Montrose Travel Wins Praise After Volcano Eruption

When Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano began to erupt on April 14, Montrose Travel— like many agencies with clients impacted by the ash cloud and air space shut down— proved its worth and earned letters of praise for the professional support delivered by Montrose staffers.

As thousands of people were stranded all across Europe as the impenetrable volcanic ash from the eruption made travel virtually impossible, Montrose Travel reports its counselors worked long hours and remained in constant contact with their clients until they were safely on their way home. “Their dedication and creative thinking not only helped those stranded abroad, but also assisted those with future travel plans that needed to be altered due to the natural disaster,” Montrose said. “Despite the growth of technology making it easy for individuals to book travel on their own, under these circumstances, the consensus was clear - Montrose Travel clients were undoubtedly glad that they had booked through their agency. The support they received during this natural disaster has reinforced their faith in working with travel professionals and also their faith in Montrose Travel.”

In an instance where clients had purchased a European excursion, but had not purchased travel insurance, Montrose travel professional Kathleen Taylor was able to move all of the components of their trip to a new set of dates. She worked with the vendors directly, making it possible for a future departure rather than canceling and having them forfeit their trip. They ended up only paying a minimal fee for the date change as opposed to the hundreds of dollars they might have lost, Montrose reports.

One client wrote this thank you letter to travel professional Maria Meza:
"I am always so thankful to use a travel agent. I had two colleagues in the UK during the recent halt in air traffic due to volcanic ash. Maria worked to get them on trains from France to Switzerland with very little notice, was able to find a hotel in France at the last minute, extend their hotel stays and got them home by April 21st (at one point we thought it would be as late as the 26th). She was in constant communication with the airlines and with my team - I had every confidence that she would get them home as soon as possible. Thank you, Maria!" - Mary M., Pharmaceutical Industry

Another thank you letter to travel professional Phyllis Mulvehill read:
"I am through security in Frankfurt with boarding passes in hand. Thanks for getting my back through this. Having you there to handle this stuff while I battled just to stay afloat out there really made a difference for me. I can't thank you enough." - Ron H., Social Advocacy Organization

Montrose Travel is a family-owned travel management company, has grown from 14 employees in 1990 to more than 150 today.

Visit www.montrosetravel.com.