From WXXI news this is connections.

I'm Raquel Stephen.

It's mid-July, which means is peak summer travel season.

But this year, vacation planning comes with some extra baggage.

Like travel advisories, shifting experiences at the border, and increased concerns about flying.

The U.S. State Department recently issued a World wide caution alert, citing rising global tensions sparked by the Israel Iran conflict.

At the same time, countries in Europe that have traditionally been seen as safe destinations are being given travel advisories.

Meanwhile, travel across the U.S. Canada border is slowing.

And in the skies, recent crashes and other failures have sparked new concerns about the safety of commercial air travel.

All of this, all of this has some people thinking, should I just stay home?

That's the question I have for our panel today.

Joining us in studio is Marc Gruber.

He's a senior communications specialist with triple A of Western and Central New York.

Thank you for joining me in studio today, Marc.

It's great to be with you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And on the phone is Tyler Buffington, a travel advisor with triple H. Tyler, are you there?

Yeah.

I'm here.

Thanks so much for having me today.

Yeah.

Thank you so much for joining us.

And also joining us remotely.

I have, Barry Choi, a Toronto based travel expert and host of the Money We Have podcast.

Barry, are you joining us from Toronto?

Where are you in the world?

Is Barry there?

You got me?

Yes.

Hey, Barry.

I can hear you.

Can you hear me?

I'm in Toronto.

I'm here.

I'm happy to be here.

I'm glad you're here.

I was a little concerned.

You may have been traveling.

Barry, thank you for joining us.

Now, if you, our listeners, want to join you in the conversation, you can call us at 1844295 talk.

That's 8255 or at (585) 263-9994 or email us at Connections at Zorg or comment in the chat section and our YouTube channel.

Now I want to start with my guest in studio, Marc.

In June, the U.S. State Department, as we heard, issued a rare worldwide caution alert advising the U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution.

Can you walk us through what triggered this and how it differs from the typical country specific travel advisory?

Well, I think there's a couple of things to keep in mind here.

First of all, the, conflict between Israel and Iran, triggered, concerns not just in that region in the Middle East, but throughout Europe as well.

It is worth noting, and I do think this is important for travelers to keep in mind, that the majority of the countries in Western Europe typically operate with a level two travel advisory.

And so people at home might say to themselves, well, what exactly does that mean?

It means just exercise caution.

It's the kind of thing that most of us do every day in our daily lives, right where we live.

Be aware of your surroundings.

Keep an eye on things that might seem out of the ordinary.

If something is unusual, see something.

Say something.

That type of a mentality.

Now, when you get to a level three advisory, now you're exercising caution.

Yeah.

Pardon me.

Reconsidering travel.

So, level two, exercise caution.

Level three.

Reconsider travel.

Whatever is happening in that particular area is something that might give the typical traveler pause and reason to reconsider whether they want to go to that area.

Level four would be, do not travel.

We saw a level four advisory for Iran, for example.

Yes.

I don't know how many folks from the Rochester area were planning trips to Iran this summer, but anyone who was we're at a level four there.

Yeah, we're not taking that trip.

That's a dangerous place to go right now.

So but again, to to bring it back.

A lot of the countries in Western Europe, the kinds of places that folks visit Italy, France, Germany, typically operate under a level two advisory where there's no specific threat per se, but just a heightened awareness while you're there.

So maybe as a tourist, you're looking to avoid large crowds?

Yes.

If you see some type of trouble or unrest, a protest of some kind, we're just looking to avoid it.

Common sense type reminders as you go about enjoying your trip?

And what what what sparks these advisories?

What what are some of the things that you look for right, in these countries.

I know we go from level one to level four, right.

Is someone really how are we getting these advisory levels for each country.

Well, I mean there's a variety of things that can factor into it.

I mean, you look at a place like Ukraine where you literally have a war, ongoing.

So any type of internal strife, a civil type of like a civil war, civil conflict within a nation.

That kind of stuff is certainly going to get the attention of the State Department.

These the U.S. State Department is the one that issues these advisories.

So, those types of things are going to get the attention if you have unrest.

Regime change in certain places that might raise, a threat level depending, you know, if it's not a democratic process, so to speak.

But there can be other things.

Natural disasters.

Right?

Where, conditions, at a, you know, a Paradise like location may not be optimal for travel.

So, you certainly would look at look to that.

Even not so far from home in the tropics.

We are already in hurricane season.

So we look at the tropics for a number of reasons tropical storms and hurricanes developing.

Obviously, those types of things can impact one's ability to travel and the wisdom of traveling as well.

Yeah.

I know some people are still going to travel despite these advisories, right?

Oh for sure.

Yeah.

What advice would you give them if you're going to still travel?

If it's a level two or level three, people have trips planned.

Yeah.

I think there are a couple things to keep in mind.

Along those, along that line of thinking.

First of all, travel is a personal choice.

What, might seem threatening to one person may not feel threatening to another.

On the other hand, you're going to want to get with a trusted travel advisor.

You're going to want to talk through some of the expectations as it relates to, what happens if, I cannot fly out from the destination once I arrive there?

What happens if some aspect of my trip, the itinerary is altered because of changing circumstances on the ground?

That might involve something like trip insurance.

So my colleague Tyler Buffington is a is is a person that deals with this?

I wouldn't say on a daily basis, but certainly, during the course of a year working with clients, talking about expectations as it relates to travel to places where there may be a heightened risk, and there may again, it may even rise to the point where there's a recommend that someone reconsider travel.

And to your point, still opts to go.

And a lot of I don't think a lot of people actually look at travel advisories when they're booking, right?

I mean, now we are because of the Israel Iran war.

We may.

But a lot of times we don't look like I when I'm booking a trip, I'm not looking at.

Is this a level one or level two place to visit?

So is this something that we should put into practice every time we book a trip?

I think it's a best practice.

Yes.

I think I would recommend that as a best practice.

I think awareness, is critical, when it comes to traveling globally, particularly here in 2025.

Look at a place like Mexico.

So if you're going to go to, you know, book a trip to Cancun, it probably isn't the first instinct to say, hey, am I good to go here?

But if you look at it, there may be an advisory in place.

There may be some type of warning.

We have seen, in the past, in the recent past situations where there were incidents in areas near Cancun.

So perhaps it's not a preferred resort, but because there's been an incident nearby, it's something that travelers should be aware.

And again, this is the kind of recommendation that a travel advisor, someone that you can trust, can walk you through.

If you're going to book an excursion, you know, you're going to want to book that ahead of time.

You're not going to want to walk down the beach in Cancun, run into some random person who says, I'd love to take you on a boat ride.

You know, that's something you're going to want to work with a trusted advisor ahead of time.

Put that in place so you know when you take that excursion that you are going to be safe and that you are following a planned itinerary.

Yes, you're going to stay on the beaten path, so to speak.

Yeah.

And I know a lot of people love to travel alone now.

Like traveling alone is a thing.

I know there should be some heightened precautions for people that travel by themselves, because a lot of times you're you make plans with a group of people, and then people start to fall off like, oh, no, change of plans.

And now you're by yourself.

Or people just enjoy traveling alone.

Any advice for those people that that travel by themselves?

Yeah.

I mean, the first piece of advice that comes to mind is make sure that your loved ones know where you are.

And the other piece, and I know Tyler can speak to this, is if you're traveling internationally, you should enroll in the Step program through the State Department.

This allows the government to know who you are, where you are, and how you can be contacted in the event.

As we talked about, if something were to change on the ground in a place like Italy or Germany, while you're there, they can get Ahold of you.

They know where you are, you can get Ahold of them if you need to be removed from that situation for some reason.

Obviously, that's an extreme example.

But if some type of unrest were to unfold, the State Department knows you're there.

They can account for you.

So that would be the number one piece of advice.

The secondary key component of that is your loved one should know where you are.

If you're traveling alone.

Maybe you're traveling from Rochester for a weekend in New York City or Boston.

So, I think it's a good idea for those who know you and carry you to know you're there.

Even I think about, you know, even anecdotally in my own life, I know that we have the ability through our smartphones to track the movement of our children.

Yes.

So we know where they are, and we can create an expectation for they're not where they're supposed to be.

Maybe I pick up the phone and make a call, or send a text to make sure everything's okay.

So I think that's the first piece of advice that I would give in that scenario is let people you love know where you are.

And Tyler, I know, like Mark said, you have your expertise on on this.

Will you do you want to provide some insight into checking in with the State Department?

Yeah.

So, absolutely.

So enrolling in the, the Step program, the smart Traveler enrollment program.

It's pretty fairly quick process.

And usually takes only about 15 to 20 minutes or so, and you can make sure then again, like what Mark said, like the, you know, the State Department knows where you are, knows, you know, how many people there are in your traveling party or if you're traveling by yourself, knows that and notes that so that if there is something that begins to develop, or, you know, a like, I mean, potentially we're already in a, level two travel advisory in the destination of where you're going to be, and something may elevate it to a level three or a level four.

They know where you are, they know that.

Then they can get you out of there.

And you know, you can work with us and work with the State Department in the process of, you know, making sure we get you home safe and sound from any of those locations.

And do people often do this?

Enroll in the Step program?

I've had some people do it.

I've had people not even know what it is.

So like, it's a it's like like you said, it's not something that we always think of when we're going to these places, like, oh, are they in a level three travel advisory or are they in a level two travel?

We don't think of that stuff necessarily.

When we go to destinations.

We're just like, I want to go there.

I want to check this out.

I want to I want to have a vacation there.

I want to enjoy myself.

So it's not always something that's a well thought out, when you're going to the locations.

But it is something that we do monitor and we think about it every single day.

And, you know, I mean, I think about it every single day.

But when people come in for some of the locations that are at a heightened risk, it is something that I definitely mentioned and I want them to consider in that case.

But that's one thing we do here at triple A is on top of what I do to monitor, clients and our members safety and everything is also, we have a whole team that monitors that constantly.

If there's a bad weather advisory or if there is something that develops and changes.

So we're never going to send anywhere, some we're never going to send anybody anywhere that's unsafe.

We're going to monitor them.

We have a whole team that is just checking that all out to make sure the places that we are sending clients and members is safe.

So we have teams that are looking at that all the time, which that's one thing I really love about, and I feel good about that.

I have somebody backing me up constantly, 24 seven, two.

So it should become a habit to check in with triple A before you travel.

Right, gentlemen?

Yeah, yeah.

You'll get to talk to Tyler and Mark.

Yeah, but I think they'll literally come see me and we'll we'll make it.

We'll make sure of it.

So.

And and Mark will pass people along my way to and and obviously the key phrasing here is a trusted travel advisor.

Certainly your listeners may have a relationship with somebody that they've worked with for a number of years.

Having that trust and knowing that that person has your best interests in mind is essential when you're planning certainly a significant trip, you know, to Europe or maybe even the other side of the world, you know, halfway around the world.

Yeah.

And I want to talk about a different kind of international travel, right.

Crossing the Canadian border.

And, Barry, this is where I need your help.

Despite the pandemic era restrictions being lifted, we're seeing a surprising trend.

Fewer Canadians are coming to the U.S, and vice versa.

Barry, what are you hearing about why Canadians are choosing not to travel to us down south as often?

It should be very obvious with your Canadian listing, but on the American side, maybe not so much.

So the number one big thing I would say at the very beginning, closer to February, is the 51st state rhetoric.

You know, at the beginning, everyone kind of blew it off.

Didn't think it was the president was very serious.

But now obviously is he is in fact serious.

And this is not a joke to Canadians.

And I'm sure Americans can understand why.

It's like, we just don't want to hear that and we're just not interested in it.

And then the second thing that I think really pushed tip the scales is tariffs.

You know, he's constantly under threat.

You know, again back in February or March I can't even keep track.

Terrorists were changing almost daily.

I remember I was driving over the border to Buffalo.

And I think the tariff situation changed like three times within a week of a span of a week.

So to a lot of Canadians, I just feel like they just don't want to bother right now.

They've they're still traveling.

So it's an opportunity to visit places like the Caribbean or what we're seeing.

The data here is a lot of Canadians are traveling within Canada or heading towards Europe, so they're still Canadians traveling and they're still spending money.

And obviously some Canadians are still traveling to us.

But the numbers speak for themselves.

Air traffic and cross-border vehicles has dropped significantly.

But on the flip side of things, I think there is an opportunity for Americans who want to come to Canada because there's this strong exchange rate for you guys and you guys that strong exemptions where the tariffs don't necessarily apply.

And very I know a lot of these travel advisories.

When you like a level three for for Americans.

Right.

If that country is unsafe for Americans, do you have something like this in Canada where, where if a country's unsafe for Canadians, you won't.

Yes.

Okay.

Very, very similar.

And I thought it was very smart to play Mark.

I believe in his name.

We have very similar advisories for any country.

So like you said, if you can go to Italy or UK, there's always some kind of advisory, very, very basic advisory when you think about it like, hey, it's a known area where tourists get pickpocketed.

You know, my mom got pickpocketed in Barcelona, and there's advisory for that.

Not specifically for my mom, but you get the point.

And then obviously, if there was some kind of event recently, you know, you know, many years ago, there was a driver who drove onto the sidewalk in France.

And then there was an advisory for, for France, for, for many, many years.

And it really depends on the situation.

And sometimes some countries kind of get sandwiched in there.

So a country like Egypt or Jordan, who happened to be in the Middle East, but they're not necessarily in any threat to themselves.

There are always advisories for Canadians.

And, you know, it's just from a Canadian standpoint.

I always tell people, yeah, you've got to look at those travel advisories, number one, to find out how safe it is.

But you also got to see if it applies to you, because there might be a level 3 or 4, whatever advisory it is in Canada for a country like Egypt, but it might apply to a very, very certain area that might border another country.

So if you're not going anywhere near there, you're probably going to be fine.

But there are certain advisories which may void your travel insurance is what you want to care about.

Yeah.

Let's talk I we mentioned travel insurance.

Right.

Let's talk about that because a lot of us don't take that right.

Because the extra fee we don't click on that box.

How important is having travel insurance right now with this political climate.

So I mean, I think the short answer to that is it's always important.

Yes, travel is expensive.

The components of travel are expensive.

Travel insurance is protecting your investment against the unknown.

We're talking about, things like natural disasters or unrest in a country, but it might even be your own health that alters your travel situation.

Or perhaps you arrive in your destination and you have some type of issue.

You fall and break your leg or something like that while you're hiking.

This is where travel insurance comes in, and it can make a significant difference in terms of your ability to recoup the cost of that trip.

And I will tell you again, Tyler deals with this on almost a daily basis, where, these are recommendations.

These are best practices that he's sharing with travelers through triple A.

Absolutely.

And, bouncing off what you said, Mark, I really like the words you use, and I use this all the time and on a daily basis is protecting the investment.

That's what I want people to remember.

I was like, travel and your trip.

It's a memory.

And it's an investment of your time and your life and your experiences.

And it's important to be able to know that if something does happen and does come up, that you are protected, whether it is your own health or there is a natural disaster or whatever, it could be, you know, that, the travel insurance covers for you.

You're protecting that, you know, you know, ten grand or whatever it is for your vacation.

And you're not just saying, oh, well, it's just gone because you don't just hand over ten grand and just, to somebody and then just be like, well, if I get it back, cool.

And if I don't, no big deal.

So it's important to think of it that way.

The I use that, those phrase, that phrase, protect your investment every single day when I talk about travel insurance.

Yeah.

You know, I know a lot of us, I know myself.

I know that extra, extra fee is like, oh, but I definitely understand protecting that.

Definitely protecting that investment.

And I want to get back to to Barry because I want to talk about, Canadians and this, this ill feeling towards traveling south.

Do you think this will last very.

I don't think it'll last.

It's just going to take some time.

We'll see.

Our our prime minister is currently negotiating a trade deal with president, so maybe we come to an agreement.

But it's not going to fix that things overnight.

You know, it's hard to predict what the US president is going to say at any given time.

So I think that's very tricky.

And obviously, there are certain headlines that we've seen in the news, certain tourists, regardless of what country they come from, being stopped at the border and questioned significantly more.

I think that scares off some people.

But eventually it will come back.

But I think it's going to take a bit longer.

You think back to the pandemic quite a few years ago, took 2 or 3 years for things to recover, and that was a global pandemic.

So who knows where things are going.

And I think right now also the exchange is, is also a huge thing, you know, for, for me to drive to Buffalo used to be only an hour and a half an hour or half, basically a really good deal to go down there to have a nice weekend.

It's nice restaurants, but now it's it's more expensive than eating at home, so it's very tricky.

I talked to, the Buffalo Tourism board quite a bit, and they know Canadians have cut back.

And obviously I went to Rochester last year and I loved it there.

I would love to come back.

But right now, from a dollar exchange point of view, it's just not worth my trouble.

So as a as a travel expert.

Barry, where are you going?

Where where in the world, is worth it for you?

Would you say my worth?

It is a bit of a relative term.

You like.

Like, let's be here.

Like, I love the US, I love California, I love Florida, I love driving to New York.

And there's so many things now that my daughter is a little bit older, I would love to do, a road trip to upstate New York.

But, you know, right now, for us personally as a family, we've we went to Mexico recently.

We're heading to Amsterdam and London this year.

So there are different opportunities available to us.

But I'm always as a travel expert, always looking at what's available in the US.

And I still think there is value there.

But then when I start to do that math on the exchange, I'm like, oh, that hurts quite a bit.

And I do think a lot of Canadians are feeling that.

And also as a Canadian, you know, with our banking system, some credit cards also charge additional fees.

So there's all these fees that you got to add up over time, which can't can be, very, very frustrating.

But regardless, traveling is a luxury.

I think it's just an honor that anyone can travel.

And if you can afford to do so, you shouldn't look at yourself.

You should always be looking globally to see what's available.

And, you know, I always talk is also don't let peer pressure affect you.

If you're always planning a trip to New York or to Florida with your family just because someone else may not be willing to go, you have to make a decision on your own.

And do you think it's the right decision?

No one's going to like you for that.

So I want to touch on, because sometimes when you look at this map, right, that indicates the level of travel advisory for the country.

We have some countries that are bordering, others that may be a level four, but the country that's bordering it is a level two should how should we approach?

How should travelers approach that?

When a country is bordering on or on the cusp of another country?

That's a level four advisory.

Well, certainly awareness is, critical.

Being aware of your proximity to an extremely dangerous situation, I think I think with respect to places like Iran or Israel at this point, there are certainly travelers from our part of the world, the Rochester area, that will go to Israel.

That's not a level four situation, but it is certainly to your point.

A place where if you're going that you want to have awareness about what's going on, you're following current events, you're certainly paying attention.

Any recommendations from the State Department?

But, you know, it really comes down to this.

Recall that travel is a personal choice.

Yeah.

And some of these places we're talking about, for people are, once in a lifetime or bucket list destinations where they've planned for years, perhaps decades to take this, take this opportunity.

You have to weigh that against the risk.

And for every person, that consideration is going to be different.

Some people are going to say, this is my time.

It's my moment.

I'm going to take this opportunity.

Despite the risk.

Others will say, it's not worth the risk.

I'm going to wait.

And that's a personal choice.

I think, organizations like triple AA, people like Tyler, you know, our role is to help people make informed decisions to make safe decisions, to be aware of the risks, and ultimately, do what is most comfortable for them, try to make their dream come true with safety in mind.

And the one thing I would add to what Barry said, he makes great points.

The one thing I would add to what he said, and I know he would agree, is when you're considering this type of travel, even when there are challenges, you know, with exchange rates, things like that, the earlier you can make the put the plan in place, you know, almost play chess with it, plan a year ahead, maybe even a year or a half ahead.

You can achieve savings where you might not otherwise.

If you're working with a shorter window of time to book.

And, Barry, I want to.

I want to take advantage of you before we have to let you go.

Because I know you love you love traveling.

You you you enjoy it.

What, What is your favorite travel destination that doesn't get enough love?

That you think Barry?

Let's.

You know, one is probably my favorite country is Jordan.

You know, Mark actually kind of touched on this, a little bit, but essentially I was this is about ten years ago.

I was planning a trip to Europe, and I was just mapping things out, looking at costs.

And then I quickly realized, sorry, just go back there.

A we're going to do Eastern Europe.

And then I looked at that cost, and then I compared the cost to say, Egypt and Jordan, strictly because the pyramids were always one of our bucket list destinations.

And I quickly realized that, hey, it's the cost is about the same.

It's probably cheaper to go to Jordan, and Jordan was a place that I knew nothing about, and it ended up being probably my second favorite country.

My first one being Japan.

But everyone's going to Japan, so I don't want to promote even more.

But it's also funny cause market and we were just talking about these travel advisories.

It was actually an opportunity because what happened is Egypt still had a high travel advisory for Canadians, but they had literally just elected a new president.

And I joked to my wife, but I was 100% serious.

The best time to go sometimes is when a country elect a new government, because there's a little bit of a calm, if you know what I mean.

Everyone's kind of happy.

Before they get disappointed, go, let's get in right now.

You know, our dollar goes really far.

Everyone's pretty happy.

There was a democratic election.

And then we took advantage and and were able to come in.

And that's still a country I still talk about.

I would love to go back.

And I really feel for the people there because they hadn't had a war in more than 100 years.

But if you just look where they're located, it's all the countries around them.

So then a lot of, people from around the world just get scared off and don't want to visit Jordan, but it's easily one of the best places I've ever been.

Great people, great food, great sights.

Yeah.

And that's piggy.

Piggy back.

Backing off of what I've said.

Like, if a country is safe.

Right.

And.

But it's bordered by a country we consider a level four unsafe.

How do we navigate that?

When you really want to go.

Yeah.

And I mean, I would, I would just say is I think on some level there has to be a consideration to proximity, right.

Maybe, you know, if we're in Jordan, maybe we're not right on the border of that unsafe location.

But if you're on the, you know, the other side, if you're on the coast, say, you know, you're probably in a place where that risk is, somewhat reduced.

And so I think that's a consideration, for sure.

But it is, as always, it's a personal choice.

Yes.

And, Barry, what was one of the items that you never travel without?

Oh, these days, it's just to make sure you said two piece headphones because, you know, thank goodness the cost of those things have gone down over the years.

I can't even travel without them.

And then number two would just be portable charger because, you know, once your devices run out of juice, like, what are you going to do?

And actually, one more thing.

When screens I travel with my daughter often, if she's not entertained on the plane, we're all going to suffer.

So all parenting rules go out the window while you're on the plane.

Let them be on the screen time.

I don't care how long that flight is.

Thank you Barry, we're going to take a quick break, and when we get back, we'll talk about the current state of airline travel, where Tyler gets to shine and get some travel tips from our guests here on connections from WXXI.

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We're proud to bring you these conversations, and we look forward to joining you next time on connections.

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Mary Carey, ola.org and we're back.

This is connections from WXXI.

I'm Raquel Steven and we're here talking about travel safety and in studio with me we have Mark Gruber, a senior communications specialist with triple A of Western and Central New York.

And on the line we have Tyler Buffington.

He's a travel advisor with triple A, and I don't know if Barry still with us.

Barry Choi is with us, a Toronto based travel expert and the host of the Money We Have podcast all time for the good stuff.

I want to talk about airline travel because it's been a bumpy few months to say the least.

We've seen emergency landings, a mid-air collision with a helicopter, and even a Delta flight that crashed at Toronto piercing, airport.

Thankfully with with no fatalities.

Add in radar system outages in major airports like New York.

And there's growing public concern about whether airline travel is still as safe as it once was.

I know it's hindering me from booking some some trips.

Tyler, are people reacting to these incidents?

Are they are they more nervous to fly?

Is this something that we should be concerned about?

I think there's been a little bit of that.

Definitely nervousness.

I've had some people stop and been worried about it.

But also at the same time, the I mean, not the not to take away from those situations because they were horrific and definitely not great situations in any of them, but they are isolated in some ways as well.

Because we still have people travel on flights every single day.

I know I do my my check ins with my clients, every single time before they travel a couple days before, even sometimes day before and day of just to make sure everything is going okay.

And we've, we I still have people traveling and flying places and going constantly.

But I know it is, definitely a wide concern, but we still try to reassure people that it is still one of the safest modes of transportation.

And, again, like and like Marquette said earlier, too, it is personal choice, whether you want to fly or not.

But, you know, this is a way to get to the destination and, you know, 3 hours or 4 hours or, you know, there are other methods, methods of transportation if they wanted to take a train or if they wanted to drive their own personal vehicle or rent a vehicle.

There are other options.

If they didn't want to fly an airline like me.

Mishaps.

Common right?

And or is the media just at this point is over overhyping this these things?

Or is this something that's common and doesn't always make it to the media?

They are they are pretty common.

I will I will speak from, personal experience.

My grandma is on her way home from Italy currently, and, she had her flight canceled this morning.

From, from Rome to JFK.

They had canceled it and changed it.

And had not reissued the ticket.

And I got a text about 3:00 in the morning, so wondering what she should do.

So I, she was able to get things taken care of, with talking with Delta once she got to the airport and let me the academy in the, Calabria region of Italy.

But, and everything was taken care of.

But it is happening all over the place, and she's good.

She's on her way across the pond now, as we say.

So she's, on her way back stateside.

But it happens all over the place.

And, you know, we hear about it daily, from clients when there's a flight cancellation and things like that.

Because weather I'm hearing about it and then happens when I'm actually here, or it's happening when one of our, senior agents or one of our managers are on call in the middle of the night, like I just happened to get the text because it's a direct relative.

But in that situation.

But, they're hearing about it in the middle of the night when there's changes or cancellations or delays and things like that.

So it is happening all over the place.

And air travel has been, definitely struggling in that regards.

I will say as of late, that's what I've, I've seen personally, and there's been a lot of talk about like aging infrastructure and understaffing and air traffic control.

How much of an impact are those issues having behind the scenes and what are airlines doing to manage it?

I think it's having a little bit of an impact.

It's not something, I'm super familiar with in the regards of the air traffic control and everything that's going on.

So something I've, been doing a little bit more research on, just to check, but I know it's definitely impacted.

I know when the awareness came out, especially with air traffic control issues in Newark.

I know I've had a lot of clients and I've I've also been working on it for clients.

Want to avoid Newark, like if their flight was going through Newark, they were like, I can we go somewhere else, please?

Can we go where?

I have planes going on a Viking River cruise in August, and it was originally set to go through Newark, their flight out from Buffalo.

And they were like, could we go somewhere else?

They said, well, the only other option, Chicago.

And you, you didn't, you know, you you got to go west then to go back east.

But if you're okay with that, we can make it happen.

So and they were like, well, I'd rather go through an airport that isn't having the same set of issues.

So.

So we did that.

So I, I've, you know, I've kind of monitored some of those things that have been in the news to try to avoid maybe some of the airports that people have had issues with, with air traffic controllers and major delays and cancellations and things of that nature.

I want to just take the time out to, to remind our listeners that they can join in on the conversation.

You can call us at 1844295 talk.

That's 825 5 or 5 852639994.

Or email us at connections at that org or comment in the chat section on our YouTube channel.

Now Mark four triple A, from the triple A perspective, are you seeing more people opting for road trips or alternate travel like trains this summer because of concerns around flying?

Yeah, it's a great question.

And I think that Tyler's point put a, put a fine point on it for everyone.

There's going to be an inflection point where it makes more sense to fly with and drive.

Yeah, but the overwhelming number of people take, for example, the most recent, 4th of July holiday from June 28th through July 6th.

That Sunday after the fourth, that window of time, 85% of holiday travelers were road trippers, 61.6 million people across the United States.

The overwhelming majority of people are traveling by car.

Having said that, that still leaves a lot of room for air travelers as well.

But a lot of people opt for cars for a couple of reasons.

There's an element of control.

There's an element of flexibility, yes.

With your travel plans.

And, I think it also provides, an added layer of convenience.

You're not going through a security checkpoint at the TSA.

That kind of a thing for some people, those are important considerations.

For others, maybe not so much for like a week long summer road trip, but maybe like an a long holiday weekend.

Like a Thanksgiving, per se.

Travelers tend to prioritize air travel at that point because they want to get to their destination as quickly as possible because they have a finite amount of time there.

Yeah, yeah.

And with this travel, I know we have this real ID, concern now, in certain airports you can use it, you can't.

Or they put you through an extra security measure.

What is going on with real ID?

Well, I will say this.

It, the the enforcement of the real ID requirement began back on May 7th.

There has not been a lot of chatter about it since then.

I think for a couple reasons.

I think a large number of travelers, air travelers.

Now, this is for domestic air travel in the US.

You all travelers must be 18 and older, must be real ID compliant if you're a child.

As long as the adult traveling with you is real ID compliant, then you're okay.

Having said that, the majority of travelers are real ID compliant, so what does that mean?

It means you have a government issued ID that meets the requirements of a real ID.

A valid passport trumps everything.

If you have a valid passport, you can go anywhere in the U.S or anywhere in the world.

If you have a real ID, or in New York, we have, the ability to get an enhanced ID as well.

Those also meet the requirements.

What we're seeing is, at least to this point, and we're a couple of months in the air, travelers who don't meet those requirements to have some type of issue with their ID, their some are being either reminded, hey, we're enforcing this now going forward, please make sure you've got it.

Or maybe in an extreme scenario, they're being taken out of line to another room for what's called some enhanced screening, where the TSA agent is taking some extra steps to make sure that the person is who they say they are.

That takes a little bit longer.

The challenge there is you run the risk of missing your flight.

Yes.

So the recommendation, of course, is be real ID compliant.

And the other thing I would add just quickly and I know Barry can can certainly appreciate this, new Yorkers who have the enhanced ID that allows you to get over the border seamlessly as well.

You do not need a passport if you have an enhanced ID, the real ID does not give you access over the border.

So having the enhanced ID for folks like us in Rochester or Buffalo, where you're proximate to Canada, and perhaps you go there for work or leisure, having an enhanced idea, it's a few extra dollars, but there is that added benefit.

So an enhanced ID, is it better than the real ID?

Well, I guess from that standpoint it has certain, additional advantages.

But the basic idea is that it meets the requirement of real ID, and you'll know that you have an enhanced ID, because or a real ID, you'll either have the star on it or the US flag.

If your ID has one or the other, then you're compliant.

If it does not, you need to get, to the to the DMV and get your ID updated.

Thank you, thank you.

Mark.

Yes?

I felt like you were talking right to me.

I'm like, okay, it's okay, I will, I don't do we have a caller?

Yeah, we do have a caller.

Hello?

Caller.

Are they on the low?

Hi.

How are you?

Yes, you are live on WXXI.

You have a question or comment?

Yes, I did, so I wanted to say that, when I was 13 years old, my father was killed in a plane crash, and later on, it was found out that there was something wrong with the plane mechanically.

And, you know, from that day forward you would take I would be terrified to fly.

But I'm not.

Yeah, I fly all the time.

And, I'm grateful when my flights are canceled.

Like, I love it because that means they caught the problem before we got in the air.

And I think that the mechanics work very hard to keep those planes up and running.

And I think that a lot of patients en route as the, the passengers is really indicated.

And I'd also like to say one more thing.

Shout out to the, to the airline industry for, starting the preflight check.

Later on in life, I did become a surgeon, and we do a pre surgical timeout, and it's based off of the FAA timeout for preflight to make sure everything's safe and working properly.

So they've led the way in a lot of safety endeavors.

And I just think that should be recognized.

And I thank you all for your work.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for for calling.

Mark or Tyler, should we be happy for delays?

Sometimes I think she makes a great point.

All of us are in such a hurry these days, but from our perspective, a triple A, it's safety first.

Traffic safety is at the core of our mission.

Going back 125 years.

This is simply an extension of that.

And I know Tyler would agree with that.

Yeah, yeah, I agree I agree completely.

I, I feel safe, I feel much safer.

Sometimes it can be a little frustrating, but knowing that we're doing something to make sure that, the plane is operating better and making sure it's totally safe for me to get to my destination, I know I appreciate the delay, and I'm fine with sitting there.

I'm comfortable.

I usually get my aisle seat and I'm good, and I. I can sit there as long as you need me to sit there.

So we'll we'll be all right.

And getting me to my destination safe is much more important, I agree.

You know, one thing I would add to that is that, you know, we talk about a mechanical issue with the plane sometimes.

Oftentimes these delays are the result of weather in another location.

It's fine where you are, but there's weather issues on routes to your destination or at your destination.

So that's another consideration where your best interest is being taken into consideration.

Yes, you're being inconvenienced a little bit, but your safety has been put first.

Yeah, I can appreciate that.

That's another great perspective because I know a lot of us get frustrated.

We're at the ticket counter yelling at the agent.

But, a safety is first.

And and, Barry, I want to ask you about, how is what is it for Canadians?

Is there a fear or concern when it comes to airline safety and insist and reliability?

What are you what are you hearing?

Oh, just two years ago, Toronto International Airport had some of the worst delays in the world.

So I think we do have concerns.

And all those headlines you talked about, you see that Delta plane crash happened here in Toronto.

So felt very close to home because I literally was at home.

But at the same time, I would advise people that realistically speaking, you have a greater chance of dying in a car accident every single time you drive compared to fly.

That won't necessarily ease people's fears, but it is something worthwhile to mention.

And at the same time, I think if you want to travel and obviously you, you might have to fly to many destinations.

I can't drive to Hong Kong, I can't drive to London.

So I'm going to have to take a plane.

So you've got to decide, is it worth it for you personally?

But at the same time, if you suffer from a lot of anxiety, it's probably not worth your trouble.

But everything that's been going on, not just with flying, but as we're talking about US concerns, I think it's a great time to road trip regardless of what country we live in.

Enjoy your great backyard.

See things you haven't done before.

Because road trips are fun and you don't have to pay for those flights.

A great time to road trip.

And I want to touch Barry.

I want to talk about the the crash at the Toronto piercing airport.

Right.

No fatalities.

Is that is that does that of lift people's spirits to travel more when you're when you hear, oh, well, this happened, but no one, no one died.

That means it's a I don't think it's something happened in that situation.

I heard because especially when it sounds like and obviously you can't quote me on this one, but like, it may have been pilot error.

So everyone's going to be concerned.

But I do think the safety regulations in general, especially if you're going to a major country, they're very good overall, the flight training, the airlines themselves.

And maybe if that means picking one airline over another where you think they've got better planes and more reliable pilots than you do you.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Sometimes I question it.

When I was in my younger day days where I booked, discount carrier in Europe, it's like, am I literally even getting a seat or a seat out here because I paid so little money for this?

I don't know if our caller is still is that still on the line?

Because she did mention that hurt.

Her dad died in a plane crash, and she's she's still flying.

I would love her to give advice on how is she able to overcome that, even with that tragedy?

Jeremy.

No I'm kidding.

Yes.

Yeah.

She's a free alcohol.

No, no, no.

You know, because later on I became a scientist and and a surgeon.

And what I realized is that exactly what the, the other gentleman just said.

You're more likely to die in a car crash, right?

So, you know, and I tried every day.

So if you're going to be rational and you're going to head your butt, you know, probably put down your cell phone when you're driving, stop, and you're supposed to do that kind of thing.

Don't speed.

So we all take risks every day that we don't like to factor into what we're doing.

And, you know, if I'd been on scary flights.

Absolutely.

You know, but yeah, my brother doesn't fly.

So that's, I guess, the cosmic balance of the universe right there.

But yeah.

So I think that's hedged your bets and, be grateful when they catch these problems.

And when there's weather.

That was a hard one for me to overcome.

I learned that in Dallas.

I was like, it's a sunny day.

And the airline, lady said, yeah, it's way up high where you'll be flying through.

The weather is so severe up there that we can't fly through it.

And I was like, wow, it blew my mind.

So, you know, trust these people.

They know what they're doing, you know?

But we're all human and we all make mistakes.

So a lot of understanding is, I think, important all around.

Yeah.

So to sum it up, she's pretty fearless on alcohol and and being fearless.

Tyler, when clients ask if it's safe to fly right now.

Right now, what do you say?

What's the big picture here?

View on commercial flight.

I mean, absolutely, you know, I, you know, the list of people that, you know, I've had fly and, you know, with my experience here at triple A and the people I've had up in the air, I mean, have I had delays and cancellations?

Yes.

But, all my whole client list, I've never had anything, major incident happen in all of the people that I send on flights.

And I've seen quite a few, people, you know, all over, all over the world, too.

So.

And I've never had anything, major happen, you know, from personally things we booked and a lot of the things even across the board, we've.

Because we monitor all those flight situations that have happened in recent with, you know, with some of the crashes and things like that.

And, I mean, thankfully, at least in our clientele list here at triple A, we had nobody on any of those flights and, planes, which was, we were very relieved to hear was none of our passengers as well.

So I would say, I mean, it is relatively safe.

It's just it's a risk.

Just like the caller had said, it's it's a risk.

Like anything else you take every single day in your life, you know, but if you want to go to a place, you know, we're going to reassure, help reassure, you know, it's fairly safe and, you know, those are 1% of the the flights that are out there, realistically, that have had, you know, major issues and things like that.

So, yeah, 1%.

That's a pretty small number.

1%.

Yeah.

It may not be it may not be exactly 1%.

But in the scheme of things it feels it feels more like it's the 1% of the things that happen out there.

And no, you know, not to say with delays or cancellations, those like that might be a little bit higher than that.

But but of the major things that happen with emergency landings and crashes and things like that, it is a much, much smaller number.

So in the if you want to wage it by the numbers, I would say it is safe to fly and safe to travel.

Great.

And gentlemen, for all of you to answer, what's your number one tip for traveling safely this summer?

For our listeners, we can start with Mark.

Well, I'll say, and it kind of plays off of what we just said.

Pack your patience.

Ooh.

That was great.

That's a that's a headline.

You know, it applies in so many areas of our life.

But certainly as it relates to travel, pack your patience, temper your expectations, allow safety to be your guide.

This, you know, certainly there's an element of giving that over to the pilot when you're flying.

But when you're road tripping, making great decisions, getting the car checked over before your big trip, making sure when you get behind the wheel you're ready to drive, that you're not speeding.

You're not distracted.

Your cell phone is put away.

You're not impaired in any way by drugs or alcohol.

And here's a big one you're rested, drowsy.

Driving takes a lot of lives in this country.

Make sure you're properly rested before a long road trip, and you, as the driver and everyone in your vehicle must be buckled up.

Safety first.

The way you look at me, Mark, I just feel like you're, you know, all my bad habits.

Tyler, do you echo what Mark is saying?

I do, Mark.

Actually, Mark actually took my favorite line.

I like they respect your patience, I think I think we we share that in a lot of our segment.

We've done together too.

So.

But the other thing I would say to people as well, on top of, and kind of what Mark said about having the car checked over before you leave is just to, be prepared, for any of your situations as well.

So making sure that you're ready for, whatever might come along the way, have those airline apps ready, being able to check out for delays and things like that.

So being prepared is, my thing, I would say for sure, pack your patience, be prepared.

Expect it.

It's a lot.

Make.

Can you make a list for me, please, Mark I'll get that done right away.

Thank you.

Thank you for thank you for joining us.

Mark Gruber.

We have Tyler Buffington and Barry Choi.

Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure.

Thank you so much for providing your expertise today on the show.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

No problem.

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