The Flat Savvy photo contest concluded on April 17, and I’m pleased to say that my flat likeness went on quite a journey! From Copenhagen to North Dakota, London to Australia, I’ve visited ski mountains, beautiful beaches, wineries and even spring training! If you haven’t yet seen the extent of my travels, you can visit my photo album here.

Thanks to ALL who participated in the contest—your photos were wonderful! And now that the judging is complete, we’re excited to announce our three contest winners…

In the category of “Most unique/interesting activity in which Flat Savvy is participating,” our winner is Brian with a photo of Flat Savvy visiting the White House in Washington, DC. Congratulations Brian!

In the category of “Most creative incorporation of Flat Savvy into a photo,” our winner is Jamie with a photo of Flat Savvy buried in the sand on a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Congratulations Jamie!

And our GRAND PRIZE winner, with the highest overall scores for creativity/originality and composition/clarity, is Christina with a photo of Flat Savvy lounging on a beach chair in Destin, Florida. Congratulations, Christina!

Thank you to our creative participants and to our generous sponsor, the joint venture of Delta, KLM, Air France and Alitalia, for providing our wonderful prizes!

It’s April in Minnesota, and as of last week it was still snowing. Yes, snowing. So I decided to take a long weekend and head to Arizona for a little break from the weather. For this post, I’ll be wearing my “traveling for fun” hat—with a specific focus on traveling with your pet (since my last minute decision to get out of the cold for a few days didn’t give me time to find someone to watch my dog).

The airlines have a lot of rules, but it’s actually easier than you think to take your cat or dog on board with you. While the rules vary for each airline, here are some general guidelines to keep in mind:

Make a reservation ahead of time

• You can call when you book your flight, or any time after your ticket has been issued to reserve a spot on your flight; typically, there can only be 7 pets on any flight
• There is a cost to take your pal with you – while it is different from one airline to the next, it generally runs around $125 each way
• Cabin pets are only permitted on Flights within the 48 contiguous United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Croix 

Pets go through Security, too

• In my experience, flying with a pet is as easy as taking a baby through the scanner with you
• Be prepared for lots of attention, everyone will want to come over for a look

 

Typically, only Dogs and Cats are allowed to fly in the cabin

• Some Airlines allow birds, but not many
• Consider the length of your flight before you decide to take your pet along. The plane sometimes gets hot.

 

There are guidelines for the carrier your pet travels in as well

• The maximum, size for cabin pet carriers is: 19” long X 13” wide X 9” high
• Soft sided carriers work the best and are easiest to carry
• Your pet must be able to stand up, turn around and lie down in its carry on kennel
• Your pet and carrier combined cannot weigh more than 20 lbs
• Your pet kennel counts as one carry on!

 

Each airline will have all rules and applicable charges on their website, so check to make sure you research the correct details for your carrier before you start to pack your pooch!

With Earth Day 2011 right around the corner tomorrow, and given my role as the executive sponsor for CWT’s North American environmental policies, seems like the perfect time to talk a little “trash.” No, not who is going to beat who in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year—although since it came up, I think it’s Detroit’s year (again)—but for purposes of this blog post, think “trash” as in your own and what you are doing to minimize your impact on the environment!

Environmental sustainability is about each person’s efforts to reuse, reduce and recycle as much as it is about corporate efforts for the same. If you’ve changed your habits already, think about what more you can do. The Earth Day organization has all sorts of tips for your home and your office, but I’d like to take a minute here to talk about what you can do when you travel. Sure, we all get reusing our hotel room towels to save water, but there are many more easy ways travelers can minimize their environmental impact on the road. Consider:

• Be aware. In your online booking tool, you may have a carbon calculator that helps you make the final choice when reviewing travel options, whether it’s two air travel routes or a rail option. In addition, more and more organizations are starting to “label” their green suppliers accordingly. Check it out!
• Stay tuned. Before you go and on the road, environmental tips and conservation opportunities are everywhere. From receptacles that separate recycling and trash at the point of disposal now to informational cards in your hotel room about environmental choices you can make as a guest, if you are looking to learn something new, chances are you will.
• Take action: From travel options for getting there, shutting off unnecessary lights while you are in your room, to fuel-efficient rental choices and/or walking to dinner vs. taking a cab on the road, each choice made by each traveler does indeed make a difference.
• Help green your organization’s meetings too by supporting the use of facilities with more reusable and less disposable items and that actively seek to conserve water and energy. Do your part and send meeting materials electronically.
• Be conscientious about your trips, consider staying a day longer to make sure you maximize the value of your trip and can perhaps travel less frequently.
• Learn more about what North American airlines, hotels and other travel suppliers are doing to help preserve the environment in CWT’s most recent CWT ViewPoint, “Green expectations growing in managed travel.”

The greener you get on your trip, not only are you reusing, reducing and recycling in those moments, but you are making a statement to all travel providers about the choices you want longer-term, indeed “fueling” the green movement! So, this Earth Day, talk a little trash with your coworkers, your friends and families…and, keep it earth friendly to make a difference in your travels. Go Wings!

Have you always dreamed of a beach wedding in the Caribbean or Hawaii? Or maybe last night’s edition of Entertainment Tonight featured a famous couple exchanging their vows in some wonderfully romantic Italian village. If you’re considering a destination wedding for yourself or a family member, you’re not alone! More and more couples are choosing to have their wedding at a destination – in fact some 20% of weddings now fall into this category. Destination weddings are one of the hottest trends in weddings today; one of the most common reasons to choose a destination wedding – money. Generally they cost considerably less than a traditional wedding, with the average savings estimated to be approximately $20,000…..! Personally, I have three daughters plus I love to travel – so this seems like a no-brainer to me.


We’ve been helping our clients organize destination weddings for some time now so I’d like to share some of our best tips when it comes to planning the perfect destination wedding:

• If you’re traveling internationally, arrange for passports and/or visas far in advance. Brides, remember the name on your passport must match your airline ticket so you’ll likely need to use your maiden name!
• Give your guests plenty of time to make travel plans – 12 months, if possible.
• Make sure a wide array of activities is available so everyone’s happy.
• Consider an all-inclusive resort or cruise so there are no financial surprises for you or your guests …meals costs can add up quickly when traveling.
• At the time you book your resort or cruise, reserve spa treatments for the wedding party.
• Choose a destination and date that are well matched – you don’t want to go to the Caribbean during hurricane season or Cancun during spring break!

With all the optional services/products airlines make available for purchase, which ones do you find to be most valuable? Assuming you would be using your own personal funds to make the purchase, which of the following would you be willing to pay for? (feel free to select more than one)

Are we missing anything? What other airline services are you willing to pay extra for? Leave us a comment below.