JUNE/JULY 2015

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Glitz & Glamour of Skies Past

Taking Risks outside of your comfort zone (and speaking out)

10 MOST UNBELIEVABLEPRIVATE ISLANDGETAWAYS

Travel Bites

Cocktail Culture

Travel Trends

Positive Business

PT PICKS

Global Gastronomy

PLUS

“ ”Nobody boy-races a

LIFESTYLE

10 JUNE/JULY 2015

Over the past year, the Standard Hotel in Manhattan

has made the news for incidents involving poor

judgment in the treatment of its bar and restaurant

customers. The latest incident, taking place around

Memorial Day and Fleet Week (an important gathering

for U.S. military offcers and soldiers), was particularly

sad and ironic.

A female Navy offcer decked out in her uniform

had planned a night on the town with family members

and had set out for cocktails at the Standard’s popular

Rooftop Bar. Although women in the group were

wearing standard-issue cocktail attire, the bouncers

Can one person virtually shut

down an entire island? He can if

he is ffth-ranked Forbes billionaire

Larry Ellison, who (in a manner

of speaking) owns 98 percent of

the Hawaiian island Lanai, having

purchased it in 2012 for a cool $300

million. In his quest to transform

Hawaii’s smallest publicly accessible

island into what he describes as

“the frst economically viable, 100

percent green community,” he

has decided to close his two Four

Seasons properties—The 201-room

Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele

Bay, which closes on June 1 for at

least three months, and the 102-room

NEWSFLASHWHILE YOU WERE AWAY

found the officer’s otherwise regulation uniform

not fitting with the Standard’s dress code, and the

group never got past the velvet rope.

“We hold those serving in the United States

Armed Forces in the highest regard,” The

Standard Hotel’s PR office said in a statement

distributed to local news outlets. “This was a

mistake and we sincerely apologize.” The general

manager of the property apologized to the family

after they posted a complaint on their Facebook

page, though the proverbial ship may have sailed

by that point.

BELOW MILITARY “STANDARD”

LANAI ON LAYAWAY Four Seasons Resort Lanai/The

Lodge at Koele—for renovations.

The historic Hotel Lanai (which Ellison

also owns) will be the only lodging

available for the next several months,

with just 11 rooms.

Well-heeled travelers hoping to be

among the frst to experience Ellison’s

new vision of paradise in late 2015 (or

early 2016) at Four Seasons Resort

Lanai at Manele Bay should contact the

reservations department directly during

the re-opening period. Day trips from

Maui are still an option, as vendors on

the island will remain open, as will the

Manele Golf Course and the VIEWS

clubhouse restaurant. Visitors can

book ferries and excursions through

LostOnLanai.com.

UNPLUG… BY

PLUGGING IN?

Seasoned travelers know

that with every long-haul

fight, the possibility of jet lag

looms heavy on the horizon.

Some, in efforts to stave

off exhaustion and broken

sleep patterns, have taken

an organic approach and

forcefully adapted to the local

time zones; others prefer

a power nap and a triple-

espresso… but how would

you feel about plugging in to a

“HumanCharger?”

Valkee, an innovation from

Finnish scientist Juuso Nissila

and engineer Antti Aunio,

promises to (safely) harness

the power of light therapy

to help alleviate fatigue

symptoms associated with

BY ELYSE GLICKMAN

BY ELYSE GLICKMAN

Larry Ellison’s yacht Asahi anchored

in San Francisco Bay

JUNE/JULY 2015 11

For many, the current economic

landscape has left much to be

desired, and none have been

more vocal regarding this than the

Service Employees International

Union (SEIU). The union has made

headlines for fghting on behalf

of service workers everywhere—

most notably within the fast food

industry—and they have now taken

their demand from the sidewalks to

the tarmac.

In April of 2014, New York-

area airport workers successfully

negotiated with the Port Authority,

winning amended pay agreements

and thus increasing minimum wage

to $10.10 an hour for all service

staff in Kennedy, LaGuardia, and

Newark airports. These changes,

along with promises of improved

WHILE YOU WERE AWAYFLIGHT PATH TO

HIGHER WAGES

In today’s era of travel, where

the misdeeds of any flight crew

are well documented, it is not

just refreshing to read about

airline employees rising to the

occasion of an emergency—it

is downright heartwarming.

Passenger Peggy Uhle had

boarded a flight from Chicago

to Columbus, Ohio, unaware

that her 24-year-old son had

slipped into a coma in Denver

after sustaining a brain injury.

As her phone was turned off

prior to takeoff, her husband

frantically contacted Southwest

ground crew to inform her of

what was happening. They

acted swiftly, coordinating with

pilots to abandon their takeoff

and turn the plane around to

get Uhle back to the gate so

she could reach her husband.

After she received the news

about her son’s condition,

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES’ TOP FLIGHT

EMERGENCY SERVICESouthwest reps not only put

Uhle on the next direct flight

to Denver, but did so free of

charge. They also offered her a

private waiting area, re-routed

her luggage to Denver, allowed

her to board first, and even

packed her a lunch for the

journey. At press time, it was

reported that her son was still

in serious condition but on the

path to recovery.

In response to the incident,

Southwest told U.K.’s

MailOnline that, “Employees are

empowered at Southwest to go

above and beyond the call of

duty and follow their hearts to

make decisions that positively

impact our customers. We’re

certainly proud of, but not

surprised by, any of the hard

work that went into doing the

right thing for Ms. Uhle and her

family.”

health insurance offerings and

employee benefts, are scheduled

to be phased in throughout 2015.

Commendably, both American

Airlines and Delta have already

made strides to fulfll these promises

to their contracted personnel.

Now, after two years of rallying

behind baggage handlers, cleaners,

and security workers, the SEIU has

seen a welcomed thank you from

Empire State employees. In early

May, nearly 4,000 airport workers

voted to offcially become members

of SEIU-affliated 32BJ, one of the

largest service workers unions in

the Northeast. However, on May 28,

SEIU’s website reported that while

the Port Authority has fnally moved

forward on modernizing LaGuardia

Airport (described by Vice President

Joe Biden as “a third world airport”),

thousands of contracted airport

workers continue to wait for a wage

increase and benefts plan that is

now nearly nine months overdue.

This means that in spite of billions

of dollars in taxpayer investment to

transform airports like LaGuardia,

airport workers are living on the brink,

struggling to make ends meet, and

forced to rely upon taxpayer-funded

programs.Time will tell if airport

employees will ever see their wages

rise the way commercial airfare has

over the past decade. However, as

many travelers know: late is better

than never. And if the SEIU’s website

is any indication, more work needs to

be done.

jet lag by applying a UV-

free, bright LED light trans-

cranially through earbuds.

The rechargeable device

even features a streamlined

aluminum design, carefully

crafted to appeal to tech-fans

worldwide—but the science

behind this version of light

therapy is hazy at best. With

a current price-tag of almost

$300, many travelers may

fnd that a strong coffee and

an early hotel check-in can

prove to be just as effective,

and at a much lower cost.

BY ELYSE GLICKMAN

BY VERONICA BRACKETT

BY VERONICA BRACKETT