Business Travel Briefs

Better in-flight Wi-Fi on the horizon in 2016

Travelers frustrated by slow Wi-Fi will see some relief in 2016 as three major Wi-Fi providers are expected to launch system upgrades that will achieve substantially higher bandwidth. Last month Gogo, one of the largest in-flight Wi-Fi providers, received approval from the FAA to move forward on flight testing of its new 2Ku technology, which promises to more than double the bandwidth that Gogo currently offers. The 2Ku is expected to go live later this year and according to Gogo, seven airlines have already signed up to install the new technology including Delta who will be equipping more than 250 of its domestic aircraft with the enhanced service.

Panasonic Avionics, whose clientele includes 127 international airlines and Global Eagle, which is the provider for Southwest Airlines, won’t be far behind with their upgrades. Both companies are waiting the deployment of new satellites by their provider, SES later this year.

Some “Non-European Union” travelers are eligible to skip long passport lines

The United Kingdom is now offering its registered traveler services to citizens of the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand. Testing was quietly launched earlier this year with “highly valued” travelers, but now U.S. Customs and Border Protection is suggesting to Global Entry participants who have visited the UK at least four times in the last 52 weeks to enroll in the United Kingdom’s Registered Traveler program. The annual fee is approximately $106 USD. Approved participants will be given access to ePassport gates across the UK plus the country’s faster entry lanes in Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, and Stansted airports, and in the Eurostar terminals in Brussels, Lille, and Paris. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/registered-traveller.

Samsung Pay may be a game changer

While paying with your phone is not new, Samsung’s new mobile pay product offers a very significant advantage, which may make it a game changer. Unlike Apple Pay, which requires retailers to have a special tap-and-pay terminal, Samsung’s mobile pay works with traditional magnetic card sliders, meaning it can be used almost anywhere that the service is available. Currently Samsung Pay is operational in the United States and South Korea. (ApplePay is available in the US and UK) Samsung Pay can be used with the Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones.

More airports get great new on-grounds hotels

Convenience is meeting luxury and style as more airports are opening new service laden in-airport hotels. These hotels are not the basic properties that characterized in-airport hotels of the past. Today’s in-airport locations are trendy self-contained travel resorts offering a full complement of amenities such as fitness studios, pools, and multiple dining venues in addition to conference centers and other business-oriented amenities. New on the horizon is the Westin Denver International, which is due to start accepting guests Nov. 19. New York/JFK will open a new upscale hotel to be called the TWA Flight Center Hotel in 2018 while Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans and San Francisco also have plans for new in-airport hotels.

A variety of ways to give back

Top Left: Adelman at the Hunger Task Force Food Sort Top Right: Weeding at Havenswoods Lower Left: Pie throw participants Gary and Ivan Top: Part of Team Milwaukee before the walk Bottom: Team Texas after their walk

Giving back to our communities is an important part of Adelman’s corporate culture. Because our diverse workforce is passionate about a variety of causes, Adelman strives to offer an assortment of company events that give our employees opportunities to support some of their favorite causes. Some of this year’s initiatives included working with the Department of Natural Resources to eradicate the invasive garlic mustard weeds from public spaces such as Milwaukee’s Hank Aaron State Trail and Havenwoods State Forest. Adelman also helped the hungry by sorting food at the Hunger Task Force and serving at The Gathering community meal program.

Team Adelman at the Gathering

Several of Adelman’s offices held school supply drives in August. Our Dallas office filled 17 backpacks with donated supplies for the Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School in South Oak Cliff, Texas. The school’s assistant principle was thrilled to be able to pass on the back packs and supplies to their students in need. Our Vacations office in Springfield, Missouri sent collected supplies to the nearby Disney Elementary School, which has a significant population of underserved students. Our Milwaukee Headquarters location sent their donated school supplies to the first grade class at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning (WCLL) where Adelman employee Ed Villor’s fiancée is a first grade teacher. Like the other schools chosen to receive our donations, WCLL has many students whose families are suffering from some of the highest rates of poverty. All three schools expressed their gratitude for the donations saying that the supplies will go a long way in helping teachers provide a more successful learning environment.

Adelman’s Liz Biggerstaff delivers backpacks to Mary McLeod Bethune school assistant principle Mr. Contreras

Adelman also continued its tradition of supporting the American Heart Association by participating in the “Go Red” awareness day and forming teams for area Heart Walks. This year Team Adelman raised $4,654.00 for the American Heart Association.

Top: Part of Team Milwaukee before the walk Bottom: Team Texas after their walk

One of the most popular events this year involved a penny war and pie throw. Adelman employees were invited to nominate a cause to support. After a companywide vote, Wounded Warrior Project was selected. To raise money for this great organization, members of our management team agreed to participate in our companywide penny war. Similar to most penny wars, certain monetary denominations added to each contestant’s competition totals while other denominations subtracted from these totals. At headquarters the two contestants with the highest competition totals received a pie in the face, while the two with the lowest totals got to throw the pies. Ivan Imana and Gary Deutsch won the honor of receiving pies in the face while Angela Abbate and Michelle De Witt Bugajski won the honor of throwing the pies. On the day of the event, Gary and Ivan agreed to be the target of additional pie throws by those who made an additional donation. To see a video from the Milwaukee pie throwing event click here.

https://www.facebook.com/adelmantravel/videos/vb.164013740290056/978957925462296/?type=3&theater

More pie throwing on the Adelman patio

Our Missouri team decided to hold their own mini-competition to raise additional funds. As a result Deana Crouch, Mike Detrick, Melissa Dumler and Cam Thieme were all treated to pies in the face. To see a video from the Missouri pie throwing event click here

https://www.facebook.com/adelmanvacations/videos

Ginger Fink gets ready to throw pie... (L to R) Deana Crouch, Mike Detrick, Missy Dumler and Cam Thieme.