The November 29 travel ban temporarily halted travelers departing from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique Lesotho and Eswatini from entering the United States. Health officials enacted the ban out of an abundance of caution because of the omicron variant.

Despite the ban, the omicron variant still made its way into the US, and health officials believe it has triggered a new wave of infections.

Research labs have identified the omicron variant in all 50 states. Daily COVID-19 new infections have reached highs not seen since last winter.

New York reported more than 38,000 cases on Thursday, December 24. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called in the National Guard to assist with hospital staffing in the northeastern part of the state.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Health, predicts that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic thus far will arrive in the coming weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts a 25% increase in case counts by mid-January.

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Many airlines faltered during the pandemic because of travel restrictions and safety concerns. Some closed down entirely.

With travel restrictions easing, many Canadians are excited to make up for the travel time they lost in 2020. Many are even more travel ready because of an increase in remote work.

That’s one reason leaders at Lynx believe Canadians could use an ultra low-cost option.

Lynx, previously called Enerjet, will be very different from its former incarnation. Enerjet was known as a charter airline that primarily served businesses.

Merren McArthur, the president and CEO of Lynx, is there to help smooth the transition. As the former CEO of Australia’s low-budget Tigerair, McArthur has extensive experience in running budget airlines.

McArthur has stated that the airline wants to bring Europe’s ultra low-cost flight model to Canada.

He wants the airline’s customer base to include two underserved groups: Canadians with too little money to travel and those who would travel more at lower prices.

McArthur also explained how he plans to achieve that goal. The business model he outlined is about efficiency, simplicity, and choice.

Many services will be optional, allowing customers to pick and choose the ones that fit their budgets. Most airlines spread out the costs so that each passenger is contributing money even for services they don’t use.

Lynx’s launch should create up to 450 Calgary jobs, making it a welcome addition to the local economy.

Though many Canadians are eager to fly, Lynx still hasn’t shared much information about planned routes and schedules. McArthur only said that the airline will focus on underserved domestic markets in areas with high fares.

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With international travel forming a significant portion of the tourism economy, the return of international travelers from the UK and other European top tourists markets to popular Florida holiday destinations is expected to breathe life into the already struggling hospitality industry as the world emerges from the grips of the pandemic.

According to the federal officials’ announcements made on Monday, September 20, all international visitors traveling to the United States should provide solid proof of having been fully vaccinated before boarding a flight to the US. 

The travelers will also be required to show a negative Covid-19 test taken not more than three days before boarding a flight.

In 2019, Florida received an impressive 10.8 million international travelers, according to Visit Florida. However, the number dramatically shrunk by 74% to about 2.8 million in 2020 due to the pandemic.  

But, with the new regulations expected to take effect in November, the Orlando businesses relying on international visitors are headed for a rebound. 

The anticipated new guidelines have been widely welcomed, with many thrilled at the looming business boom in just weeks away. Some businesses are already seeing an uptick in the 2022 reservations bookings. 

Central Florida has been receiving tons of visitors from overseas due to the incomparable theme parks that resumed operations last summer after a brief closure due to Covid-19 guidelines.

Most parks in Florida have relaxed their guidelines since reopening, while others like Disney World still require all their guests to wear face masks. 

While opening the US for international guests will bring back the massive opportunity that hospitality businesses have missed for about 18 months, the return of international visitors to central Florida could be affected by the Delta variant concerns. Some visitors might choose to wait for a while before making a trip. 

The post Florida Tourism Expected To Surge This Winter After International Reopening appeared first on Traveling Lifestyle.

Following their upcoming end of the business, the company made it clear it will cancel all flights booked for dates later than 15^th October 2021 and facilitate a full refund for all the canceled flight bookings. 

Alitalia’s decision to end their almost 75 years of air travel business followed their longstanding business losses that started worsening in 2017, bringing the airline to its breakoff point during the pandemic. 

However, the Italian government announced replacing the outgoing Alitalia with a state-owned airline, Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), launched on 24th August 2021. The new airline will take over the airport slots formally used by Alitalia.

ITA will also buy part of Alitalia’s assets, including branding and 52 planes out of the 104 pre-Covid fleets owned by Alitalia. 

The state-owned ITA launched its flight ticket bookings on 26th August 2021, before its official flight commencement on 15^th October 2021. 

Unlike the crumbling Alitalia with over 100 fleets of airplanes serving over 100 locations across the world, the new outfit will begin its commercial flights with a 52-fleet acquired from Alitalia. It will fly most of the routes, followed by the collapsed Alitalia. 

Transitioning to a New Air Travel Era—what’s the implication to passengers

While ITA seems a new version of Alitalia, all the canceled tickets will not be valid on ITA. Therefore, all the affected passengers should apply for a separate ticket on ITA, should they still wish to fly the same route after Alitalia ends business. 

Those with canceled air tickets have two options to deal with the upcoming flight transition: rebook their flight to the original destination without paying an extra fee on ITA, reschedule their booking earlier, or get a full refund on their ticket. However, changing the original flight destination may incur additional costs.

The post Italy’s Largest Airline Alitalia To End All Operations And Be Replaced By ITA On October 15 appeared first on Traveling Lifestyle.

2020 brought some of the most difficult challenges the world has seen in decades.

But for all the problems caused by the COVID pandemic, it at least forced many companies to restructure how they manage their employees. 

According to Review42.com, “88% of organizations, worldwide, made it mandatory or encouraged their employees to work from home after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.”

But as vaccines are starting to roll-out around the world, many people came to a striking realization. 

Their new role isn’t “remote work,” it’s a “work-from-home” situation. And there is a difference. 

Plus, many people are concerned about being forced back into the office. So, today, we’re going to quickly outline the differences between “work from home” and “remote work.”

Then we’ll give you a few actionable tips for how to speak with your boss about transitioning from “working from home” to full-on “remote work.” 

Working from home vs. remote work: What’s the difference?

A lot of professionals think that working from home is the same as having a remote job. 

But the two work agreements are different by nature, and many employees would much rather be hired under the latter. 

So, what does a “work from home” position entail? Here are some of the common characteristics of a work from home role:

• It’s a temporary situation, lasting a few days, a week, or a few months depending on context (COVID may extend this definition to “a few years”)
• Your daily structure is likely the same as it would be at the office
• Working hours are typically more rigid
• Compensation for home office equipment isn’t guaranteed

Essentially, a work from home arrangement means that nothing about your actual job changes except the location. 

Rather than clocking in at 8:30 AM in the office, you simply do the same tasks at the same time from your home. 

But how is this different from “remote work?” 

Here are a few common traits about fully remote positions:

• Often a permanent agreement from the start of your contract 
• You structure your day according to your ever-changing tasks
• You have more flexibility with your hours (except for customer support or similar roles)
• Full-time roles typically come with a stipend for home office materials 

The real key here is trust and flexibility. In other words, it means your employer trusts you enough to accomplish your tasks from a remote location. 

The exact hours (with exceptions for meetings) are flexible, and you’re given much more autonomy in your day-to-day duties. 

Now, this is where things get interesting: in 2020, many employers were forced to allow employees to “work from home.” 

And as time went on, these employees realized they had more freedom, they were more productive, and they had more time to spend with their families. 

Not to mention they no longer needed to waste 2 hours a day fighting traffic. 

But as the world starts healing from one of the worst years in decades, many employees fear that they’ll slowly get sucked back into the office. 

So, today, we’re going to give you 3 actionable strategies for speaking with your boss about transitioning from a “work from home” to “remote work” situation. 

“Work from Home” to “Remote Work”: Making your case 

1. Start documenting your productivity NOW

The interesting thing about remote workers is that they get more done. And this is usually from a number of factors. 

First, there are fewer distractions at home (believe it or not) than in the office. 

Yes, some remote workers might sit in their pajamas all day and binge Netflix. But they won’t last long in the remote-working world. 

For the most part, responsible employees will carve out a home office and work like they normally would. The difference? They don’t have colleagues to speak to in the halls, the watercooler, in the parking lot, or any other place where people tend to “chit-chat” longer than they realize. 

Second, remote workers actually take less sick leave than their in-office counterparts. 

That’s because when you wake up at 6:00 AM with a pounding headache, the thought of showering, getting dressed, making coffee, loading up the car, and walking into the office sounds miserable. 

Probably because doing that stuff while your sick is miserable. 

But remote workers are able to sleep in a bit, not worry about their appearance, and take little breaks throughout the day as necessary. And instead of lunch in a fluorescently lit room, they can power nap in the comfort of their own bed. 

This leaves them feeling recharged for the afternoon and way more productive than if they’d been sick at the office. 

Finally, there are some people who argue that remote workers put in longer hours and get more done because they’re rising to the occasion. 

When an employer shows that they trust you, there’s more pressure on the employee not to let their digital team down. 

But none of these points matter unless you can tangibly show your boss that they apply to you. 

That means you need to start tracking how productive you’ve been to show your employer that you’re more than capable of turning your “work from home” role into a permanent “remote work” position. 

2. Research successful companies with remote employees

Next, you’ll want to prepare a small list of companies that have mastered remote-work. One company that’s done a great job is Awesome Motive. 

They were fully remote before the pandemic hit, and, as a result, weren’t negatively impacted by all the changes in 2020. 

This is because they use the right tools for a remote team, structure the company to support remote work, and have a certain amount of faith in their employees. 

What can you learn from these fully remote companies to help convince your boss? 

Research the following topics as you’re finding good examples of companies that hire remotely: 

• What tools do they use to stay productive? This can help you pitch the idea in a realistic way to give your boss more things to consider.
• How much do they save on office overhead? Look at companies that are similar in size to your own. Then you can calculate how much office space that would normally require and how much that square footage would cost. This will likely make your boss wonder if they could be saving on overhead costs, too. 
• What specific growth are these remote companies experiencing? It’s not enough to just say, “Hey, look! This big company is remote, so we should be as well!” You need to have more concrete examples of how being a remote-only company helped that business achieve its goals. 

You should be doing this research for two reasons. 

First, it will help you build a case with your boss about why you should be allowed to transition from “working from home” to a full-on “remote work” role. 

But, second, you may find other opportunities with companies that are more open to the type of agreement you’re looking for. 

That way, if your boss says “No,” you’ve still got a few options to stay away from the office. 

3. Put things into financial perspective 

This last tip is short but important: your employer probably does care about you… but they care a lot more about their company’s growth. 

For better or for worse, that’s usually just the way it is (unless you work at a non-profit or a charity group). 

That means you need to show how going remote will translate to more profit for the business. 

Rather than saying vague statistics like, “Remote workers are more productive,” you should pull up stats like this from Business.com: 

• Sun Microsystems saved $68 million on real-estate when they went remote
• Dow Chemical saved 30% on non-real-estate related costs

These aren’t debatable comments or figures. They’re cold hard facts that any company would be crazy to ignore. 

By spending a few hours researching more statistics like these, you’ll be better able to build a strong case for why you should move into a remote role. 

If you use the 3 strategies provided above, it’s going to make the conversation with your boss a whole lot less awkward. 

When it comes to the actual conversation, make sure to keep it professional. You should:

• Ask in advance to schedule a virtual meeting 
• Let them know what the meeting will be about so they have time to digest the idea 
• Prepare your materials (like examples of how you’re more productive and statistics from other companies)
• Be ready to leave some time for your boss to consider the idea 
• Follow up after a week or so if necessary

Remember, your employer has the right to say “No.” But YOU also have the right to search for other remote-work opportunities that fit your needs. 

And as more companies are offering remote positions (in the true sense of the term), your odds for finding the right situation is higher than it’s ever been. 

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