Business Travel Destinations

March 2012 Calendar of Holidays and Events

Rob Hard — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:08 +0000

March is great month: we get a bit more daylight in the evening with the changing of the clock, and we get to enjoy a pint on St. Patrick’s Day. I thought i’d also highlight that as many meeting professionals know, there are several international meetings and events trade shows scheduled throughout the year. But March this year is when International Confex is scheduled in London. If you are not familiar, International Confex brings together event planners with event venues, destinations and other services — hosted in the UK.

If you are searching for a full year calendar, check out our 2012 calendar of holidays and international events. If you are searching for important March 2012 calendar items, consider the following:

March 2012 Holidays and Events

March 6 (Tuesday), International Confex (London; through March 8th)
March 11 (Sunday), Daylight Savings Time starts at 2 a.m. (USA)
March 15 (Thursday), Las Fallas (Valencia, Spain; ends March 19)
March 15 (Thursday), Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship (Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, through March 17)
March 17 (Saturday), St. Patrick’s Day
March 18 (Sunday), Mothering Day (UK)
March 21 (Wednesday), Benito Juarez’s Birthday (Mexico)
>> check out our profile, “Traveling to Cancun, Mexico
March 25 (Sunday), Barcelona Marathon
March 30 (Friday), Semana Santa (Holy Week, local special events held in Spain, through April 8th)
March 31, April 2 (Saturday, Monday), Final Four (New Orleans, LA, USA; Louisiana Superdome)

If you know about other important February 2012 holidays and events, please post a comments about them here. We’re interested in sharing more details about holidays around the world as well as major conferences, festivals and other events your your city! Thank you.

How to Hire Catering Companies

Rob Hard — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:17 +0000

Stacy Ziegler, CPCE, CMP, an active member of the National Association of Catering Executives and director of sales at Bold American Catering, Atlanta. Courtesy image.

Let’s say you’re charged with planning a corporate meeting, casual reception, formal dinner or maybe a wedding. You want to host the event at a venue that doesn’t have its own catering staff. You have the concept and theme in mind, and you even know that you want to have a plated meal, buffet or passed hors d’oeuvres. Before you hire catering or contact catering companies to work the event, it’s helpful to have some initial ideas about the catering menu.

Establish a good balance with your menu, suggests Stacy Ziegler, CPCE, CMP, an active member of the National Association of Catering Executives and director of sales at Bold American Catering, which offers full service catering services to venues throughout Atlanta and organizes more than 500 corporate and social events each year.

“You can go riskier with your passed hors d’oeuvres, side dishes and dessert, but for the main entree you need to remember you are feeding a diverse group of people, Most people like to recognize what they are eating. This doesn’t mean everyone has to serve plain chicken, but be cautious with something very exotic.”

The season of the event also matters. And event planners frequently hold discussions about future events during a completely different season. “Though you may be discussing your menu in the dead of winter, the actual event could be in June. Short ribs and mashed potatoes in January sound fantastic, but when your June event rolls around, you will want something much lighter,” Ziegler says.

So now that you have the catering menu in mind, the next step is to hire a catering company for your event. “Talk to your caterer about what they do best,” Ziegler advises. “They have a lot of experience with crowd favorites, and know what they can execute best.” She offers the following 10 tips for anyone who may be hiring a caterer or catering company for the events:

Taste catering.

By sampling the caterer’s food, it will give you a chance to taste the catering and view how it will be presented. This is also a great time to meet with the Chef and determine how flexible he or she is. All items can be adjusted to your own tastes, so make sure your feedback is taken seriously. Ask how the food is prepared. Tip:. Ask whether the catering is finished on site, or cooked ahead of time and left in a hot box to stay warm?
Check references of caterers.
Even though you will most likely be given a list of very happy customers, there are still good nuggets of information you can learn if you check references of caterers. It’s an excellent way to gain insights about what the caterer does best. Good questions include: How many times they have used the caterer? What did you like best about their catering services for events? What is one thing you would change for their next event?
Review past catering pictures.
Catering pictures will give you a sense of how their events are set up. Do you like their service ware, use of spacing, and finishing touches? Is it the style you would like for your event? It is also a great way to explain to the caterer what you like by pointing to things in the pictures that you would like to see repeated at your event.
Determine your level of involvement.
Some caterers are full service and provide linens, tables, chairs, florals and décor. You can give them an idea of what you like and they can pull everything together for you and organize all the vendors. Some caterer’s only provide food and service, and you will be responsible for coordinating all your other items and vendors. Either way is fine, as long as it matches your needs.
Review catering menu and proposal in person.
This gives you a chance to see the catering operation. Is the office clean? Are you greeted in a timely manner? If you have any hesitation during this process, it will probably carry over to the event day.
Catering sales process should demonstrate organization.
If your proposal is timely and your sales manager is flexible, that is probably a sign of the company culture. Those traits will most likely carry over into the team that handles your event. The opposite could also be true. If your proposal is sent to you after the date promised, it may be a sign that timeliness isn’t an important value for the caterer.
Ask about the fine print.
Is your proposal all inclusive of everything you asked for? Is tax included, will the price vary per person if your guest count goes up or down. How does the service charge or labor work? Will you be responsible for tipping the staff that evening? When you compare proposals from one caterer to another, it is important you are comparing apples to apples and understand all your costs for the event.
Choose a caterer familiar and approved for your venue.
Many venues have a preferred caterers list. If you use someone on that list, they will be familiar with the rules and may have fewer mishaps on the day of your event. They may also have other privileges that they can pass on to you. Caterers who are not familiar with a venue may be cheaper at first glance, but you may have post event charges from your venue because the caterer didn’t remove the trash as required or some other penalty for not understanding the venue policies.
Ask about food and beverage special requirements.
Ask your caterer how they handle dietary restrictions, on site changes and late additions. Even the best planners are usually faced with an on-site surprise. Will your caterer be able to pull together a gluten free meal? If the welcome speech goes 15 minutes late, will the kitchen be able to roll with a new time line? Flexibility and a can-do attitude are crucial during events.
Know who is in charge on day of event.
Most times the person you are planning with will not be the primary contact the day of the event. If you want to make changes or have questions that day, it is important to know your contact. Depth in the team will give you some assurance that if one person is missing during your event because of sickness or a conflict, there is still a whole team behind them.

“Different caterers specialize in different things, so you may want to hire one caterer for your corporate picnic and another for your formal holiday party,” Ziegler adds.

Track Airline Flights

Rob Hard — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:00:03 +0000

There are plenty of reasons to explain flight status delays, including causes by the carriers themselves, weather, the national aviation system, security and simply late arriving aircrafts. But that doesn’t comfort the late traveler who may have been limited to whatever flight he or she selected — they simply stay focused on the importance of getting off the plane where they’re headed in the most timely manner possible. And it also explain the popularity of tools to help track airline flights.

We have recently compiled the flight status data of 10 popular airlines, and have added flight status search tools to help travelers to better predict the timing of their travel experience. Please note that these tools to track airplane flights are more comprehensive than our initial airline profiles — use them to track flights for all airlines and airports.

Depending on the month, there are roughly between 55-60 million domestic passengers seats available for airline flights in the U.S. flights, and there are between 25-30 million international passenger seats as well. This, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (October 2010 – Setempber 2011).

That’s a lot of demand. And perhaps that also explains — in part — why roughly one out of five flights will likely experience a delay. Navigating this environment is the challenge of business travelers and others who rely on air transportation for work or for fun.

So the question is, how effectively are the airlines moving passengers? We’ve taken a look at the following airlines:

We will continue to expand our list. Please check our Airline Flight Status page for updates and reviews by airline.
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Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about the flight status of a particular airline? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their flight status.
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Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.

Air Tran Flight Status

Rob Hard — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:50:52 +0000

More than 15% of Air Tran Airways flights arrived late between December 1, 2010 and November 30, 2011, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). So this reinforces the importance of checking the Air Tran flight status when booking your flight or before heading to the airport.

Air Tran Airways had a total of 249,110 flights during this time period. BTS tracks the flight status of airlines in depth, so let’s take a look at the flight status of late arriving flights for Air Tran more closely:

Total flights arriving late: 37,708
Average departure delay: 46.21 minutes
Average taxi-out time: 20.49 minutes
Average scheduled departure to take-off: 66.70 minutes
Average arrival delay: 57.60 minutes
Average airborne time: 109.19 minutes
Average taxi-in minutes: 8.53 minutes

Causes behind those Air Tran flight status delays vary. Do you think weather has the biggest impact? Think again. BTS identifies the causes for delays at the destination as follows (average in minutes):

Carrier: 9.48 minutes
Weather: 1.02 minutes
National Aviation System: 17.73 minutes
Security: .00 minutes
Late aircraft arrival: 26.80 minutes

To be sure, most flights depart on time. In fact, the average departure delay of all flights during this time period was only 5.35 minutes. The other reason it’s important to check Air Tran flight status is because cancelled flights are another reality. There were 7,2858 flights cancelled during this time — about 1.77% of all flights.
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Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about an Air Tran flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their Air Tran flight status.
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Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next Air Trans Airways flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about Air Tran airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.

Alaska Air Flight Status

Rob Hard — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:45:05 +0000

Less than 12% of Alaska Air flights arrived late between December 1, 2010 and November 30, 2011, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). So this reinforces the importance of checking the Alaska Air flight status when booking your flight or before heading to the airport.

US Airways had a total of 409,759 flights during this time period. BTS tracks the flight status of airlines in depth, so let’s take a look at the flight status of late arriving flights for Alaska Air more closely:

Total flights arriving late: 143,667
Average departure delay: 41.79 minutes
Average taxi-out time: 17.60 minutes
Average scheduled departure to take-off: 59.39 minutes
Average arrival delay: 50.92 minutes
Average airborne time: 160.55 minutes
Average taxi-in minutes: 5.63 minutes

Causes behind those Alaska Air flight status delays vary. Do you think weather has the biggest impact? Think again. BTS identifies the causes for delays at the destination as follows (average in minutes):

Carrier: 16.65 minutes
Weather: 1.62 minutes
National Aviation System: 13.99 minutes
Security: .18 minutes
Late aircraft arrival: 16.63 minutes

To be sure, most flights depart on time. In fact, the average departure delay of all flights during this time period was only 1.35 minutes. The other reason it’s important to check Alaska Air flight status is because cancelled flights are another reality. There were 952 flights cancelled during this time — about 0.66% of all flights.
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Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about an Alaska Air flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their Alaska Air flight status.
______________________________________________________________

Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next Alaska Air flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about Alaska Air airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.

American Airlines Flight Status

Rob Hard — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:40:18 +0000

Nearly 20% of American Airlines flights arrived late between December 1, 2010 and November 30, 2011, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). So this reinforces the importance of checking the American Airlines flight status when booking your flight or before heading to the airport.

American Airlines had a total of 540,950 flights during this time period. BTS tracks the flight status of airlines in depth, so let’s take a look at the flight status of late arriving flights for American Airlines more closely:

Total flights arriving late: 106,382
Average departure delay: 51.22 minutes
Average taxi-out time: 20.19 minutes
Average scheduled departure to take-off: 71.41 minutes
Average arrival delay: 60.16 minutes
Average airborne time: 149.44 minutes
Average taxi-in minutes: 8.26 minutes

Causes behind those American Airlines flight status delays vary. Do you think weather has the biggest impact? Think again. BTS identifies the causes for delays at the destination as follows (average in minutes):

Carrier: 19.94 minutes
Weather: 3.90 minutes
National Aviation System: 14.60 minutes
Security: .03 minutes
Late aircraft arrival: 17.82 minutes

To be sure, most flights depart on time. In fact, the average departure delay of all flights during this time period was only 9.72 minutes. The other reason it’s important to check American Airlines flight status is because cancelled flights are another reality. There were 14,356 flights cancelled during this time — about 2.65% of all flights.
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Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about an American Airlines flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check whether flight status issues will impact the departure time of their American Airlines flight status.
______________________________________________________________

Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next American Airlines flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about American Airlines airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.

British Airways Flight Status

Rob Hard — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:35:04 +0000

British Airways (BA) takes passengers to more than 300 destinations globally, and for the fiscal year 2009/2010, British Airways carried nearly 32 million passengers, aaccording to the airline’s annual report. British Airways is the UK’s largest international scheduled airline, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that travelers are concerned about the British Airways flight status when they travel. After all, BA’s home base is London Hethrow, one of the busiest airports in the world. Running on time here is an operational challenge. Still, the BA brand is one that has established significant value with travelers.

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Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about a British Airways flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their British Airways flight status.
______________________________________________________________

Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next British Airways flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about British Airways airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.

Continental Airlines Flight Status

Rob Hard — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:30:56 +0000

More than 22% of Continental Airlines flights arrived late between December 1, 2010 and November 30, 2011, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). So this reinforces the importance of checking the Continental Airlines flight status when booking your flight or before heading to the airport.

Continental Airlines had a total of 245,381 flights during this time period. BTS tracks the flight status of airlines in depth, so let’s take a look at the flight status of late arriving flights for Continental Airlines more closely:

Total flights arriving late: 54,200
Average departure delay: 42.45 minutes
Average taxi-out time: 22.96 minutes
Average scheduled departure to take-off: 65.42 minutes
Average arrival delay: 53.22 minutes
Average airborne time: 178.92 minutes
Average taxi-in minutes: 9.10 minutes

Causes behind those Continental Airlines flight status delays vary. Do you think weather has the biggest impact? Think again. BTS identifies the causes for delays at the destination as follows (average in minutes):

Carrier: 15.21 minutes
Weather: 2.58 minutes
National Aviation System: 20.62 minutes
Security: .15 minutes
Late aircraft arrival: 12.33 minutes

To be sure, most flights depart on time. In fact, the average departure delay of all flights during this time period was only 10.06 minutes. The other reason it’s important to check Continental Airlines flight status is because cancelled flights are another reality. There were 3,497 flights cancelled during this time — about 1.43% of all flights.
______________________________________________________________

Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about an Continental Airlines flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their Continental Airlines flight status.
______________________________________________________________

Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next Continental Airlines flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about Continental Airlines airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.

Delta Airlines Flight Status

Rob Hard — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:25:42 +0000

More than 17% of Delat Airlines flights arrived late between December 1, 2010 and November 30, 2011, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). So this reinforces the importance of checking the Delta Airlines flight status when booking your flight or before heading to the airport.

Delta Airlines had a total of 735,865 flights during this time period. BTS tracks the flight status of airlines in depth, so let’s take a look at the flight status of late arriving flights for Delta Airlines more closely:

Total flights arriving late: 128,099
Average departure delay: 46.59 minutes
Average taxi-out time: 26.69 minutes
Average scheduled departure to take-off: 73.28 minutes
Average arrival delay: 55.74 minutes
Average airborne time: 127.87 minutes
Average taxi-in minutes: 10.32 minutes

Causes behind those Delta Airlines flight status delays vary. Do you think weather has the biggest impact? Think again. BTS identifies the causes for delays at the destination as follows (average in minutes):

Carrier: 18.24 minutes
Weather: 2.60 minutes
National Aviation System: 15.37 minutes
Security: .02 minutes
Late aircraft arrival: 17.50 minutes

To be sure, most flights depart on time. In fact, the average departure delay of all flights during this time period was only 7.60 minutes. The other reason it’s important to check Delta Airlines flight status is because cancelled flights are another reality. There were 12,949 flights cancelled during this time — about 1.76% of all flights.
______________________________________________________________

Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about an Delta Airlines flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their Delta Airlines flight status.
______________________________________________________________

Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next Delta Airlines flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

______________________________________________________________

Are you looking for information about Delta Airlines airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.

Iberia Airlines Flight Status

Rob Hard — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:20:36 +0000

Iberia Airlines takes passengers to 109 destinations in 44 countries each day. They have a fleet of 160 aircraft and 600 flights each day, carrying up to 1230,000 passengers. This, according to 2010 data from Iberia Group. Iberia is Spain’s largest airline, and the fourth-largest in Europe. In 2009, Iberia carried about 25.5 million people. Given the volume, on-time flight status is an important issue to travelers. Interested in checking out the status of your flight or a potential one in the future? Check out these flight status tools.

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Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Want to know more about a Iberia Airlines flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their Iberia flight status.
______________________________________________________________

Check Flight Rating & more at www.flightstats.com

Before you book that next Iberia Airlines flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about Iberia Airlines airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.