Visit us on FacebookFiled under: Uncategorized | Tags: honeymoon, Leisure Travel, Linden Travel, New Consultants, New York, Travel
by Stephen Neil
Recently, nine talented new travel consultants joined the Leisure Travel department. All of the new consultants have a world of knowledge and years of experience in creating memorable vacations. Each has a unique background that adds new dimension to the already solid Leisure Travel group in New York City.
Meet the leisure travel consultants:
Paul Gilbert
As a consummate travel professional, Paul Gilbert has an extensive background in world travel. Paul is adept at creating safari itineraries in East Africa. Having lived in Kenya for several years, he has direct insight to the cultures and local customs. He excels in creating extended vacations through the Caribbean, Western Europe and Mexico. pgilbert@lindentravel.com 212 784 0313
Erica Harnett
With over twenty years of experience, Erica Harnett has booked luxury cruises, European tours and Caribbean getaways. She is an expert in Tahiti and South America. As a mother of two school-age children, she has a personal interest in designing unforgettable family vacations that make even the youngest members happy. She also excels in planning romantic getaways for parents. eharnett@lindentravel.com 212 784 0275
Gary Lichter
As manager he is a true travel professional with over sixteen years in the travel industry, experience in worldwide destinations. He is knowledgeable in South America, particularly Brazil, Southeast Asia, Europe, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. He has traveled extensively in the Mundo Maya (Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize). glichter@lindentravel.com 212 784 0225
Karina Khechoyan
Fluent in Engligh and Russian, Karina Khechoyan specializes in vacations to Eastern Europe and the Baltic. She has traveled to all 17 republics of the USSR including the breathtaking, historic cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow. In addition, Karina has toured Europe and provides an insider’s knowledge in every itinerary she creates. Karina’s other specialties include the Caribbean, South Pacific, and South America. kkhechoyan@lindentravel.com 212 784 0351
Cory Orchin
Noted as one of the rising stars of the travel industry, Cory Orchin has found a niche in honeymoon and destination wedding planning. She excels in creating romantic itineraries in the exotic locals of Bora Bora, Hawaii, Tahiti, and the Caribbean. Her own Honeymoon, in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand took her to some remote villages to interact with indigenous cultures and wildlife. corchin@lindentravel.com 212 784 0224
Phil Orchin
With over twenty years of experience, Phil Orchin is well known in the industry for golf getaways and adventure tours. White water rafting, kayaking, and trekking off the beaten path are coupled with five star hotels in many of Phil’s itineraries. Phil plans world-class vacations to some very unique places including Asia, Caribbean, and Mexico. porchin@lindentravel.com 212 784 0268
Polina Price
Polina Price is a destination specialist for France and Italy. Additionally, she has traveled to French Polynesia, Fiji, Mexico and Hawaii, always looking for the best hotels, restaurants and places to explore, enabling her to make educated recommendations to her clients. Her clients always receive her signature attention to detail and very personalized consulting. pprice@lindentravel.com 212 784 0314
Belinda Serrano.
Belinda Serrano has over sixteen years of industry experience. She is a destination specialist for Tahiti and Hawaii and is extremely experienced in creating vacations to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central & South America, Australia and many other destinations all over the world. bserrano@lindentravel.com 212 784 0315
Anna Spensieri
Western Europe and the Mediterranean have become Anna’s Specialties. She is fluent in English and Italian, enabling her to negotiate superb accommodations for her very discerning clients. Anna Spensieri has also earned a reputation for finding the most luxurious accommodations in the Caribbean including, Turks and Caicos, St Martin, and St Lucia. aspensieri@lindentravel.com 212 784 0211
Filed under: Opinions | Tags: airline, babies in airplane, children only, kids in airplane, parents, special section in airplane
By: Erina Pindar
The question of the day from Airfarewatchdog.com(TM) is an interesting one, and let’s be honest, it is one that most of us have thought about at least once:
Should airlines have a section of the plane reserved for parents with babies and smaller children?
Well, 85% of the flying public seems to think so. Parents with children think that they would be in a more supportive environment if they were seated with other families with small children and babies and some of us are tired of having those tiny (but powerful!) feet pummeling the back of our seats.
I did my research for this entry by asking everybody within the radius of my seats (we get a lot of visitors here in the Marketing department, lots of opinions). Here are their thoughts on this: 100% said that, Yes, airlines should have a special section reserved for children. Jessica B. who sits next to me, in fact offered up this brilliant suggestion: Wouldn’t it be cool if the kids get colorful children’s seats with cartoon graphics and special children’s amenities??
Despite the popular vote, David Castelveter, the spokesman for Air Transport Association, seems to thinkotherwise, saying that a children-only section would be “logistically difficult” to implement. What happened when someone who requested and paid for an adult-only section was forced to sit near the children’s section due to overbooking?
Well, Mr. Castelveter, perhaps the first thing on the agenda should be how to prevent overbooking, no?
According to K, some of the highlights of the Beijing trip are life’s simple pleasure, like the $15 90-minute foot massage, complete with complimentary refreshment and snacks – I’ll definitely keep that in mind the next time I hand over 30 bucks for my mani/pedi in NYC. Her favorite dining experience was the DaDong Duck Restaurant in Beijing, “Five-star dining, for two-star prices. It was amazing!” And, the best way to see the city? Take a cab. The cabbies, apparently are the worst drivers she’s ever encountered, but you’ll be fine as long as you’re armed with your destination written in Chinese – keep in mind that most of them do not speak English.
Photography by: K.Yakovleva
Simple pleasures aside, Beijing is truly a fascinating city – some of my favorite set of pictures came from the Temple of Heaven series. Temple of Heaven was used as a prayer site by royal visitors from the Ming and Qing dynasties for ceremonies to heaven for bountiful harvest. One word, stunning!
Temple of Heaven, Photography by: K.Yakovleva
Linden Travel announces a new department, LindenElite, dedicated to luxury concierge-style service. The goal of LindenElite is to provide clients with instant access to comprehensive consultant support. Barbara Gallay, president of Linden Travel, promoted Connie Majors to Director of LindenElite services.
All of Linden’s clients will continue to receive exceptional, personal service from dedicated travel consultants, LindenElite is for select clients who desire services far beyond our normal personal-touch travel planning.”
-Barbara Gallay, President
Connie Majors has over thirty years of experience in the travel industry, in both corporate and leisure travel. Her clients includes a number of celebrities, CEOs, and prominent names in New York City. Most recently, Majors was manager of Leisure Travel at Linden before her promotion to Director of LindenElite.
“For some clients, travel is a lifestyle. We will make their experience as seamless as possible by handling details and urgent requests with immediacy and care,” said Majors. “These services will be accessible all the time.”
