Air Travel

I have learned many things during my past travels, including never to arrive at a destination after dark. If there were no public transportation that late, I would have to take a cab, which I normally would only do as a last resort, as a taxi is not cost-effective and I have been ripped off by drivers several times.

On a birding trip to the Dominican Republic in March 2021 (Sept. ’21, pg. 14), the only problem I had was with a taxi ride that I had arranged from the airport to my hotel upon arriving in Santo Domingo.

Our Global Entry status was going to expire in July 2020, so that April we went onto the Trusted Traveler website (www.ttp.dhs.gov) to renew. On the website, we answered a few questions and paid $100 each. (Our joint-account Capital One Venture credit card refunded one of our renewal payments.)

For years, I never considered myself a globetrotter, so I never enrolled in the Global Entry program (www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry), which allows expedited clearance through Customs for preapproved travelers upon arrival in the US. Members can enter using automatic kiosks at select airports.*

There were 16 group members on the 8-day “Majestic Slovenia” tour that I returned from on July 24, 2021, and five of us were related (four cousins and a husband). Traveling with us on the tour by AHI International Corporation (Chicago, IL; 800/323-7373, ahitravel.com) was our helpful AHI Tour Director, Ivana Gavran. Ivana is Croatian but very knowledgeable about Slovenia.

Italy’s national airline, Alitalia, will cease to fly on Oct. 15, 2021. Anyone who purchased a ticket for an Alitalia flight taking place after Oct. 15 was given the choice of changing their flight to a date before Oct. 14 or receiving a full refund.

Alitalia will be immediately replaced by the airline Italia Transporto Aereo, or ITA. No contact information for ITA was available at press time.