“Gary Kelly” | Search Results | Travel Research Online

Few people I have ever met are what I would consider larger-than-life. Butch Stewart was one of those men; and as 2021 gets underway, the travel industry is a lot poorer for our loss; yet a lot richer for the legacy left behind by Gordon “Butch” Stewart.

Like many, I was shocked to learn that Stewart passed away on January 4^th in Miami of a “recent” undisclosed illness at age 79. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it is that time of year. The geese fly south and the bears go into hibernation. And believe it or not, so does TRO—but just for a little bit. As the year winds down, we ease up on our daily publishing, spend some time with our families, and focus on the loose ends that invariably exist in our own travel businesses.  About a month ago, we all celebrated Thanksgiving. Now we are in the midst of the December Holidays—Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and a few others I probably left off; but I want to take this time to offer my personal thanks to some individuals who have made working on TRO a true pleasure. Besides, my thanks can stay up for two weeks! Read the rest of this entry »

Forecasting the fate of the airline industry is chancy in the best of times, and these certainly aren’t the best of times.  The entire economy is obviously mired in uncertainty, which never bodes well for our airlines—or for travel agents.  The “aughts” have already been such a tough decade, but many are calling our current industry situation worse than the aftermath of 9/11.  We are in the midst of what experts are calling the worst recession in the last 50 to 75 years, and getting a loan at any interest rate is almost impossible right now.   This worldwide recession is causing cutbacks in business-travel spending, declining leisure travel, bankruptcies and layoffs, and the list goes on. Read the rest of this entry »