Thinking of Southwest Airlines commonly brings to mind discount fares, free checked luggage, on-board snacks and a quirky, relaxed attitude about air travel. But to get a complete picture of Southwest, we need to add “a company that gives back in a big way.” This week, the airline announced that over 70 hospitals and charities from across the United States have been selected for Southwest’s 2012 medical transportation program, a grant system that seeks to lessen the financial burden for families who are facing serious illness by providing complimentary, round-trip airline tickets to nonprofit hospitals and medical organizations.
“We believe in making a difference, and we hear from patients and hospitals how important this program is to families who already are dealing with so much,” said Linda Rutherford, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Communication and Strategic Outreach. “We are proud that we continue to grow this program to provide this much-needed assistance during such a difficult time.”
Entering its fifth year of operation, the Medical Transportation Grant Program (MTGP) has helped nearly 19,000 people in 26 states with free transportation and will give out flights valued at more than $2.4 million in 2012. Targeted are patients who must travel for medical treatment, are facing huge expenses, and who appreciate any help they can get.
That could be the end of the story. Other organizations have medical transportation programs that also help people in need. But Southwest, the only airline we know of with a program dedicated to making such a huge impact, takes charitable service a few steps further, engaging the world in a very social way.
“These emotional and impactful photographs help convey the message of hope, the importance of the Medical Transportation Grant program, and Southwest’s commitment to making a difference,” says Dear World.
Each person in the photos has their own story to tell and whether it is a patient and their family, volunteers, or Southwest Airlines employees, each chose messages that resonated with their personal circumstances.
“We’re working towards a beautiful, wonderful world where a Dear World portrait stands for something,” says Dear World. “People get that we’re connected and that you can build something fast alone, but to build anything great you have to go together.”
Here, photographer Robert Fogarty speaks to the inception of the program:
Southwest Airlines is the nation’s largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded. Serving 73 cities in 38 states, the airline operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 37,000 employees with a unique commitment to the triple bottom line of “Performance, People, and Planet.” They are profitable, have no planned layoffs, and through efforts like this, look to be an airline that will be around for quite some time.
Crime in Mexico has caused cruise lines to carefully assess whether or not they should be bringing business to the country. Recently, the situation has been improving as narco drug lord activity remains focused in areas where cruise passengers do not travel, and some of the world’s biggest Carnival celebrations ended this week without incident. Nevertheless, twenty-two cruise passengers recently robbed at gunpoint on a normally safe ship-sponsored shore excursion, is causing the travel industry to take another look at safety.
It’s not the first time cruise passengers have been robbed at gunpoint — that also happened in November of 2010 on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts.
“At the time of the robbery, the passengers were traveling to the Brimstone Hill Fortress, a well-visited UNESCO World Heritage Site on the southern Caribbean island,” reported CruiseCritic. The article reports that masked gunmen “put a tree across the road to block the bus.”
On a Celebrity Cruises ship-sponsored tour, the excursion was canceled indefinitely pending the outcome of the investigation. No one was harmed, calls for increased security went out, and law enforcement in St. Kitts pointed to their nearly spotless record of being a safe destination for travelers.
Thursday’s incident happened in Puerto Vallarta, when passengers who came ashore from Carnival Splendor were robbed while on a ship-sponsored tour. Held at gunpoint, they were “stripped of cameras, watches and other valuables they had with them,” reports Informador. Here too, no one was harmed, calls for increased security went out, and the Shore Excursion, a seemingly harmless nature walk, was canceled pending investigation.
“Carnival also apologized to the passengers for the ‘unfortunate and disturbing event’ and said it is working with passengers to reimburse them for lost valuables and assist with lost passports or other forms of identification,” said CruiseCritic.
The incident once again raises questions about the safety of tourists in Mexico, an ongoing matter that concerns not only cruise lines, but hotels, resorts, and pending spring breakers set to go south of the border within the next 30 days.Earlier this month, The U.S. State Department issued a new travel warning for Mexico, superseding last April’s warning. Cartel violence stemming from drug trafficking, specifically, violent struggles among the criminal organizations for control of trafficking routes, has resulted in a rising number of carjacking’s, kidnappings and gun battles throughout Mexico.
“U.S. travelers should be aware that the Mexican government has been engaged in an extensive effort to counter TCOs (Transnational Criminal Organizations) which engage in narcotics trafficking and other unlawful activities throughout Mexico,” said the State Department in the new warning posted on their website.
Though crime is nothing new for Puerto Vallarta. Not quite a year ago, in May of 2011, Leonard Schell, a Canadian father of two, was stabbed 25 times in his Puerto Vallarta home and robbed of about $13,000, bank cards, and passports, as CTV.ca reported. “They cut him from his lip to his throat. It’s terrible, and just to rob money,” said Elba Ruiz, Schell’s wife.
Still, Mexican tourism officials claim they are the victims of an unfair media focus, concentrating on isolated incidents, not typical of what visitors to Mexico commonly experience.
Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, chief operating officer of the Mexico Tourism Board wants to prevent more scare-off-the-tourists bulletins such as one released in March 2011, when the Texas Department of Public Safety bluntly told travelers to, “Avoid traveling to Mexico during Spring Break and stay alive.”
“We believe that these travel alerts are too broad-based and making very blind statements about Mexico that do not reflect the reality,” Lopez-Negrete said at the time.
Really? Tell that to the 22 tourists robbed at gunpoint in Puerto Vallarta this week.
This latest incident of crime involving tourists in Mexico adds yet another legitimate reason for travelers to stay away from Mexico or at least exercise extreme caution when visiting.
Hotel guests and cruise passengers will have added concern as they normally experience a destination through a sponsored tour or excursion, promoted as the safe way to go. Tour operators are said to be vetted by the hotels and cruise lines, implying they are safe to travel with.
Hotel guests get picked up and dropped off at their safe hotel, for the most part without incident. Cruise passengers know that if the locally operated tour runs late, the ship will wait for them. Those going ashore on their own take a risk using unapproved operators. If their tour runs late, the ship will leave without them. But most of those also end with great memories of a beautiful destination they may want to visit again.
It’s a hot-button topic with Gadling readers as well, causing a variety of comments both in support and against travel to and in Mexico.
“It was not the sight of 4 armed guards loading ATM machines that scared us but the fact that we were drugged at our resort and my husband ended up in a Mexican ICU, I can tell you first hand as a nurse, YOU DO NOT WANT to get sick in MEXICO.”
Considered safer than Mazatlan, where cruise lines have abandoned all calls, Puerto Vallarta continues to get ships calling from a number of lines and has a brisk hotel business. But, like the caution they urge about Mazatlan, the U.S. Department of State warns, “You should also exercise caution when traveling at night outside of cities in the remaining portions of this state.”
Readers disagree here too with one commenting:
“Puerto Vallarta is safe!? lmao I was chased back to my hotel by three drunk Mexicans throwing rocks at my head for no reason while I was on vacation. I thought it was safe and this was 6+ years ago.”
Still, many Americans and Canadianstravel to and live in Mexico, without incident. Another reader, a New Yorker who lives in Mexico during the winter, has a different take on safety in Mexico:
“(I have) been coming to Mexico since 1970, never had a problem. Have owned a home in Cozumel for 6 years. My wife and I live here winter and spring, then summer and fall in Upstate NY I’ve told many of my NY friends it’s safer here than going a NY mall on a weekend. If you don’t go looking for trouble it won’t find you. But don’t let the word get out too much, we don’t want our beautiful little island to change.”
It’s a long, ongoing battle between those in favor of travel to Mexico who love the place and those against who urge caution; one not likely to end any time soon.
Just a couple weeks ago, American Airlines revealed its restructuring plan, proposing to lay off 13,000 employees, terminating pensions and shutting down its Alliance base in Dallas-Fort Worth. Worried about losing their jobs, American employees are protesting.
“I understand it somewhat,” 24-year mechanic Greg Cooke, one of 300 American workers protesting at DFW this week told Star-Telegram. “But I don’t want to have to move again just to put another four years in before I retire. I’m tired of them taking and asking off of the backs of the employees.”
Protesters including pilots and members of other unions, showing their support, marched in front the DFW terminal holding signs saying “Blaming Labor AgAAin.”
Workers believe the airline needs to pay its pensions and called for an end to the “corporate greed” of executive bonuses in previous years.
American, meeting now with union leaders, said that the restructuring process is difficult but necessary and will affect all employee groups, union and nonunion alike.
“We are meeting with representatives from each union to negotiate the changes needed to make us successful, and are focused on reaching consensual agreements in the next few weeks,” spokesman Bruce Hicks said. “Our goal is to exit as a growing, profitable company that preserves tens of thousands of jobs.”
Americans love their pets and more pet owners than ever are traveling with them. Spending over $50 billion on pets in 2011, the pet business is booming and so is the business of keeping pets safe and secure when traveling.
“Pet identification, whether at home or abroad, is an important part of keeping pets safe,” says Susan Smith, President of Pet Travel that has on file entry requirements for countries all around the world, is familiar with airline regulations and serves as a Pet Travel Agent.
Pet Travel encourages the extra security provided by a microchip implant, based on a passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, making pets traceable worldwide.
If international travel with a pet is not in the budget, staycations are available too at destinations like A Dog’s Day Out in Alexandria, Virginia, where people bring in their dogs to stay either for the day or overnight.
But the ultimate pampering for pets might be found at dog salons likeBark and Bubbles in Fairfax, Virginia where pets can be washed and groomed, have a birthday party or get a facial.
The largest 24/7 in-door doggie spa is at New York’s Hotel Pennsylvania, the 2012 Pet Friendly Hotel of the Year award winner and host hotel for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. This one offers a variety of amenities that Show participants require: exclusive DogTread Treadmills, bathing/beauty parlor/salon, dog grooming/comfort station, canine gym, walking area, a canine masseuse and animal communicator and even his and hers relieving area.
The U.S. State Department has issued a new Mexico travel warning, superseding last April’s warning. Apparently, cartel violence stemming from drug trafficking, specifically violent struggles among the criminal organizations for control of trafficking routes, has resulted in a rising number of carjackings, kidnappings and gun battles throughout Mexico.
“U.S. travelers should be aware that the Mexican government has been engaged in an extensive effort to counter TCOs (Transnational Criminal Organizations) which engage in narcotics trafficking and other unlawful activities throughout Mexico, says the State Department in the new warning posted on their website today.
Detailing the problem, the State Department says “The TCOs themselves are engaged in a violent struggle to control drug trafficking routes and other criminal activity. As a result, crime and violence are serious problems throughout the country and can occur anywhere. U.S. citizens have fallen victim to TCO activity, including homicide, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery.”
Mexico government figures indicate that 47,515 people were killed in narcotics-related violence between December 1, 2006 and September 30, 2011, the warning states. Most of those killed were members of the criminal organizations.
The big problem: State Department numbers indicate that 120 U.S. citizens were murdered in Mexico in 2011, up from 35 in 2007, according to the warning.
Arizona college student Juan Pantoja told KVOA.com, “I was there two or three months ago. I go down there often and go to Rocky Point. I have never thought twice about it. It’s always a good time.” University of Arizona student Chase Tsui added, “I would love to go visit my boyfriend’s family, but the problem is getting there. My mom still has this thing about going to Mexico, so she still doesn’t want me to go.”