Getting Closer to Home

After waiting for so long it is finally time for the countdown; surprisingly, after the Delta flight form JFK to Prague was delayed by 3hrs the group made it back to America with only 1hr delay.
I have phoned Delta Customer Service and they confirmed that everybody made it on the connection flight from JFK to Minneapolis close to being on time (only 9 min delay).
This means the group will stay overnight in Minneapolis and fly out Saturday morning to Saskatoon.
Unfortunately we have not received the name of the Hotel where your daughters will be staying from Delta, so we have to rely on a phone call from the group to provide this information. We do know though, that they will be met by a Delta representative right at the gate who will arrange the transfer to the hotel after they arrive in Minneapolis.
Michael will stay in the office until the group has arrived and he knows that they are at the hotel! He will work in the office tomorrow and monitor the flight and assist if necessary (not that we think we will need this, but…) and I will take off to the airport to WELCOME THE GROUP back to Saskatchewan.
I hope this is the last news I have for you today, but given the situation that we been through a week of constant changes we will keep you posted.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us otherwise I will see you all tomorrow at the airport

Sincerely,

CARLA KOENIG
Travel Consultant
Lobstick Travel

The Plane Has Landed!

We received a call at 1:30pm (Friday) from Lobstick travel that the plane has landed in New York! We are waiting on details for the remainder of the trip home. Stay Tuned!

Good Bye Prague!

Just a quick update on the group’s return. Yesterday Delta flight 208 from JFK to Prague was 3 hours late in departing and arrived in Prague 3 hours late. Luckily, they were able to make turn in Prague in about 1 hour 30 minutes as opposed to the usual 3 hours, so we gained back some time. Based on the departure time out of Prague of 12:11PM, Delta at the moment is forecasting an arrival into JFK at 2:36PM (as opposed to the 3:05PM arrival they had on their website an hour ago). If they are able to arrive into JFK, earlier or at the 2:40PM arrival; they may have a chance to catch their 4:00PM departure to Minneapolis. They will be arriving at gate 4 and depart from gate 9, but they do have to clear US Customs & Immigration and security before boarding the flight to Minneapolis. It is also my hope that Delta may delay the flight to Minneapolis as our group represents over 1/3 of their passengers. We will have to play this one by ear as their flight gets closer to New York. Tomorrow morning we will contact Delta Customer Solutions and group department to reevaluate our options. Worse case the group spends the night in New York and flies April 24 in the morning from JFK to Minneapolis to connect with the flight they are already booked on to arrive into Saskatoon at 1:07PM. Best case they make their connection and overnight in Minneapolis. In either case, the group is out of Europe! If she has time, I have asked Sr. Mary to give the office a call once they reach New York. By then we should no where they are spending the night and can advise everyone.

Michael Bayda
Lobstick Travel

As of 7:00pm, Thursday, April 22

I have some good news and some well we shall see news. The good news is that Delta fl#208 JFK to Prague has now departed. The we shall see news is that it departed 3 hours late and now scheduled to arrive into Prague at 10:16AM. Due to the delay your flight from Prague to JFK is now scheduled to depart at 11:30Am arriving into JFK at 2:54PM. Your departure to Minneapolis is at 4:00PM, so the group may have to overnight in New York tomorrow night. This would not affect your return on April 24th to Saskatoon as there are morning departures out of New York that can connect through Minneapolis in time. I should also mention that these are all estimates and airlines have a knack for catching up on delays on long haul flights, so we will have to deal with this in the morning back here in Canada. I am going to grab a couple hours sleep now, before returning to the office around 7am Prague time. At which time, I will try and send you an update, if possible. If you are unable to receive emails, you can call the office at 1-800-665-0171 when you arrive into New York for further instructions. Have a safe trip home!

Sincerely,
Michael Bayda

Travel Consultant
Lobstick Travel

#4 - 150 32nd St. W.
Prince Albert, SK
S6V 7H7

Phone: (306)763-7415
Toll-free: (800)665-0171
Fax: (306)763-1335
Email: mike@lobsticktravel.com

Day 22 Thursday

It looks like we are going home. About 80 percent of the flights in and out of Europe are going and we are leaving tomorrow.

This morning we visited the Canadian Embassy in Praha. Alex McNiven, a Candian who grew up in Regina and is still a RoughRider fan, gave us a presentation on the role of the embassy in Czech Republic.

We enjoyed a lunch downtown on our way back and in the afternoon got back to the books. We then participated in a yoga class instructed by Mrs. Sander outside on the terrace. It was very sunny and we definitely got our dose of vitamin D today. Mr. Sander was interviewed by Neal Headrick of CKBI radio about our situation. We hope to be back in PA soon.

p.s. What is the czech word for "spouse"? Czechmate

Latest Flight Plans

The good news is that 75% percent of all transatlantic flights between major hubs in Europe and the North America have been resumed. As you can imagine Carla and I have been watching very closely and praying for the ash cloud to move or dissipate. Our prayers have been answered with a change in the winds. Delta’s flight between JFK and Prague departed on Tuesday and returned today with no issues. Given the current weather and volcano conditions there should be no reason for the flight to not operate on Friday. Carla and I will be tracking the departure tomorrow from JFK to Prague. I will be in the office tomorrow evening from 11PM (6am Prague time) until 3:30AM (10:30AM Prague time) to assist the group, if need be.

Now with regards to the scheduled return of the group. I have pasted below the itinerary as it stands at the moment. The group will be departing the hotel on Friday at 6:00 AM (Prague time) on a bus organized and donated by Insight tours to ensure that they check-in at least 4 hours prior to departure. We are not leaving anything to chance. They will arrive at JFK airport in New York at 1:59 pm (Friday, April 23) and depart from there at 4:00pm (Friday, April 23) to go to Minneapolis. Arrival time in Minneapolis is 6:39pm (April 23). The group will have an over night stay in Minneapolis, then depart at 11:45am (Saturday, April 24)and finally arrive in Saskatoon at 1:07pm (Saturday,April 24).

Michael Bayda
Owner/Manager
Lobstick Travel
#4 - 150 32nd St. W.
Prince Albert, SK
S6V 7H7
Phone: (306)763-7415
Toll-free: (800)665-0171
Fax: (306)763-1335
Email: mike@lobsticktravel.com

Day 21 Wednesday

All right, enough of being cooped up in a luxury hotel with nowhere to go.

Today, we worked on more writing- blogs, the travelling story, and English. At 11:30 we went for lunch and saved the receipts with the hopes of being reimbursed by the insurance company.

After returning to the hotel, we took seven taxis to the Prague Zoo for our Biology lesson. The zoo is actually only about 3 km. from our hotel, but there is a river in between. Our taxi ride was a series of zigzag roads; these people obviously have no idea what a road that travels straight looks like. The zoo was great as we spent three and a half hours looking at God's creatures- mostly from this part of the world. We really like the gorillas, monkeys, leopard, giraffes, and flamingos.

Just one more day to go before we can head toward home .... things are lookin' up.