Virtual Travel options - available streams

Most of the world is at home due to the coronavirus, and many (me included) are also grounded from travel both for work and vacation.  In that spirit, I wanted to share this link from Conde Nast with live streams of places around the world include Rome, Sydney, and the northern lights.

CN Live stream links

Enjoy!

Hilton Program update - and kudos

Hilton shared the following update today regarding program status and points earning - overall I have to give them kudos for extending status and expiration deadlines:

On behalf of the entire Hilton team, we hope this message finds you in good health. As the world adapts to these unusual circumstances, I wanted to share what we are doing to extend your Hilton Honors benefits and to support our communities during this turbulent time.

Your Hilton Honors Status and Points

We consider it our privilege to have you as a Hilton Honors member and we want to show our appreciation by extending your benefits: 

• 2019 Status Extension. All members whose 2019 status was scheduled to be downgraded on March 31, 2020—whether it’s Diamond, Gold or Silver—will automatically receive an extension through March 31, 2021.
• 2020 Status Extension. We are extending your 2020 member status through March 31, 2022. This means you will continue to enjoy all the Diamond, Gold or Silver benefits you have access to today for the next 24 months.
• Points Extension. We will pause the expiration of all Points scheduled to expire between now and December 31, 2020.
• Weekend Night Rewards Earned on Eligible Hilton Credit Cards. We have extended the expiration date of all unexpired Weekend Night Rewards as of March 11, 2020, and all new ones issued until August 30, 2020, through the end of next summer (August 31, 2021).

Your Travel Flexibility

We remain committed to offering you flexible booking options. Given these unique circumstances, we are making further adjustments to our individual booking policies:

• Existing Reservations. All reservations—even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”)—that are scheduled for arrival on or before June 30, 2020 can be changed or cancelled at no charge, up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival day.
• New Reservations. Any reservations you make—even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”)—that are booked between today and June 30, 2020 for any future arrival date can be changed or cancelled at no charge, up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival day.

If you need to adjust reservations made via the Hilton website, app or call center, you can change your reservation here or contact the Hilton Guest Assistance team. If you need to adjust reservations made through another travel site, please contact them for assistance.


Will Hyatt follow suit??

United flight updates (3/14/20)

To say my travel plans for the year have been impacted would be an understatement.  AirlineRoute is reporting the following additional changes/cancellations from United:

Chicago O’Hare – Amsterdam 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER cancelled
Chicago O’Hare – Brussels 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER (787-10 from 29MAR20) cancelled
Chicago O’Hare – Frankfurt 20MAR20 – 30APR20 2 daily 767-300ER/777-200ER (767-300ER/787-10 from 29MAR20) cancelled
Chicago O’Hare – Munich 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER (787-9 from 29MAR20) cancelled
Chicago O’Hare – Paris CDG 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER cancelled
Denver – Frankfurt 17MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 787-8 cancelled
Guam – Yap 737-800 replaces -700 on following dates: 01APR20, 12APR20, 15APR20, 26APR20, 29APR20 (This route is served twice weekly)
Houston – Amsterdam 18MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 777-200ER cancelled
Houston – Frankfurt 18MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 777-200ER cancelled
Houston – Munich 16MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER cancelled
Newark – Amsterdam 28MAR20 – 30APR20 Reduce from 2 to 1 daily (Planned 2nd daily with 767-300ER delayed to 01MAY20)
Newark – Barcelona 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-400ER cancelled
Newark – Berlin Tegel 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER/-400ER cancelled
Newark – Geneva 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER cancelled
Newark – Lisbon 20MAR20 – 29APR20 Reduce from 7 to 4 weekly, 767-400ER operating
Newark – Madrid 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER cancelled
Newark – Milan Malpensa 01MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER/-400ER cancelled
Newark – Porto 28MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 757-200 cancelled
Newark – Rome 18MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-400ER cancelled
Newark – Tel Aviv 04APR20 – 29APR20 Reduce from 14 to 12 weekly
San Francisco – Amsterdam 28MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 787-8 cancelled (Seasonal start up moves from 28MAR20 to 01MAY20)
San Francisco – Frankfurt 20MAR20 – 30APR20 Reduce from 2 to 1 daily, 777-300ER operating
San Francisco – Paris CDG 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 787-8/-9 cancelled
San Francisco – Tel Aviv 29MAR20 – 30APR20 Reduce from 7 to 4 weekly, 777-300ER operating
Washington Dulles – Amsterdam 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER/-400ER cancelled
Washington Dulles – Brussels 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-400ER cancelled
Washington Dulles – Frankfurt 20MAR20 – 30APR20 Reduce from 2 to 1 daily, 777-200ER operating
Washington Dulles – Geneva 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-400ER cancelled
Washington Dulles – Lisbon 28MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 757-200 cancelled
Washington Dulles – Munich 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-400ER cancelled
Washington Dulles – Paris CDG 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 787-9 cancelled
Washington Dulles – Sao Paulo Guarulhos 01APR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 787-8 cancelled
Washington Dulles – Tel Aviv 30MAR20 – 03MAY20 3 weekly 777-200ER cancelled
Washington Dulles – Zurich 20MAR20 – 30APR20 1 daily 767-300ER cancelled

Oof.

More flight impacts from coronavirus

From CNN posted this afternoon:

British Airways, one of the largest airlines in Europe, has announced that it will be canceling several flights to “match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue,” it said in a statement today. 

The cancelations will impact flights between March 16 and March 28 and include:

• Cancelling 12 roundtrips from London Heathrow to New York JFK
• Cancelling 171 short-haul roundtrip flights from London Heathrow to countries including Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland
• Cancelling 7 short-haul roundtrip flights from Gatwick to Italy, France and Albania
• Cancelling 26 short-haul roundtrip flights from London City to Germany and Italy

“We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options, including rebooking onto other carriers where possible, full refunds or booking with BA for a later date of travel,” the statement added.

Update: ELI conference canceled

I'm heading back...while waiting for my flight to SeaTac, I received a response via Twitter letting me know the ELI conference was canceled.  Luckily I had time to change flights and cancel my stay to get back to Newark same day.

While I'm disappointed about not attending the conference, I'm glad the organizers made the right decision.

On my way to Educause ELI

Greetings from the San Francisco Airport!  I'm on my way to ELI in the Seattle area and wanted to share this quick post.  The coronavirus has been in the news every hour it seems, though conference organizers have said the show will go on.  I will of course be vigilant while onsite; flights back are on Wednesday.

It's been a while since I've been through SFO - it used to be one of my regular connection options.