VISTA Staffing Solutions | Locum Tenens

Continental Airlines left the SkyTeam Alliance, a global airline alliance, in October 2009. If you are a Continental Elite member, you will no longer earn bonus miles and Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) when flying Delta to your locum tenens or international locums assignments. But no worries! Delta has offered to match your Silver, Gold, or Platinum Continental Elite status in its SkyMiles program.

Once matched, you will receive special benefits such as:

• Complimentary upgrades
• Priority boarding and check-in
• Waived baggage fees and other SkyTeam Elite or Elite Plus member benefits

Here’s how it works: Email, fax or phone your request by December 31, 2009 to receive matched status. Be sure to include your full name, SkyMiles number, Continental Elite status, and Elite OnePass membership number in your communication.

• Email: deltamatch.delta@delta.com
• FAX: 1 404 677 2547
• Phone: 1 800 323 2323

Your status will be matched within three business days and will be good through February 28, 2011.

TSA has instituted a new Secure Flight Program that affects all air travelers. When making reservations, the following information must be provided for each passenger:

• Full name as it appears on government-issued I. D. approved for traveling
• Full date of birth
• Gender

VISTA will be required to provide this information when arranging travel for you.

In addition, if you use a redress number (to prevent misidentifications through the Department of Homeland Security Watch List) we can provide it to the airline for you when we make your reservations.

Questions? Just ask a member of our Travel Team next time you book travel to a locum tenens, extended placement, or international locums assignment.

Effective January 12, travelers from countries participating in a US Department of Homeland Security Visa Waiver Program must register on-line through the department’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization before you embark on a trip to the US.

On-line applications may be submitted at any time before you travel, and once approved, will be in effect for up to two years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Authorizations will also be valid for multiple entries into the U.S. DHS recommends that applications be submitted as soon as you begin planning travel to the US, and not less than 72 hours prior to travel.

Click here to access the on-line registration site: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov.

The following is a list of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program:

Andorra
Austria
Australia
Belgium
Brunei
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Monaco
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
San Marino
Singapore
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

Just in case you were hoping to avoid checked baggage fees by lugging a full-size suitcase on the flight to your next locum tenens assignment, take note that US Air has announced limits on the size and weight of carry-on luggage. It’s very likely that other airlines will follow suit.

On US Air, as well as most airlines, you’re allowed one carry-on bag and one personal item. Personal items include a purse, briefcase or laptop bag. Carry-on baggage must be stowed in carry-on compartments of the aircraft, under a seat, or in an overhead compartment.

New size requirements

Beginning February 1, 2009, your carry-on bag can measure up to 45 in/115 cm (14 x 9 x 22 in or 36 x 23 x 56 cm) and weigh up to 40 lbs/18 kg.

Additional items you can take at no charge

The following items will be accepted in addition to the checked baggage allowance at no charge. This is standard for most airlines. Check with your locum tenens travel agent if you have any question.

• Required mobility assistive devices (e.g. wheelchairs, canes, or crutches) These items may also be carried onto the aircraft.
• Infant assistive device (stroller or car seat).
• Required medical supplies or equipment. These items may also be carried on to the aircraft, as long as they meet size and weight restrictions. Carry these items in a separate bag! If they are included in a bag with other non-essential items, that bag will not be considered a free item, and will be subject to baggage fees.

Effective January 1, 2009, United, American, and most major airlines have started strictly enforcing a little-known policy that applies to non-refundable airline tickets. They now require travelers to CANCEL a ticket before the flight date and time if they are not going to make the flight.

Locum tenens travelers—when you know you are going to miss a flight due to weather, traffic, work delays, please call the airline directly to cancel the flight. Attempting to contact VISTA or our after-hours travel service could result in delays. Tickets not canceled before the date and time of departure lose all value. We can’t even rebook you with change fees.

We’ll remind you of the policy on the itineraries you receive for travel to each locum tenens assignment. And as always, we are just a phone call away to help you rebook and get to your locums assignment. We just ask that you please make sure to call the airline first to avoid losing the value of the ticket.

In making this announcement the airlines emphasized that it is not a new policy, just strict enforcement of an existing policy. The same policy applies to international tickets, unless they are handled locally, then current policies will continue.

As a locum tenens traveler, it really pays to take the time to sign up for and use frequent flyer, preferred guest, and all those other programs that give you perks in return for your loyalty. It’s easy, it’s generally free, you can usually do it on-line, and you only have to keep track of the numbers long enough to get them to your friendly VISTA Staffing Solutions travel agent. We will add them to your travel profile, which includes your preferences, special needs, and such, and enter them whenever you book travel and housing for a locum tenens assignment.

Even if your locums travels take you to vastly different places on different airlines and to different hotels, the points can add up. For example, Delta, Northwest, and Continental honor each other’s frequent flyer point programs. United and US Air have a similar arrangement, as do Alaska Air/Delta and Alaska Air/American.

When and how you use your points is, of course, entirely up to you. Even though you earn them on tickets paid for by locum tenens clients, you are entitled to the benefits. Our team suggests that you save upgrades for a flight that’s three hours or longer—almost anyone can survive a short haul in coach. Timing is also an important consideration, and an upgrade might make a packed end-of-the-business week flight much more comfortable if you are able to get it.

Check the websites of the airlines you fly for on-line applications and rules and restrictions for using your points. There is no question the travel industry is becoming less generous in this respect, but there are still benefits to be had.

And don’t forget to sign up for preferred traveler programs at the hotels you frequent. Your points may entitle you an upgrade or a free stay when a friend or family members decides to join you for all or part of a temporary medical assignment. Always ask hotels if they honor airline frequent flyers programs too—most of them do.

One final note—find a little pocket in your carry-on bag and get in the habit of stashing your boarding passes there. When you get your frequent flyer program statements, verify that you were credited for all the segments of your journey. If you were not, only the boarding pass can convince the airline to add the points for a segment to your account. Happy traveling!

Globalization—notwithstanding Starbucks and The Gap and Abercrombie and Fitch—has a positive side. It has made travel simpler and much less intimidating. Find baggage claim at SUX and you can find it at LAX. Return a rental car at SeaTac and you can return one at Miami International. Learn to navigate your home airport and you can pretty much make it through any airport in the world.

Of course it helps to have a great team paving the way for you. VISTA has a three-person, in-house travel team. We book flights, reserve rental cars, and arrange for short-, mid-, or long-term housing while physicians are on assignment with us in the US, Australia, or New Zealand.

Our goal is to find the optimum balance between comfort and timing for physicians, and affordability for the hospitals and practices in which you work. We understand that practicing medicine is what you do best, and that you do it best if you feel safe, comfortable, and in control of your situation. That’s why we always work to accommodate your requests and special needs. (We recently booked travel and housing for a physician traveling with six Coin Parakeets—we can handle just about anything!)

On the flip side, the most important thing you can do to make your locum tenens travel successful and less stressful is GET TO THE AIRPORT ON TIME! I know there are factors beyond every traveler’s control, but if you can get in the habit of arriving early enough to complete the last task on your to-do list on the premises instead of at home or on the way you will save yourself, your team, your colleagues, and yes, your travel agents a lot of heartache. So make a plan to shine your shoes, get cash, check your email, stop for coffee, call your mom, or clean out your briefcase once you are through security and in the relative vicinity of your gate.
If you miss a flight or your flight is delayed or cancelled, the most important thing to do is get in line for a ticket agent. Run, don’t walk. And call us from the line. The on-site agent may have more information or options to help you. Conversely, we may be able to act more quickly. Either way it’s best to cover both bases. Happy traveling!