With Planet Earth in lockdown, our industry at a standstill and many of us in self-isolation or quarantine at home, or grounded, this is our blog for you – it’s a way to share stories within our community, to form solidarity and foster a sense of belonging.
Short essays on what we are each doing, how we are getting through this darkest hour in travel, how are we handling withdrawal symptoms from travel, what we intend to do with this down time, a word we want to focus on, a wish we have or simply, an important topic you want to share with your travel friends at this time.
Isolated in Seattle: Me, myself and I
Timothy O’ Neil-Dunner, principle, 777 Partners, shares how he’s occupying his time and connecting with people while in isolation.
I was formally grounded March 12, upgraded even, on my last flight, now home but isolated. This is a tremendous opportunity to reflect, even reset. Rather than be depressed (well OK a little) What about all the things I can do? First up – what will I have done when this is over? There are so many un-started projects. I already started. I love data and want to make complex concepts simpler easier to comprehend. Visual expression. I want to learn ways that will make me a better person.
Finally, I want to be connected to people – this community is one way to do it. And walk the puppy!
The passion thing: Education and knowledge creation
In a former life – I worked in advertising. I worked on major travel brands particularly in airlines. Some of which have long gone to that great runway in the sky… TWA, Pan Am, Northwest, Western, Continental, Mexicana. I could go on – but these in their day(s) were iconic brands. Advertising is about persuasion.
Every self-respecting Ad person has read Vance Packard’s book.
So persuading people to do the right thing for me has always exposed the issue of lack of information to discern how things work. The travel industry can be very complex. Particularly the technology in distribution is full of amazingly intricate elements. And this is where my passion is. Helping people to understand and be better informed to make the right decisions. Fact based. In today’s world of fake news and misinformation from both “official” and commercial sources, I bemoan the loss of comprehension based on facts. Hopefully if there is any silver lining that comes from the Covid-19 crisis, that we can get back to respecting science and fact based information. In the meantime – I will continue to try and persuade people the value of understanding of all forms. Without being too preachy about it, better informed makes for better decision making. Stay safe.
Note: We will be running this blog for as long as we need to, to get us through this. If you wish to contribute, please send your essays to Siew Hoon. Send images too, it’s your story.
• Featured image credit: OgnjenO/Getty Images
