky, or you're combining those together.
It's all about the attitude, and Terry, that's what you've
been talking about all morning long.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
Yeah, I mean people often when they travel, especially when
they have upcoming travel arrangements, they get anxious. I mean,
certainly a time when people are feeling some anxiousness just
because of that anyway, And what I would say to
you is, don't panic. You know, help is right around
(52:11):
the bind. I mean, we're here. They're airline industry employees
who are feeling your pain as well as their own
during some of this time. So bring your patients, I
would say, pack a good dose of that with you
along with your medications.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
I love that you're giving us all these pointers because
for travel, for me, and I'm not I'm always flying
for work. I very rarely fly for pleasure or for
vacation or anything like that. It's so stressful. It's always
like I've got to be here at a certain time.
I can't miss this, I can't forget this. And if
(52:50):
I would just take some of this advice and slow down,
and you know, just think it through a little bit,
and number one, talk to someone like you that is
going to be help to hold my hand through the
whole process. Yeah, this would be so much easier for
those of us who just panic during Yeah, for air travel,
(53:12):
just getting in the car doesn't scare me, but there's
so many things you got to remember to do and
don't forget this.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
Yeah, and The big message from today's show is airlines
are adapting, advisors are guiding. We're here at the wishing Well.
We want to help you. We want to take this
and make it a lifeless ordinary. We want to have
you reach out to us. We're easy to find. We're
located in Harsoonburg, Virginia at two forty three nef Avenue.
(53:38):
You can call us of course at five four oh
nine oh eight two three three three, or look us
up on the web. We are at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:47):
This has been a life less ordinary. The travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Hairsburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well dopiz five four oh
nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past episodes are
available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see again next
Saturday morning at ten for a Lifeless Ordinary from the
(54:10):
wishing Well
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel show and
podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well two forty
three f avenue in Harsmert and online at the wishing
Well dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcasts hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:21):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean and say hello, Chris.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
How in the world are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
You know what, I'm as good today as I've ever been.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It's good. It's good. You got a lot to look
forward to.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah, I'm on vacation here start next weeks. I'm gonna
I'm not doing anything.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I'm going to love it when people talk about vacations.
That's my life.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
I wish my vacation involved contacting you a few months
ago to set up something. I had so much vacation
time I had to use that. I am planning on
sitting on the couch for a week.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You know what, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah, no, I'm I'm excited and we're doing a little
bit of work around the house and awesome. It's fun
to see the progressions of that. And I told my
wife that I might decorate that us for Christmas next week.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So wow, awesome.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I've always been an early decorator. I like to put
the decorations up sometime around.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Like enjoy them. Yeah, they're so pretty. You know, it
changes our whole perspective, our mood and everything. And Lord
knows we need that right now, don't we.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, how was your week?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
You know, it was eventful in a good way. Well,
you know, the travel industry right now, which is you know,
something that we're going to dive into in a big
way today on today's show. But it was, it was
you know, it included a lot of challenges.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, say, there's a lot going on right now with
everything involving travel. We'll get into that.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, but the fun part is Harry and I And
by the way, Hi, Harry, Hey, how are you guys
doing it? We are maintaining positivity? Yeah, you know, he
came in with the positive it's good to see you. Well,
it's good to see you too. You're talking about Christmas lights.
I had a different approach, Chris. Okay, I spent this
last week with some of our favorite travelers. We were
(02:16):
down at the Biltmore to see the first week that
they turned on the Christmas lights.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yes, you probably don't have a thirty five foot tall
for tree, you know what.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
You're talking about. I have been one of the one
of the upgrades that we're doing around the house. I
have begged my wife. I said, I want to plant
a pine tree in the side yard so over through
the years we can decorate it for Christmas. I'm talking
nice in your dining what you're talking about here. I
(02:43):
am not one of the Biltmore's.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
They were.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
It's family.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, that's part of his family. It was very
beautiful and we had a great time and it was
a really nice way to see Christmas lights without doing
any work except shuffling your feet down the hallway.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It's kind of gets get you in a great mood.
And I will say today, because of the topic on
today's show, Chris, We're going to forego the news, because
really the whole show is the news. Honestly, we are
going to discuss how this shutdown, the government shutdown is
affecting air travel. So I wanted to devote a good
(03:25):
bit of time to that and just take the sting
out of that particular topic and maybe try and rewrite
the ship of misunderstood things that people don't know that
are happening, and that kind of thing. So what we
did bring along in our little toolbox is our good
friend Harry over across from me has brought in some
(03:48):
good sales. I think, oh.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Yeah, we've been deluged with previews about Good Friday. Good
Friday isn't for what a few weeks yet, Black Friday,
Black Friday. Yeah, I'm sorry, not Good Friday.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Black Friday.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
It's a good Friday too.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
You can see how happy I was to see the
Christmas lights Good Fridays on my mind. But Black Friday
is coming up in a couple weeks, and we've been
receiving lots and lots of emails previewing some of the sales,
and I wanted to share some of that with you
and the listeners this morning if I can. Chris, absolutely,
and they range from one kind of trip to another,
and I want to start off with some of the
(04:24):
most requested trips that we get, and that is to
the national parks we have. Some of our travel companies
are reducing fares on tours to places like yosemitee Lake
Tahoe by up to four hundred and fifty dollars a person.
That's like a fifteen to twenty five percent reduction. If
(04:45):
you want to stay in the United States, you want
to get over the pond and go over and visit Devon, Cornwall.
You want to see Italy, you want to see Portugal, Britain, Ireland,
I'm seeing Spain, even one that has five national parks
that's got a special for this coming year, so we'll
be seeing those as part of our Black Friday specials.
(05:07):
And those are always very, very exciting because those are
great trips. You can stay in the country or you
can leave the country.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
And I think it's important Harry to make note with
folks that please don't think you have to wait until
Black Friday to book these deals. You do not. Many
of them, especially the ones that Harry's going to share
with you, are starting in many cases and have started immediately.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, they have. And one of the advantages of being
a travel agent or having a great travel agent is
we already have those, as you said, and they'll be
going out to the general public. You'll see them on
the air while you're watching the Macy's parades and things
like that over Thanksgiving. But what about thinking about those
now and making decisions and getting first DIBs on the
best deals. Besides those deals, there are also some great
(05:54):
deals from our friends at the cruise lines. One of
the cruise lines we talk about a lot is Holland America.
We like them a lot. They are previewing a thirty
percent off sale for us. We're talking about thirty percent
off of fares, which is significant savings, free pre pre
prepaid gratuities and if you want to take the kids,
(06:17):
not that you gotta, but if you want to free
fares for guests number three and four sharing a room.
And they're also reducing deposits because they know you've got
to spend some of your money on Black Friday, so
they're only taking fifty percent deposits plus giving you all
those deals. How's that for a nice enticement?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Pretty good?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
And they're not alone. We're hearing from many of the
cruise lines. Our friends at Celebrity they've got some deals
that are available to us now going through the beginning
of December, talking about seventy five percent off for the
second guest and bonuses up to seven hundred dollars if
(06:57):
you early book through a travel agent like us. Those
are good through only the beginning of next week. So
if you're interested in those kinds of specials, please please
please give us a call on Monday. These are for
sailings going all the way into this. Amaze me, Terry.
Can you believe this May of twenty twenty eight? Oh wow,
that is a long time ahead. That's our friends at Celebrity,
(07:20):
Our friends at Norwegian have some great specials out there now,
fifty percent off most every cruise, and they're doing their
free at sea, which is their gratuities, their adult beverage
package and meals and Wi Fi. So they're offering that free.
That's like two thousand dollars of value if you look
at a seven or ten day cruise, Chris, that's a
(07:41):
lot that they're giving away for free. You also hear
us talk about Oceania. They've got some fifty percent off
deals again going into twenty twenty seven sailings. And this
is unprecedent. I'm not used to seeing this, Terry. Are
you going that far ahead that they just want to.
It's gotten very competitive and guess who the winners are.
(08:03):
They're the travelers. And then lastly, our friends at Royal Caribbean.
They're doing some thousand dollars off fares and on other
ones they're doing fifty percent off. And they too are
offering third and fourth guests sailing in the same cabin.
I always think of kids, but maybe you want to
bring your brother and sister in law or somebody else.
(08:24):
But if you can stand four people in a cabin,
those people can sail for free. That's a heck of
a deal.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And I actually saw on that same announcement I think
Harry with Royal Caribbean that they are going to have, Chris,
this is one for your ears. They are going to
have cruises beginning at two hundred and forty nine dollars
per person.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Wow. Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
To where Caribbean, most likely in Bahamas.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Two hundred and forty nine dollars. We go, right right,
and that's clear.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Next weeking your food, you were to sit on the
ca out, yeah, look about wife to help.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I'm going to the Gribbia.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Yeah, no, you can third and fourth guests Chris, this
can be a party. And that's a nice thing about
a cruise line. You don't have to make your bed.
They do that for every day. You don't have to
cook food, you don't have to clean dishes, you don't
have to do anything at all. Just show up.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, we talked. While we talked about river Cruises, we
talked about our friends at Uni World. They've got a
twelve Day of Christmas event. I can't give you all
the details right now because of time, but that twelve
Day of Christmas event is actually going to start on
Black Friday. We're going to get some previews on that too,
and they don't have different things each day on that one,
so that's really exciting. And they're doing some really exciting things.
(09:43):
I hear from a little Christmas mouth with single supplements,
so that will be really great. Are the friends to
other ones I want to mention real quickly, and that
is our friends at Canard. They've got fairs on Canard.
Canard is a very luxurious line starting at eight hundred
and ninety nine dollars.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
That's a real deal for those of you who love
the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, the historic really the mega
ships known for the Royal Crown. Those are great ships and.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
They're they've reduced their deposits also, they've cut them by
fifty percent and these are for voyages again through April
of twenty twenty seven. That that offer is going to
be good all month of November and into the first
week of December. They've also got you mentioned the high
end the Queen Elizabeth. They've offered some really nice deals
(10:39):
for people that are doing what they call their grill swite,
so interested in that let us know. Lastly, I wanted
to mention our friends at Regent we like them a lot.
Another luxurious cruise line. They have a whole set of
single supplements, so if you're a single traveler, they've got
a single supplement reduction out there to zero. That means
(10:59):
you pay nothing extra to travel as a single on
certain cruises. Some of the ones I picked out were
Lisbon to Miami Athens round trip, a seven night cruise
in Vancouver to Whittier so you can go to Alaska
as a single.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
That's huge, friends, when you don't pay any supplement for
being a solo traveler, as big as solo travel is today,
that means you pay half of what that cabin is
and that's it, which is wonderful.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Yeah, so those are the ones I ran through a
whole lot. I'm sorry if I took it too long time.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Okay, you know, Harry, I remember a day in this
industry when Black Friday deals, especially for the travel industry,
were really just on Black Friday, that's when they happened,
and you had only that day to book something. Well,
I can remember being a travel agent on that day
(11:54):
and being in the office and not being able to
leave until eight or nine o'clock that night because everybody
wanted in on those deals and we only had a
finite number of hours in the day in which to
book them. I am so happy that these deals now
start now and run through many of them the first
week of December. That's great.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Yeah, it's really nice. It's like Amazon Prime Day. It's
not just a day anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
So if you'd like to take advantage of any of
those deals, you can give Harry or Terry a call
at the Wishing Well five four oh nine oh eight
twenty three point thirty three, So stop by and see
them there on nef Avenue in Harrisonburg and online at
the wishing Well dot biz our show today, Terry, Yes,
we alluded to this at the beginning of our show.
(12:41):
We're going to be talking about how the government shutdown
is affecting travel air travel specifically, and how important it
is for you to keep calm and travel on it is.
That's the name of our show and we'll get into
it next year. On a Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Let the wishing Wells experts help. We
offer fee free travel planning with built in expertise. Listeners
voted us Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab
on our website though Wishingwell dot biz, or.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Let us create a trip just for you.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Stop by two forty three nef Avenue, visit us at
the Wishingwell dot biz or call us at five four
zero nine zero eight two three three three five four
zero nine zero eight two three three three.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And welcome back to a life less Ordinary. Every Saturday
we sit down and we talk about travel, and our
friends Terry, Dean and Harry right from the wishing Well
are back again this Saturday, and Terry, before we went
to break, we mentioned the government's shutdown and how that's
affecting air travel, and I have seen lots of news
about it, and I'm sure that there's a lot of
(13:48):
information getting spread around that's not accurate, and so we
are dedicating our entire show today to getting the correct
information out and letting you know that you can stay home,
keep calm, and travel on.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
That's right. Think that that's the main thing that.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
The British always have everywhere.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeap. And you know, we we mentioned earlier before Harry
took us right into sales today that we were going
to forego the news portion of our show today here
on a lifeless ordinary because there's a great deal of
information that I know people are very anxious about regarding
travel right now, especially because we're right here on top
of the holidays and there's a lot going on. As
(14:29):
to your point, Chris, that is accurate, some that's not
so accurate. So I think, you know, not to say
we're the end all be all when it comes to
news of this caliber, but we certainly have vetted the.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
News and we appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah. And also, you know, I really want to lift
and lighten the mood today because by now, if you
have been following the news and you have travel plans
in your immediate future. You know the words government shut
down and they've been splashed across every headline. And yes,
it's having some real world effects on travel, from TSA
(15:07):
staffing to national parks all the way into visa processing.
So we know all of that's happening. We know all
of that is being affected, if you will. But today's
show is not about panic, Chris. It's about possibilities, okay.
So I want to make sure that the listeners today
do not feel heavy or like this is a dark show.
(15:31):
It is not. This is about sort of pulling the
curtain back and letting you see what happens behind those
curtains a little bit. We're calling this episode, as Chris said, today,
keep calm and travel on, and this is all about
how the industry and travelers are really rising above this shutdown. Okay.
So because even when challenges appear, this incredible resilient industry
(15:56):
that I'm so proud to be a part of, and
all of you who to explore find a way forward.
That's what we do. We are Americans. We find our way,
you know. So I want you to grab your coffee.
This morning. Buckle, your seat belt might get a little
turbulent up here this morning, but we want to look
at those silver linings together today as the three of
(16:19):
us kind of walk you through another one of life's
roller coaster rides. So let's start, Chris and Harry with
the big one, the first one. That's air travel. And yes,
the FAA and TSA are stretched right out to the
limit right now. But here's the story. Not enough people
are telling the system is still working. It is, that's
(16:45):
what it's designed to do. That's what it has done
for many, many years. It will continue to do that.
Air traffic controllers, flight crews, gate agents, TSA officers, they're
all showing up. They're keeping the skuys safe and they're
helping us get where we need to go. That's what
we call resilience. That's fabulous, you know. That's encouraging to
(17:06):
me and really motivating, you know, because it could be
so much worse, but it's not. We've all seen the
images of those long lines at the airport. But here's
the insider perspective. Airlines and airports are collaborating like never before.
When one checkpoint slows down. I've witnessed this teams are
(17:29):
rerouting passengers, shifting gates, communicating in real time, and that
is what cooperation looks like. So we've got a couple
of very key elements that are going into you know,
I think a more positive spin on it this and
that is the resilience that we're seeing and certainly the
cooperation of those who are most first line involved in them.
(17:53):
And for travelers, this is the time to travel smart.
So having said that, I want to share with you
some of my professional travel tips first of all, that
might help guide you a little bit into this holiday
travel this year specially. Here's a few of those pro tips.
(18:13):
First of all, I want you to consider if you
are planning to travel, if you have reservations already, you
might want to consider changing them. There are some waivers
in place, we'll talk about that later, but fly early
in the day. Morning departures are statistically less likely to
be delayed. The second thing is use smaller airports. When
(18:36):
you can avoid these larger airports that we know have
been targeted to downsize their departures and arrivals, it's less
congestion and you get through screening much much faster. Also,
keep your airline app handy and sign up for text alerts.
You want to know what you need to know when
(18:58):
you need to know it earlier, right now is better
than later. This is also we're having a professional travel
advisor makes a world of difference when you book through
the wishing well, You've got somebody watching over your tenerary.
And I'm sorry, I don't mean to brag, but I
think we do a pretty darn good job of that, Harry.
I read some of your emails to your clients that
(19:21):
are going out as soon as this weekend, and I
had to applaud how well you made them feel. That
was confidence, Thanks, Terry.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Yeah, I've been looking at them all night long. I've
woke up during the night and looked just to check in. Remarkably,
the good news. I have found very, very very few problems.
I know I'm luckily in that because other people are
finding problems. But we put people and done things. We
(19:52):
put people on flights, done just the things you're talking about, Terry,
and that is direct flights, avoiding some of the known
problem airports or ingested airports, and that's just things we
do every day, even before this problem case.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, and you know, it's almost like We had a
little prep ground for this when we encountered COVID and
the shutdown that that CAUs. And I don't feel like
this is foreign ground for us right now because we
were really ready and prepared for it. We've been adjusting
if we had to rebooking problem solving all behind the scenes.
(20:28):
So yes, there's pressure in the system, But the bigger
story is this aviation is holding steady because it's surrounded
by people who care.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Yeah, that's true, and I think you mentioned your travel agent. Also,
it's much easier for us to look up adjust look
ahead at flights that are booked by us, because much
like other private information Chris, like medical records, things like that,
airline flight data information is very very private, and not
(21:01):
anybody can look at an airline record. Even if I
know you and say, hey, I know Chris is going
out to see as his uncle or somebody in this city.
I can't call the airline and find out about your flight.
I have to have some proprietary information, and they like
to see our agency's name on that booking record.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah. Interesting, Yeah, I mean is It is an interesting
industry and it's an interesting time, but it is, as
Harry mentioned, a very proprietary type of industry in that
your information is protected. You're the traveler, your information is protected,
and therefore we only can gain access to that if
we've booked it. That's how we gain access and are
(21:42):
able to help you in a time of need. Now
that doesn't say we wouldn't love to try, and I'll
tell you we'll move heaven and earth to help people
sometimes and have when they haven't booked with us, But
it makes it so much easier if we are in
control of that booking. Now, before I move on through
what I brought today to share with folks, I do
(22:03):
want to share some news that came across my desk
early just yesterday, and it's important for anybody flying, especially
this weekend or even next week, because that's the immediate
threat right now or concern. I don't want to use
the word threat. Let me recind that I think it's
better to say this is a concern really not a threat.
(22:24):
But the FAA has now directed every US airline to
reduce flight schedules by ten percent at about forty major
airports nationwide as part of this ongoing shutdown. Now some
of the airports being affected that I want to mention
because they fall within our listening area are Washington Dulles,
(22:46):
Regan National Airport, and Baltimore. I also want to mention too,
that United Airlines released an update just after this information
came with some encouraging details, and they said we're doing
everything possible to minimize the impact to customers. The good
news is that United plans to maintain all long haul
(23:10):
and hub to hub flying, keeping our major connections intact.
Now I want to pause here for just a minute
and explain what long haul is. There are some flights
that go from Washington Dulles to Singapore that's considered a
long haul, and I think the reasons are pretty obvious
(23:30):
as to why that would be. Flights from Washington Dulles
to Rio de Janeiro, that's a long haul. I'm in
one of those mid hall type situations where at the
end of the month, I'm going to be going on
a cruise. My flight's going from Washington Dulles to San
Juan and today I looked that's considered a mid hall flight,
(23:54):
so it falls within that m maybe maybe not, so
you know, I do have some concerns there if this continues,
what may happen there, But I did plan smartly to
go in and meet my crews, which is why I'm
going in the first place, the day before the cruise
takes off. So hopefully I've got at least twenty four
(24:17):
hours to get myself to San Juan, Puerto Rico before
I have another concern on my hands. Now, when we
talk about hub to hub flying, let me mention what
that is. Washington Dulles for United Airlines is a hub city.
That means that's one of their major intersections when it
(24:37):
comes to connecting flights from other regional airports and or
other major cities. So Washington Dulles is a hub, Chicago
is a hub. Denver is a hub. And so for
United Airlines, flights from Washington Dulles to Chicago, Washington Dulles
to Denver, those are probably going to be pretty safe
(25:00):
in this strand scheme.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
In out the West Coast, you get out to San Francisco, La, La,
or two cities, and so they're the airports when you
go through them, they're the ones where you see one
airline you go, Holy smokes, they've got a.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Lot of gates here. That's a hub airport for.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Sure, Yeah, it is. And United went on to say
that they expect to keep operating roughly about four thousand
flights per day. That's pretty darn good focusing any cuts
that they do make on regional routes that might have
backup options available, which is a smart move. It really is.
That protects the most passengers even better, Any United customer
(25:40):
traveling during this period is eligible for full refund that's
even if your ticket was non refundable, and it said
so in the terms and conditions. Your ticket is now
as a result of all of this that's going on,
considered a fully refundable ticket, including the non refundables and
even the basic economy tickets.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
That's pretty generous from the airline.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
It is.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
They have really stepped up. And there's occasions when we
don't have everything nice to say about airlines. This last
week I got to tell you they have stepped up
their game and they are doing everything that you could
expect them to do and more. And we're talking about United.
I'm sure you know Terry means this to apply to
(26:24):
both Delta and America, the three majors and the other
smaller ones too. We don't see as much from them,
but the majors have all stepped up and said this
isn't our problem, but we're part of the solution.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yeah. And so if you're scheduled and I'm focusing right
now on UNANED because I am going to jump over
to American in just a minute, and I'm doing that
focusing on these two airlines, Chris, because they are our
two muscle players in this area. When it comes to
air travel, most often our people are either on United
(26:59):
or American. That's it, because of where we connect from
our regional airports or where people choose to drive to
to fly out. So I want to actually focus what
I'm doing today on those two airlines. There's also Delta
and they have come out with their own marginal you know,
(27:21):
cooperation in that as well. But if you're scheduled to
fly United between now and mid November, you should probably
keep a close eye on your United app, jetstream and
any Advisor updates that you get from your travel provider.
Certainly the wishing Well is doing a good job of that.
I mentioned the emails that I saw Harry had sent
(27:43):
out to his clients. Then those are going to include
some real time flight adjustments and travel waivers because that's
what we have right now, And what is a waiver?
People are going, they're listening to me this morning with
that coffee going, Is that something I need to put
in my coffee? Do I need to take a pill
for that now? So guide to sign the tarmac way
way out. No, it's not that either. A waiver is
(28:05):
a code, and it is a code that is given,
but you can think of it as a secret code
really if you want to. It's a code that's applied
the airlines apply this for anybody who now wants to
refund their ticket, and in order for you to have
the permission to refund that ticket, that waiver code is
(28:26):
exactly that. It's your permission that says I will not
get penalized and I will get my money back. That's
what a waivercode is, and they're important. They're important. Without
those on a refund, your request could be rejected when
it's a non refundable ticket.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
And those waivercodes are not something that travelers have to
worry about. Those are things that the agents worry about.
So if you're listening today, don't go looking for that
waivercode because, as Terry said, it's kind of secret, so
you probably won't find it. Yeah, it's something that we
have that allow us to over allows us to override
the restrictions on your ticket.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yeah, and I think, actually, from my perspective, that's a
perfect example of an airline leaning in, protecting its travelers,
our travelers, our customers, communicating clearly, and maintaining confidence in
the system. Because that's what we have right now to
go by, is how the airlines are going to react
(29:26):
to this. They could have reacted very badly, and they
could have dug their heels in and really not budged.
You know, that's the right, that's the prerogative. They're a business,
and that's how businesses operate, right They either do give
your money back or they don't. Now, don't tell me, Chris,
you haven't been in situations where businesses made bad decisions.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Probably more so than less. I was just going to say,
good businesses, though, know that sometimes you have to say
step up.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
This was not the airlines doing I mean, they're victims
as the rest of us are. Right now. We can
blame others, and who you choose to blame, that's yours.
It's not for this program. But the airlines have stepped
up and done exactly more than what we would expected.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
We talk about travel insurance a lot here on a
Life Less Ordinary. Is this something that if the airline
wouldn't have stepped up in the way they did, that
travel insurance would would help protect me?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Not necessarily government interventions acts of God. Sometimes those are
actually not covered by travel protection insurance. And let's just
face it, Chris, if you've bought a non refundable ticket,
you know it, and those are the terms and conditions
you agreed to when you bought that ticket.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
So no, if I know that when I buy the ticket,
if I haven't gone through through an agency.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Life probably not. I mean, those are things that people
sometimes just blindly go, you know, when you're clicking through
the screen clicking you go yeah, yeah, yeah, I know
if I want to buy this, I have to just
say yes to everything, so I'm going to say yes.
They don't really read the details. So that's an important question.
I'm glad you asked it, because some people do buy
insurance on their tickets, but this is one of the
(31:08):
situations where your insurance may not actually help you.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
It's probably one of the reasons the airline is stepped
up in the way they.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Have and I'm glad they did. I mean, again to
Harry's point, I want to actually also mention Americans stand
on this. I said I would per the FAA requirements.
Americans said they have also reduced their flight schedules by
only four percent. They're not complying with the ten percent requirement.
They are only cutting back four percent. I'll let them
(31:38):
deal with whoever they have to over that. But at
forty airports still Friday through Monday, amounting to about two
hundred and twenty flights canceled each day. Even with those cancelations,
American says, we plan to operate around six thousand daily flights.
United remember said four thousand, Americans got six. We're continuing
(32:00):
to communicate with impacted customers, they say. We encourage everybody
to check their flight status on AA dot com or
their mobile app. They say, this disrupting customer plans is
the last thing we want to do. And I believe that.
And we have issued also travel waivers for to protect customers,
(32:20):
to provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period. Customers
whose flights are canceled for any reason or who choose
not to travel. You see, we have that caveat in
this now too, which is a very new nuance to
these travel waivers. You choose, you go. I don't feel comfortable.
(32:40):
I don't know if I'm going to get to the
airport and my flight's going to go. American and United
both are saying if you choose just not to travel,
you're going to be able to change your flight or
request a refund without penalty. You.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Yeah, that's for you one year. That's a lot of flux.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Yeah. So you know, I love that we're seeing this
cooperation again, the leaning in from the airlines. I think
all that's greatly, greatly important. And as a reminder, friends,
this isn't about canceled vacations. It's about coordinated efficiencies. That's
why we're here today on a lifeless ordinary, to let
(33:22):
you know what your possibilities are, not what the tragedy
is and all of this in there. You know, there
may be some but I'm confident that if you're working
with good professionals in this industry, all will not be lost.
I really do believe that.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah. I like in this whole incident too, when you
look at the weather for a couple of days ahead
and you look and you see, hey, it might rain.
Guess what you're going to carry an umbrella, you might
carry a poncho with you. What Terry's saying to everybody today,
I think is that you know, this is a situation
that's real, So go out there with a little bit
of planning, pre planning and caution and good judgment. We're
(34:01):
going to get through this together.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
So yeah, problem Yeah, and Hearry By tightening these schedules now,
the airlines are helping keep the network safe and reliable
as we head in to the busy holiday travel season.
So again, everybody, take a deep breath, stay connected through
your professional travel advisors, and remember the sky is still open.
(34:24):
That's why we're here. That's what we're telling you. That's
the message today. Our show today is keep calm and
travel on. We've spent the first few minutes of our
show today talking about how you can still fly in
a calm manner even with the reduced flights that the
(34:45):
FAA is asking. I just want to review these pointers
that Terry gave at the beginning of the segment. Change
your plans if you can fly in the morning, because
there's less of a chance of your flight getting to
later canceled fly out as smaller airports. Use your airline
app and make sure you turn on your text alerts
and the most important one on here, use a travel advisor. Yeah,
(35:06):
I feel like Sally feels right now? You like me, Chris?
Do you really like me? You listen to everything I
said and you are absolutely right. Yes.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
We are going to continue this conversation after we take
a quick break right here on the Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Let the wishing Wells experts help. We
offer fee free travel planning with built in expertise. Listeners
voted us Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab
on our website though Wishingwell dot biz, or let us
create a trip just for you. Stop by two forty
three nef Avenue, visit us at the Wishingwell dot biz,
(35:40):
or call us at five four zero nine zero eights
two three three three five four zero nine zero eights
two three three three.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Hey, welcome back to a Lifeless Ordinary. Every Saturday morning,
we talk travel. This is your travel show and podcast
from your friends at the wishing Well. That would be
Terry Dean and Harry Rich and they would love to
talk five four h nine oh eight twenty three thirty three.
You can find them on f Avenue in Harrisonburg. Are
online at the Wishingwell dot biz. Our show today is
(36:10):
called Keep Calm and Travel On and Terry. Before it
went to break, we talked about those tips that you
gave about changing your plans. Try to fly in the
morning if possible, fly out of a smaller airport, use
the app, and turn on your text alerts, and use
a travel advisor. But what happens if you've done all
(36:30):
that and it's still goes south. Yeah, we can still
keep a positive spin on this. There are still ways
to have a great vacation, great travel.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
There are always options, and that's a great thing about
a resilient travel industry. Options are everywhere. So you know,
I've always believed Chris that a great traveler isn't really
defined about how far they go, but it's it's by
how well they handle the unexpected. That's a great traveler.
If you can do that, and you do it well,
(37:00):
you've been around a while. You know, this season, maybe
just maybe a little flexibility is going to go a
long way. Maybe that means kind of adding a buffer
day or you might want to choose destinations that are
easier to reach if delays do pop up. And flexibility
doesn't mean giving up luxury. That's not at all what
(37:20):
I want to imply. It means traveling intelligently. Now, many
of our luxury branded vendors are actually extending what they
call peace of mind policies, and I love that they're
allowing easy rebooking or cancelations. That's because they want you
to keep traveling, and they're stepping it up and they're
(37:41):
making that happen. So if you've been booking on your own,
if you're one of those people who've been doing that
and you're you know, you think you're pretty good at it,
this might be one of those times to reconsider connecting
with a travel professional. This is not some situation that
you want to try to handle without some level of expertise.
(38:02):
I would say that quite confidently because I've been in
it now for forty nine years, and I can tell
you there are some things like this that are even
challenging to me because you don't know, this is unprecedented.
This is not something we've been through before, except COVID's
that's kind of our closest equation to what we see
(38:24):
going on right now. So here's another silver lining. When
the big picture gets bumpy, you can always rediscover the
treasures right next to home. You know. That's another thing
that you can do. While some national parks are partially closed,
America's smaller destinations, our boutique inns, state parks, small town theaters,
(38:48):
really many of the very destinations and travel interests that
we've focused on Chris right here on a Life Less Ordinary,
they're all waiting for you out there, so you don't
have to necessarily maybe take that big trip you were planning,
especially if your travel plans are challenged by what's going on.
Pick something else, do something else. It may not be
(39:11):
what you wanted to do, but there's so many things
that we've covered here in a Lifeless Ordinary, I can
promise you would be just as good.
Speaker 3 (39:20):
Yeah, if you have that extra day, you might choose
a destination that is far enough that you'd like to
fly to and plan to fly to. But if that
falls through, it's still drivable and you have that extra
day before you get there, so you can still have
a wonderful vacation and not miss a beat.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Yeah, I mean, right here in Virginia. The Chandel Valley
is actually just glowing this season. You've got local farms,
craft breweries, cozy ins. Those communities are open for business
and they are deeply grateful for visitors, especially this time
of year. They welcome them in some of the most
beautiful and luxurious properties like this. It's Salamander in Middleburg, Virginia.
(40:02):
A fabulous property. One of our virtuoso properties, the Lodge
at Primland in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. Bet not too
many people have heard about that. It's going to be
a property that we're going to be covering a great
deal in the future on a lifeless ordinary. But it's
a beautiful property that's p R I M L A
(40:22):
N D in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. Or even good Lord,
the Williamsburg n in beautiful historic Williamsburg, Virginia. So instead
of canceling, I would suggest that you pivot. You know
that's going to take the sting out of whatever happens.
Take that weekend road trip, book a few nights in
Charlottesville at the Keswick Inn, or in Ashville. Harry was
(40:44):
just there near the extraordinary builtmore and watch how good
it feels to invest in some of those local experiences
and those closest to home. Sometimes the best detour leads
to the best discovery. That's just the way it happens,
and nothing has to be so perfect that you can't pivot. Now,
(41:07):
another thing that I want to talk about is how
you can stay calm in the middle of this storm.
I want to take a minute to recognize the people
that are actually keeping this industry steady, and those are
the great group of travel advisors, some of my peers
that I know and can appreciate that they're going through
the same things that we are at the Wishing Well,
(41:30):
tour managers and hospitality teams, really everywhere. I mean, they've
dealt with this, what not even five short years ago
when we did have a total shutdown of everything. But
here we go again, kind of walking into some familiar
territory that is sort of like an unwelcome house guest.
(41:50):
You know, you really aren't looking forward to them coming,
but you get through it. That's really what we do.
And during times like these though, these industry experts, their
expertise really shines. They're the ones kind of monitoring waivers,
like we talked about before, they're adjusting the schedules, holding
every client's hand through this process. And that's the heart
(42:13):
of this business, which is the human connection. We talked
about resilience, we talked about collaboration. This is about the
human connection to this. So my colleagues and partners out there,
I want to say, if you're listening to us, thank
you for all you do. And to our listeners. If
you've got a trip booked through a professional, you've got
an advocate on your side, somebody who's going to be
(42:35):
there three steps ahead of you, I hope, and helping
walk you through the most challenging and difficult issues that
you might have. Every challenge brings growth. I mean we
saw that during COVID, Good Lord, some things emerged from
COVID that I don't think we saw coming. Smarter technology,
(42:56):
flexible booking systems, clear communication, and let's not forget AI.
That all came as a result of this shutdown that
we had before. I think Zoom became a part of
everybody's jargon after COVID happened. Everybody was talking about Zoom
(43:18):
or teams, meetings or everything like that. So this is
how the next generation of travel is going to look.
Travelers are becoming more intentional, the focus to shifting from
checklists to connections. We're becoming more purposeful, informed, and resilient.
So now, what does this mean exactly for the holidays ahead?
(43:42):
You know, it's like, well, that's great, Terry, You're real
positive and wants to all, you know, have that Kumbaya
spirit about all of this. But I'm the one traveling
over the holidays. What about that? Well? As we look
forward to this holiday season, one of the busiest travel
periods of the entire year, a lot of folks are
wandering what is this going to mean and how it
(44:04):
might affect their Thanksgiving or their December travel plans. We're
hoping it doesn't go that long, but it could. The
honest answer is there will be adjustments, but they're being
handled with a remarkable amount of foresight and coordination. And remember,
the airlines knew this was coming. This did not hit
(44:24):
them out a left field like COVID did. We saw
this coming. We knew that if this shutdown continued there
would be some adjustments made, and they've already built in smarter,
leaner schedules even before they announced that they would draw
these back to preserve the most important parts of their network,
and that means again those long haul and hub to
(44:46):
hub routes are being protected to keep travelers connected across
the country and around the world. Regional flights might see
minors schedule trims, but that's to prevent these ripple delays later.
That's a proactive step, not a panic move, and I
just want to point that out and make sure we're
clear about that. Again, that's a proactive step, not a
(45:09):
panic move. And most importantly, airlines have broadened their flexibility policies.
If your itinerary changes, you're going to have options. You
can rebook, reroute, refund and right now with no penalty
at all. And I'll tell you from an advisor's standpoint,
that's what we like to see, the predictable adjustments communicated
(45:30):
clearly and with the traveler's best interest at heart. Now,
what can you do if you're planning a holiday getaway?
I want you to know that one of the best
first steps you can take is to confirm your flights
and reconfirm them. So confirm them early and reconfirm them.
Keep an eye on your Airlines app for any updates. Chris,
(45:53):
thank you for mentioning those again and again for our
listening audience as reminders build in a little extra time.
If you do have a connection, those extra forty five
minutes could save you a lot of stress. So instead,
right now, if you're booking flights and you really haven't
booked for the holidays yet, instead of that forty five
minute connection, you might want to opt for maybe a
(46:15):
two hour one. That might be a smarter move for you.
If you have to change planes, consider travel insurance or
refundable fares. We talked about that, and that's when weather
can also add its own set of surprises, So you
want to make sure that you do have travel insurance. Again,
it may not assist during times like government shutdown.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
I say, as you're talking about all of these little tips,
I'm thinking this would be great advice even if we
didn't have the shutdown and the reduced place. Yeah, I've
been on enough of those connecting your running through the
airport to get from one to the other. I wish
I would have had two hours in between you exactly,
(46:59):
exactly great advice.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Yeah, because there's also something written into most insurance policies
that talk about trip delay, not just cancelation, but trip delay.
So let's just say you are at your connecting flight.
You know, I'm going to pick like Atlanta or Charlotte
or someplace like that, and you built in a two
hour lay over time, but then you find out sadly
(47:24):
that that flight's not going to go. You're going to
be till the next day making that flight out. Your
insurance may help you for your overnight expenses, food, rental cars,
anything like that that occurs as a result of that
trip delay. You may be entitled to some compensation.
Speaker 1 (47:44):
And here are two.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Things that we talk to travelers about all the time
that I think are worth mentioning on the air also, Chris,
and that is, you know, be sure you're at the
airport early. The rules are the rules. They say two
hours for domestic flight, three hours for international. This week,
I've started advising my people put a little more on that.
Arrive at the airport three hours early for your domestic
(48:06):
flight if you can, because the lines may be a
little bit longer, there may be some adjustments going on
in there, so give yourself that extra time also so
that you can kind of, as Terry's talking about, you know,
be adaptable as things change. And the second thing we
advise people about is making sure that you have things
(48:29):
in case you get delayed, like Terry talked about, because
of a flight change or delay whatever. In case that
happens to you, make sure that you've got the essential
things that you need, and the big things that people
need are their medicines. Carry your medications with you. It's
okay in your carry on bag, maybe to have a
(48:49):
you know, a toothbrush, and you know, maybe a change
of undergarments, if not a full outfit.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
But be prepared.
Speaker 3 (48:56):
And again, like I said earlier, as you're preparing for rain,
you're going to carry in them. You're preparing for some uncertainties.
So take those extra precautions to make sure that if
something happens with your trip, you're not going to be
inconvenience very much. They might get you a place to stay.
It'd be nice to have a fresh toothbrush, it'd be
nice to have a fresh change of clothes, and it'd
(49:17):
certainly be necessary to have your medicine with you.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
And I'll tell you by now if you haven't gotten
the message. If you are booking flights, please book through
a travel professional. That's most important. And during times like
this that are challenging, you want to stay connected with
your travel advisor. We've got certainly, as we said, the
most current waivers. We can often make adjustments and split
(49:41):
decisions on your behalf before they even hit your inbox.
So while the headlines might sound a little dramatic right now,
the reality is the travel industry has learned from its
past disruptions. We're seeing proactive communications, stronger technology, much more
transparency than in years past. And this isn't a time
(50:04):
to cancel your plans. It's simply a time to travel
with intention and preparation. That's important. And in the big picture,
there's something all smart travelers already know how to do,
and that is practice all of these things that we're
talking about. So go ahead, plan that Thanksgiving reunion, that
(50:24):
Christmas market getaway, or that warm weather escape the skies
might be a little busier and the schedules a little
bit tighter, but travel itself is still very much open
for business. And I want to say, for joy, I
like that song Joy to the World. I think that's
something that we should all be kind of, that should
(50:45):
be kind of in the front of our mind, and
the forefront of what we're thinking about today is that
how can I do this and do it joyfully, because
worrying about it is not going to change a thing.
We've got people in place that we hope are going
to do that.
Speaker 3 (50:58):
And one of the things that is not been compromised
that I've not heard any words about compromise on, and
that is safety. So travel, if you're worried about it,
I think it remains at least as safe as ever
because people are very very cognizant of that right now.
And these changes that we're talking about are changes that
were made to preserve that level of safety that's out there.
(51:22):
Travels an adventure and if you want to have a
great adventure, you know, you got to be flexible, you
got to be adaptable. And that's really been the theme
of everything that we've been talking about this morning. I
think that travel is always fun. I just experienced a
week's worth of it. Whether you're traveling down the roads,
(51:42):
or you're traveling through the sky, or you're combining those together.
It's all about the attitude, and Terry, that's what you've
been talking about all morning long.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
Yeah, I mean people often when they travel, especially when
they have upcoming travel arrangements, they get anxious. I mean,
certainly a time when people are feeling some anxiousness just
because of that anyway, And what I would say to
you is, don't panic. You know, help is right around
(52:11):
the bind. I mean, we're here. They're airline industry employees
who are feeling your pain as well as their own
during some of this time. So bring your patients, I
would say, pack a good dose of that with you
along with your medications.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
I love that you're giving us all these pointers because
for travel, for me, and I'm not I'm always flying
for work. I very rarely fly for pleasure or for
vacation or anything like that. It's so stressful. It's always
like I've got to be here at a certain time.
I can't miss this, I can't forget this. And if
(52:50):
I would just take some of this advice and slow down,
and you know, just think it through a little bit,
and number one, talk to someone like you that is
going to be help to hold my hand through the
whole process. Yeah, this would be so much easier for
those of us who just panic during Yeah, for air travel,
(53:12):
just getting in the car doesn't scare me, but there's
so many things you got to remember to do and
don't forget this.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
Yeah, and The big message from today's show is airlines
are adapting, advisors are guiding. We're here at the wishing Well.
We want to help you. We want to take this
and make it a lifeless ordinary. We want to have
you reach out to us. We're easy to find. We're
located in Harsoonburg, Virginia at two forty three nef Avenue.
(53:38):
You can call us of course at five four oh
nine oh eight two three three three, or look us
up on the web. We are at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:47):
This has been a life less ordinary. The travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Hairsburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well dopiz five four oh
nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past episodes are
available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see again next
Saturday morning at ten for a Lifeless Ordinary from the
(54:10):
wishing Well
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