COVID travel Page 20

On the Sunday, November 29th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In The Travel News, there’s trouble in paradise once again as the island of Kauai pulls out of the pre-arrival testing program, effective December 2nd. U.S. airlines are going to play a big role in vaccine distribution. United and American both announced this past week they are positioning planes in preparation. We have also posted A Tribute to Travel Hero Alex Trebek on our site. If you were a fan of the late Jeopardy! host, you may already know he loved to travel and was quite a philanthropist away from home. Mark went to The Travel Guys mailbag and answered a host of your questions. You can find the submission form on this page and send in your question to be answered on a future show. (Mark personally answers as many questions as he can by return email.) Covid has caused problems for many restaurants. Some of those establishments serve travelers. Many are destinations themselves. But many of them are in trouble because of the virus. Our guest is Eric Wolf, Founder and Executive Director of the World Food Travel Association. We ask Eric for his take and how the landscape might look when the virus is no longer a factor.

On the Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Delta Airlines has decided to block the middle seats through March of next year. No other carrier has committed to the practice past December and most have either already abandoned the middle seat block or will do so in the coming weeks. This gives Delta a significant advantage in what could be a pretty bleak first quarter for travel. The folks who run the Rocky Mountaineer trains in Canada have announced a new overnight excursion between Denver and Moab with an overnight in Glenwood Springs. A "preview season" of 40 departures is scheduled to commence in August with fares starting at $1250.00 p.p./dbl.occ. Mark isn't used to being "home for the holidays," and in a special Just One Man's Opinion he shares his thoughts and tips for those of you who might have a short automobile journey this Thanksgiving week. There's also a Smarter Traveler Hawaii update and a cute story about how some Irish blokes got around the closing of the local pubs. Santa Claus will be coming to town soon. You can find him on the Magical Christmas Train. We have all the details. We'll update you on the annual wreath laying project at the Sacramento Valley Cemetery and tell you how you can help. Tom interviews rock-and-roll legend Jessie Colin Young and talks about his new album Troubadour.

On the Sunday, November 15th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In The Travel News, Delta says the "banned for no mask" list has reached 550. Air tickets and hotels for the Biden-Harris inauguration in January are in short supply and prices are climbing. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we share the story of travelers buying fake Covid test results and how you can avoid being a victim. Joe Brancatelli is a travel blogger/columnist and Mark is a big fan of his pay-to-read website, JoeSentMe.com. Joe has noticed that hotels are cutting Covid corners. They tell us it's because of safety concerns. But is it more about cost-savings than the virus? Joe, Mark and Tom ended up in a lively conversation.

On the Sunday, November 8th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Southwest Airlines tells a passenger she isn't covering enough of her body, removed her from the plane and then relents, but only with a qualification. Is it fair? Key West, a small destination over run by cruise ships in the past three years, saw its residents vote to put serious limitations on who and how many can disembark in their city. Are they the first of many to tell cruise ships to sail on by? Our friend and Consumer Advocate, Chris Elliott, returns to discuss the challenges of travel during Covid and when he thinks things might get back to normal. The hospitality industry has been crushed by Covid. Restaurant Cares helps those impacted, including restaurant employees. Find out how you can get involved and even win a $500 dine out card. In our final segment of the day, entertainment shines through. Tom has an exclusive interview with Al Pitrelli of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Covid means the annual Christmas concert at the arena won't happen, but the orchestra is offering a way for you to hear them live. Tom has all the details on how to get tickets. Al says you can watch from home, in your pajamas in you want!