Last month’s Earth Month Lunch Flyover series was a success with 17 sessions from various travel suppliers and University of California (UC) partners with 814 participants from across the UC! Those who attended the Marriott session had the opportunity to present suggestions toward sustainability. We received the official certificate that 25 trees were planted by the Arbor Day Foundation on behalf of the UC. 

The UC Travel Office continues efforts to provide meaningful, travel-related guidance for UC travelers, including regular webinars that will begin May 15 where results from the annual travel survey (with year-over-year comparisons) will be shared. More sessions, including upcoming town hall opportunities, will be announced as they are confirmed. 

As the summer months get underway, navigating varying aspects of travel can be challenging and the following tips can help ease some of the frustrations: 

• Plan and book ahead as much as possible: Airfare prices continue to increase, and availability of decently priced hotel rooms grows scarce. Travelers are at risk of being priced out of reasonable rates if they wait too long to confirm trips. 
• Book the first flight of the day out to your destination: Delays compound throughout the day - if possible, book the nonstop flights (which potentially reduce CO2 emissions as well). 
• Stick with the same airline all the way to your destination: Airlines can only commit to their own schedules; and, if one cancels, it is not the responsibility of the other to adjust your connecting flight. 
• Carefully note airline schedule changes: Do not act on them immediately, unless your flight is within a couple of days of the change (our webinar recording found in the travel portal on schedule changes dives into why you should allow yourself time to research your options from full cancellations to destination changes to airline switches). 
• Understand your rights and options in the event of major cancelations or excessive delays. 

We have also found that travelers who sign up for the miles and loyalty programs tend to have additional advantages. While UC’s contracts offer various benefits such as priority boarding, access to free preferred seats and potential for premium class upgrades at the airport (based on availability), loyalty programs could elevate some of these benefits even more and possibly provide free checked bags, all of which may present travelers a significant cost savings benefit. These loyalty programs could sometimes be the difference between members and regular travelers, especially with car rentals where drivers may be able to skip excessively long lines at the airport counter and directly drive off the lot. 

• If you have higher status at a particular airline, you may be able to take advantage of UC specific status match programs with Alaska, Delta, and United.  
• You can also link your personal United, Uber, Hertz, and Enterprise accounts to UC and gain significant benefits. All links can be found in the travel portal:  
• United “Break for Business” gives up to 10% discount when booking directly at united.com. 
• Hertz and Enterprise allow access to all UC contracted rates when reserving a vehicle on their websites. 
• Uber Business provides Priority Pick-up where our travelers are prioritized over others, especially at peak/high demand times or areas (such as conventions or airports) 

Finally, we encourage you to explore the travel portal for other benefits such as weekend/holiday rates with CQ (Club Quarters) with deep discounts averaging 65% (and could go up to 150%). Our new Sustainability page is also a great resource to help you understand green travel and your global footprint.