The State of Pandemic Travel Part 1
Tips to Travel During Year 3 of the Pandemic - 3-Part Series featuring travel-blogger, world-traveler, and founder of Travel Plus ThemTM Lakshmi Natarajan
I will first say that everyone must do what they feel is right aligned to their personal health and lifestyle choices. There is no “one right path” for deciding if you want to travel now. That is customized to you. Having taken many flights over the past 2 years, here is my assessment of current airplane travel conditions.
- With newly installed air filtration systems, which refreshes air every few seconds, planes feel cleaner than ever!
- Despite many staff layoffs and less flight routes, flights are generally full! This is a positive sign that the travel industry is doing better. However, because of supply and demand, less routes does mean ticket prices are high.
- In addition, if flights are canceled, it is not so simple to get rebooked. This just happened to us from Hawaii on January 1, 2022. When we arrived from Kona to Los Angeles, our return flight from LA to Miami was canceled. We spent hours waiting on line in Los Angeles Airport (9pm-11pm) to rebook our flights. The airline's toll free reservations line also had a 120 minute wait (and we have premium status!) The result? Our family was split so we were all on different return flights the next day. Some of us had to stay in a hotel that night, which was luckily paid for by the airline. But, 12 hours of flight travel time became 36+ hours.
It’s important in these times to be patient and know things may not go according to plan. Stay tuned for next week when I give you inside tips on how to score the best prices on flights!
About Author:
Lakshmi Natarajan is an Indian-American executive, consultant, advisor, mom, and world traveler. She has over 20 years of global business leadership experience across Fortune 500 companies and is a mother of two young daughters. As a family, they have traveled the world with their children and have been to 30+ countries across 6 continents with the goal of raising them with a global mindset and inspiring others on their journey. Lakshmi is currently the founder of two businesses, Excelador a business consulting firm and Travel Plus ThemTM- collaborating with parents and educators to raise inclusive global citizens through travel and at home experiences. They help bring those cultural insights to homes and encourage donations to local communities during travels. Lakshmi believes that traveling and learning about the world teaches children curiosity, respect, and empathy. Visit their website to learn more: Travel Plus ThemTM includes various blogs, guides, and free resources on how you can travel the world with your children and how you can bring the world into your homes. We are on the journey together to raise inclusive global citizens!
