A small example of a member of The Best of New Zealand going the extra mile for a recent client, and a reason to use a trusted partner when putting together complex travel arrangements:
Yesterday in the office Karen was stirring all day regarding a group of 36 who were delayed leaving Chicago (United) and then connecting to an Auckland-bound flight on Air New Zealand via San Francisco.
Situation:With the delay of the flight, the time between landing in SFO and the connection to the Auckland flight would have only been a little over an hour (an "illegal connection" according to United and perhaps in jeopardy of bumping the entire group!)
The Effort:To bring awareness to the situation (and do whatever she can to help the client) Karen called our partner at AirNZ (who then called the AirNZ SFO airport manager) in order to give the airport a head's up that there were 36 of "our" people delayed. Although the situation was in the hands of the airlines at the time to work out, it never hurts to let our partner (AirNZ) aware of the situation in the slight chance that it may affect the outcome for the better!
The Result: The end result is that the group landed, transferred (hustled?) to the Auckland flight and now begins their trip on the correct day when they land- not missing anything due to delayed flight.
Karen most likely won't let the client know of her efforts, but that doesn't mean someone else can't brag in her stead! It's a great example of how the details make the difference and hopefully serves as an example of what it takes to separate ourselves from other options people have when they travel. Thanks Karen!
