Category Archives: flight

Keeping a Large Group Organized on a Missions Trip

Africa, airport, Article, baggage, carry on, checked baggage, country, flight, free airfare quote, frequent flier, God, group members, humanitarian airfare, international travelers, international trip, internationally, large groups, medical emergencies, Missionary, missions trips, passport, safe travels, safety, Tabitha Lovell, travel, travelers, traveling, trip, world, www.cheapmissionstrips.com

DSC_3019smallWhen helping my customers with their large groups traveling together internationally, I like to recommend a few helpful tips for the journey.  The one thing that I always say is plan for the worst and HOPE for the best when it comes to large groups.  Travel insurance is a very important factor to think about which I recommend to our groups first and foremost.  If you purchase a good policy, your group will be covered for medical emergencies, emergency evacuation, and things like lost baggage!!!  Losing luggage on your international trip is every traveler’s nightmare. No one ever wants to be in this position, but let’s face it, these things can and do happen and it is always best to be prepared in the event that you find yourself in this crisis situation.  Travel insurance will be very helpful to compensate for some of the loss if this should ever occur.

Another important thing I like to recommend is to make sure the group is all wearing the same shirt on the day they will be traveling.  This sounds like a silly thing, but for large groups, this is an easy identifier to make sure that members of the group can easily recognize each other and stay together in the airports.  This will be very helpful, especially if each group member remembers to wear them and the colors are very bright and distinctive.  You may not think about safety issues as much on US soil, but as soon as you step foot in another country and find yourself in an airport all the way across the world, you will find that every safety measure that you take now will be appreciated when you are out of your comfort zone. 

You may also want to make sure each person has their passport in a special passport carrier around their neck so that no one in the group loses their passport.  It is always good to make copies of your passport and carry one in your checked baggage and another in your carry-on just in case you happen to lose your passport somehow on your trip.  Having a copy will be life-saving if you have a forgetful group member who leaves their passport somewhere in Africa and is trying to get on their flight without it.

Also, please remember that if you are a group leader and are a frequent flier, your group members may not be.  Please make sure that you remember to educate your group on what to pack.  If you have any questions about what to carry on with you, please direct members of your group to http://www.tsa.gov for all of the necessary requirements for carry-on items and how to pack liquid items in your carry-on bags.  This can be very time-saving if all members of the group have a good understanding of what to expect when going through security, so that we can all KEEP THAT LINE MOVING if you know what I mean!!  And I know that for all of you international travelers out there, youKNOW what I mean.  ;)

I hope that these tips are helpful for all of you group leaders and group members of missions trips this summer!  Please visit my website for more helpful tips and for a free airfare quote for the missionary and humanitarian airfare we provide! www.cheapmissionstrips.com

God bless and Safe Travels!
~Tabitha :)

Keeping a Large Group Organized on a Missions Trip

Africa, airport, Article, baggage, carry on, checked baggage, country, emergency evacuation, flight, free airfare quote, God, group members, Groups, http://www.tsa.gov, humanitarian airfare, international travelers, international trip, internationally, large groups, Missionary, passport, safe travels, Tabitha Lovell, travel, Travel insurance, travelers, traveling, trip, world, www.cheapmissionstrips.com

DSC_3019smallWhen helping my customers with their large groups traveling together internationally, I like to recommend a few helpful tips for the journey.  The one thing that I always say is plan for the worst and HOPE for the best when it comes to large groups.  Travel insurance is a very important factor to think about which I recommend to our groups first and foremost.  If you purchase a good policy, your group will be covered for medical emergencies, emergency evacuation, and things like lost baggage!!!  Losing luggage on your international trip is every traveler’s nightmare. No one ever wants to be in this position, but let’s face it, these things can and do happen and it is always best to be prepared in the event that you find yourself in this crisis situation.  Travel insurance will be very helpful to compensate for some of the loss if this should ever occur.

Another important thing I like to recommend is to make sure the group is all wearing the same shirt on the day they will be traveling.  This sounds like a silly thing, but for large groups, this is an easy identifier to make sure that members of the group can easily recognize each other and stay together in the airports.  This will be very helpful, especially if each group member remembers to wear them and the colors are very bright and distinctive.  You may not think about safety issues as much on US soil, but as soon as you step foot in another country and find yourself in an airport all the way across the world, you will find that every safety measure that you take now will be appreciated when you are out of your comfort zone. 

You may also want to make sure each person has their passport in a special passport carrier around their neck so that no one in the group loses their passport.  It is always good to make copies of your passport and carry one in your checked baggage and another in your carry-on just in case you happen to lose your passport somehow on your trip.  Having a copy will be life-saving if you have a forgetful group member who leaves their passport somewhere in Africa and is trying to get on their flight without it.

Also, please remember that if you are a group leader and are a frequent flier, your group members may not be.  Please make sure that you remember to educate your group on what to pack.  If you have any questions about what to carry on with you, please direct members of your group to http://www.tsa.gov for all of the necessary requirements for carry-on items and how to pack liquid items in your carry-on bags.  This can be very time-saving if all members of the group have a good understanding of what to expect when going through security, so that we can all KEEP THAT LINE MOVING if you know what I mean!!  And I know that for all of you international travelers out there, youKNOW what I mean.  ;)

I hope that these tips are helpful for all of you group leaders and group members of missions trips this summer!  Please visit my website for more helpful tips and for a free airfare quote for the missionary and humanitarian airfare we provide! www.cheapmissionstrips.com

God bless and Safe Travels!
~Tabitha :)

Adoption Airfare, More than a Business

adopting families, adoption, Adoption Airfare, Adoption travel, Africa, agents, airfare, Article, Christ, Deuteronomy 10:18, Facebook, FAITH, family, flight, flights, God, gospel, Group Travel, James 1:27, medical missions, ministry, missionaries, Missionary, missions travel, orphan, Psalm 68:5, quote, save money, travel, trip, Uganda, world
Adoption Travel is more than a business for us here at Adoption Airfare.  It is our passion, our ministry, our JOY to serve each family that God brings to us.  Each of our agents has been hand-picked by God to serve with us, and we have developed a huge heart for Adoption and for the […]

Having a Prayer Agent

adoption, agencies, airfare, airport, Amsterdam, Article, brother in Christ, Cheap Missions Trips, Christ, fare, flight, flights, God, International, itinerary, Lord, ministry, PRAYER AGENT, PRAYER AGENTS, prayerfully, safe travels, travel, travel agent, TRAVEL Agents, travel industry, Uganda, Ugandan
by Tabitha Lovell Sometimes when working with teams and individuals in the travel industry, I am reminded that there are other agencies out there which can compete with prices that we offer. However, I am not certain that there is any competition that can compare with having a PRAYER AGENT vs. just having a Travel […]

Travel Tips for Bad Weather and Flight Delays

adoption, airfare, airline, airlines, arrival, arrivals, Article, baggage, bags, book, booking, carriers, confirmation, delay, delays, departure, flight, flights, International, layover, layovers, missions, reschedule, ticket, ticketing, tickets, time, travel, weather
by Tabitha Lovell Have you ever packed your bags, headed to the airport, and then were told the worst news of your day? “We’re sorry, but your flights are cancelled for today due to severe weather conditions.” This is a nightmare to be the one in this circumstance, but it is good to remain calm […]

Shopping for Flights?

adoption, agency, agent, airline, Article, availability, best, Christmas, class, classes, demand, economy, fares, flight, flights, group, helping, holidays, lower fare, missions, peak season, price, Safe, save money, service, shopping. International, skyrocket, travel
by Tabitha Lovell Have you ever wondered why flights keep going up higher and higher the more you keep your eye on fares for a specific date? One of the reasons that this can happen is due to flight shopping. Many times in my career of international adoption travel, I have seen families look around […]

Electronic Flight Check In?

airport, Article, boarding passes, carry on, charge, check bags, check in, confirmation, country, Customers, delays, departure, destination, domestic flight, electronic bar code, eTicket, flight, flight schedule, globe, international flight, iPhone, itinerary, journey, kiosk, Lord, luggage, phone charger, power adapter, printed, scanning, schedule changes, smart phone, technologically advanced, technology, TSA agent, TSA Security, world
by Tabitha Lovell Some of my customers have asked me, “Should I check in online the night before my flight?” Or, “What about the new electronic bar code check in?” Well, I guess if you have a small domestic flight that you are taking within the US, the online check in is OK. But might […]

Cancellations and Refunds With Humanitarian Flights

adopting families, adoption travel agent, airline, Article, cancellation, credit card, departure, flight, flights, humanitarian, humanitarian flights, Missionary, published flights, quoted, refundable, service, thankful

by Tabitha Lovellby Tabitha Lovell

Many people ask me all the time how the cancellation and refund process works with the humanitarian flights. I have dedicated this to all of my adopting families and others who have questions about cancellations and refunds with humanitarian flights, so I can hopefully help to answer them here. Some benefits of using humanitarian airfare include the fact that these flights are refundable, minus airline penalties and fees, if you should need to cancel the flight prior to your departure date. Most flights out there on the internet are non-refundable, but the humanitarian flights are not in that category.

Missionary and humanitarian flights, unlike most flights, are refundable, minus airline penalties and fees if you should need to cancel and request a refund. These are not total refunds of 100% of your flight cost, but they do help tremendously, since most other flights are non-refundable. There are many other benefits to using humanitarian airfare as well. Humanitarian flights are changeable and usually the first change after departure does not have an airline penalty, so the change fees are much lower than changing a regular flight that you will find. Also, since humanitarian flights are only able to be accessed by a missionary and adoption travel agent, you can also expect much better service than using an online travel engine to purchase your flights.

The cancellation process for humanitarian and missionary flights can take around six weeks before you will see the refund applied back to your credit card. However, many people notice that their refunds show up closer to two or three weeks after the cancellation has been processed with the airline. There are always going to be multiple charges and credits with any refund of this nature, and many times you will need to add up the costs and credits which should all equal up to the amount quoted to you for your refund.

Sometimes an adopting family will need to cancel just the return portion of their flight for various reasons, and re-book with another airline at a later time. This is a case when the family would be very thankful that they have humanitarian flights vs. published flights. The humanitarian flights are refundable, even for just the return portion. This is always just a partial refund, less airline penalties and fees, but still helps tremendously to preserve some of the loss that would otherwise be incurred.

Generally, families who use humanitarian flights, especially for adoption travel, are very happy with them if they need to make changes to their return date. There are sometimes unpredictable circumstances that cause families to be forced to cancel their flights for adoption travel, and when these things happen, they are always very thankful that they have used humanitarian flights rather than anything they could have booked on their own.

I hope this helps in answering some of your questions!

Safe Travels!

Tabitha Lovell, International Travel Manager/Owner

Adoption Airfare LLC

Cancellations and Refunds With Humanitarian Flights

adopting families, adopting family, adoption travel agent, airline, Article, booked, cancellation, credit card, departure, flight, flights, humanitarian, humanitarian flights, Missionary, published flights, quoted, re-book, refund, service, thankful

by Tabitha Lovellby Tabitha Lovell

Many people ask me all the time how the cancellation and refund process works with the humanitarian flights. I have dedicated this to all of my adopting families and others who have questions about cancellations and refunds with humanitarian flights, so I can hopefully help to answer them here. Some benefits of using humanitarian airfare include the fact that these flights are refundable, minus airline penalties and fees, if you should need to cancel the flight prior to your departure date. Most flights out there on the internet are non-refundable, but the humanitarian flights are not in that category.

Missionary and humanitarian flights, unlike most flights, are refundable, minus airline penalties and fees if you should need to cancel and request a refund. These are not total refunds of 100% of your flight cost, but they do help tremendously, since most other flights are non-refundable. There are many other benefits to using humanitarian airfare as well. Humanitarian flights are changeable and usually the first change after departure does not have an airline penalty, so the change fees are much lower than changing a regular flight that you will find. Also, since humanitarian flights are only able to be accessed by a missionary and adoption travel agent, you can also expect much better service than using an online travel engine to purchase your flights.

The cancellation process for humanitarian and missionary flights can take around six weeks before you will see the refund applied back to your credit card. However, many people notice that their refunds show up closer to two or three weeks after the cancellation has been processed with the airline. There are always going to be multiple charges and credits with any refund of this nature, and many times you will need to add up the costs and credits which should all equal up to the amount quoted to you for your refund.

Sometimes an adopting family will need to cancel just the return portion of their flight for various reasons, and re-book with another airline at a later time. This is a case when the family would be very thankful that they have humanitarian flights vs. published flights. The humanitarian flights are refundable, even for just the return portion. This is always just a partial refund, less airline penalties and fees, but still helps tremendously to preserve some of the loss that would otherwise be incurred.

Generally, families who use humanitarian flights, especially for adoption travel, are very happy with them if they need to make changes to their return date. There are sometimes unpredictable circumstances that cause families to be forced to cancel their flights for adoption travel, and when these things happen, they are always very thankful that they have used humanitarian flights rather than anything they could have booked on their own.

I hope this helps in answering some of your questions!

Safe Travels!

Tabitha Lovell, International Travel Manager/Owner

Adoption Airfare LLC