Travel

RICH THOMASELLI | TravelPulse.comTroy Warren for CNT #TravelSome industry executives are predicting international travel will reach 90 percent of its pre-pandemic level now that the United Kingdom has relaxed some of its COVID-19 restrictions.“I predict travel will be 90 percent back to 2019 levels before the end of spring (2022),” Derek Jones, the chief executive of luxury travel company Kuoni, told the Belfast Telegraph via the European travel site schengenvisainfo.com. “We’re already seeing increased call volumes and inquiries about trips for the year ahead as confidence builds.”International travel has been the slowest part of the industry to come back from…

RICH THOMASELLI | TravelPulse.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Travel Have we finally seen a chink in the armor? A crack in the egg? A light at the end of the tunnel? Apologies for the cliches, but for the first time in two weeks, airline delays and cancellations were below the average on Saturday, January 8. A combination of COVID-related staffing issues of employees calling in sick and weather problems across the U.S. have crushed the airlines since Christmas Eve. According to USA Today, more than 26,000 U.S. flights have been canceled in the 15 days between December 24, 2021, and…

LACEY PFALZ | TravelPulse.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Travel Americans aren’t the only travelers throwing caution, reason and general good behavior to the wind on airplanes anymore: a recent privately chartered Sunwing Airlines flight prior to New Year’s Eve from Montreal to Cancun show a group of young adults drinking, vaping and even crowd-surfing in the airplane, without a care to COVID-19 protocols or common sense. TMZ compared the scene to a “college frat party,” with the flight crew apparently giving up and sheltering in place away from the chaos. The perpetrators are a collection of Canadian social media influencers and…

RICH THOMASELLI | TravelPulse.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Travel It’s no secret that the last week and a half have been chaotic for air travel – nearly 10,000 cancellations and 45,000 delays due to a combination of Omicron depleting already short-staffed airlines and weather issues in the West and Midwest. And it’s not expected to get much better this coming week. So what are your options if your flight is canceled? Inquiring fliers not only want to know, but they also need to know in order to protect themselves.   – If the airline is at fault and cancels your…