TRAVEL Planning That Long-Haul Group Bucket List Trip – by David Prichard and Lily Mak, Enchanted Sea Images, Inc., Dallas, TX
You have successfully led your clients to multiple short-hop tropical locations for dive trips but now many of them are asking to expand the range of their underwater adven- tures to include areas in the South Pacific that boasts higher diversity of marine life than what they have seen
and weight limits. The overhead bin spaces are often much smaller so the roll-on bag (usually packed with camera and crucial dive gear) that fit in your initial airline’s overhead space will now have to be checked into the plane’s luggage com- partment – perhaps at an additional fee. Carry-on bags are often weighed and, if over the limit, you will either pay an ad- ditional fee or need to repack contents to your check-in bag. While you may not be able to avoid these additional fees, you can keep from being shocked enroute by investigating each stage of your journey and understanding what the limi- tations are for each segment so that you can plan for it in ad- vance and pass the information to your group so they are prepared. Another key planning rule when connecting to a different airline at a foreign flight hub is to make sure you have plenty of connection time between flights to iron out any issues (please see our article in the June issue concerning this im- portant detail) as non-affiliated airlines do not transfer luggage
before. Do you use the same planning method for this trip halfway across the world as you would for the nearby tropical locations? In Star Trek III – The Search for Spock, Scotty explains how easy it was to sabotage the newer and faster Excalibur ship (by swiping a few key parts) saying: “The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.” In plan- ning long-distance travel, a few overlooked parts can wreck your “trip of a lifetime.” A long-haul trip for many people involves many stages of
the journey, and you want to make sure you understand the details of each stage so that there are no complications. How are you getting from your departure airport to your destination? If you are lucky enough to be able to use the same major airline to the destination (or a combination with an al- liance partner airline), then you can gener- ally send your checked baggage all the way through to the final airport. The fewer the connections, the less likely a bag may acci- dentally head to a different location or get left behind.
to another and often the regional airline is located in a different terminal than your previous airline. All this can be planned out in advance if you check all the details and ask the right questions. Most airlines now will only help you (cus- tomer service) if you booked directly with the airline. If you booked with a travel agent or an online travel website, then they tell you to go through them to fix any problems. If your travel agent has a 24/7/365 help line that you can reach with
Often the final flight to a remote island can be on much smaller aircraft that are limited on luggage capacity and on-board storage like this flight from Nadi, Fiji to the island of Taveuni.
your phone, then that is a solution. But, if they only have of- fice hours, then you could be dealing with a major problem on your own until they report to work. Look into trip insur- ance to cover unforeseen delays and flight cancellations on your journey. You also have to plan for your body to be confined to a tight space (your seat) for flights that can be a half a day or more for the “long” segment of your trip, plus the various smaller segments to and from your destination. The plane’s cabin is pressurized to around 8,000 feet (while the plane is around 35,000 feet) so it is like being in the mountains with a lower oxygen content and low humidity that creates higher dehy- dration issues and dry skin, so drink plenty of water and use moisturizers.
Many dive resorts in the South Pacific are not served by the larger airlines so you must book a separate flight reservation from your major air carrier’s final stop to your destination using a regional airline. These airlines have their own set of rules and may not honor your previous carrier’s terms or lim- its on baggage allowance and weights. If you checked two 50- pound bags initially on your first carrier, then you may be surprised to find that the regional carrier only allows 20 kilo- grams (44 pounds) “total,” so you will need to purchase ad- ditional baggage allowance when you booked the flight or be prepared to pay hundreds of dollars in overweight luggage fees – each way! Even your carry-on bags may be subject to different size
Mote Marine Coral Lab
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