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title: Why Corporate Travel Uses Indian Trails … Meet Two-Million-Mile Man Al Kline ... When Animals Can Ride with Passengers
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| Home \| Scheduled Routes \| Group Charters \| Michigan Flyer |
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| Why We Partner with Indian Trails: Corporate Travel Service Based on his 20 years in the travel business, David DiFranco says there are two essential elements to a successful motorcoach trip: “The two basic components of an optimum experience are reliable motorcoaches and friendly, professional drivers. Without those, a trip can be destroyed.” That’s why his company—Corporate Travel Service (CTS)—has partnered with us for decades. “Corporate Travel collaborates extensively with Indian Trails to produce educational student tours, domestic pilgrimages, and musical performance tours and festivals throughout the country. We don’t have to ask them about their drivers, they’re always solid and professional. And Indian Trails is always updating and maintaining their equipment.” He appreciates the first impression our big, shiny motorcoaches make on eager travelers when they first spot them, as well as the comfort features they find when they climb aboard and settle in for their journey. A Booming, Family-Owned Tour Business DiFranco, the company’s chief executive officer, says CTS’ relationship with Indian Trails began with his father, Joseph DiFranco, who launched the company in 1965. “Our company and Indian Trails are two of the most respected names in the travel industry in Michigan,” he notes. The senior DiFranco, a former Dearborn High School history teacher and guidance counselor, got his start in travel by putting trips together for his then students and fellow teachers. An entrepreneur at heart, he found the endeavor both fun and challenging, says his son. “There was a time early on when Dad was trying to plan a trip to the Bahamas for his fellow teachers, but couldn’t find airline tickets at the price they needed. When he asked a travel agent if there was any way she could find something cheaper, she quipped that he could charter his own plane. And that’s exactly what Dad did.” Corporate Travel Service, based in Northville, Mich., has since grown to where it employs 70 associates. Its services include educational student tours, performance tours for choir and orchestra, theme cruise production, travel management for corporate clients, event management, religious pilgrimages, and personal vacation planning. From Pilgrimage Tours to Themed Cruises DiFranco says educational and pilgrimage tours are two of their top offerings. The latter came about from traveling with church choir groups who wanted to visit religious sites such as the Vatican and Lourdes, France. In the travel business, he adds, the challenge and delight is in finding the right resources and guides who can give customers the “most authentic, authoritative, and truly interesting insights into the significance of a place and its history.” Also in high demand are theme cruise productions for which CTS teams up with Time Life. “We offer a ‘Malt Shop Cruise,’ as well as cruise themes that include ‘Soul Train,’ ‘Flower Power,’ ‘Rock & Romance,’ ‘Southern Rock,’ ‘Disco,’ and ‘Country,’” says DiFranco. “They’re very popular.” Having worked for an accounting firm before joining the family business in 1998, DiFranco says he enjoys the creative aspect of his work, the control he has over outcomes, and the fact that “no two days are alike.” He also appreciates the long-term relationships CTS has built with companies like Indian Trails, which he knows will do their utmost to ensure that his customers have the best travel experience possible. “We’ve been working with Indian Trails for so long now that it’s almost like a well-rehearsed basketball team, where you pass the ball without looking and know they’re right there to catch it. Over the years, we’ve both seen competitors come and go. There’s a reason for our longevity.” |
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| Meet Driver Al Kline: Indian Trails’ Two-Million-Mile Man At some point in 2014, Phillip “Al” Kline started wondering exactly how many miles he had under his belt as a driver for Indian Trails. “I remember asking our safety director if he could tell me where I was mileage-wise, and he said he’d look into it,” recalls Al, who achieved his first “million-mile award” for safe driving in 1998. Not too long afterward, Al was attending a company meeting when the surprise formal announcement was made: He had achieved the rare distinction of driving over two million miles without an avoidable accident. So far, he’s the only Indian Trails’ driver in our 108-year history to do so. “I just about fell out of my chair when they said it,” Al recalls. “It seemed pretty phenomenal.” The icing on the cake for him was having lunch with then Indian Trails President Gordon Mackay who presented Al and his wife, Jacqueline, with an opportunity for an all-expense paid vacation. They chose a cruise of the Bahamas last Christmas. “It was the trip of a lifetime,” Al says. It was a well-deserved gift for Al who’s been with our company for 42 years, having joined us in 1976. Only Mackay, who now serves as chair of the Indian Trails Board of Directors, has worked here longer. Development of a Professional Driver An Owosso native, Al had been helping his father on the family farm when he decided he was “not cut out to be a farmer.” He’d heard jobs were available with a local furnace repair shop. “I went there and was told they weren’t hiring but Indian Trails was.” Experienced with machinery, Al first sought a position in maintenance. But those jobs were filled, so he signed on to become a driver. After training, he started out with a regular daily route, and then later switched to piloting group charters. During his career, he’s traveled through all but six U.S. states, and every province of Canada except Newfoundland. Today, he’s content with a regular route again. Yet he fondly recalls his charter trip days, especially the friendship he developed with a customer who scheduled annual trips for her group of friends. She always asked for Al when she made her travel arrangements. “We went all over together—even the West Coast,” Al recalls. “My wife and I even became friends with her. My favorites were the trips we took to Branson, Mo. They have everything there, and it was always a wonderful time.” A Glance in the Rearview Mirror Al has seen a lot of changes over his decades with our company. “When I started out, most of the buses were stick shift—I think only six had automatic transmissions,” he says. “There’s been a lot of computerization over the years and updates, of course.” One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is his enjoyment of the folks he’s met along the way, including the regular passengers. “There are lots of good people out there, and I’ve made some really good friends.” Al also adheres to a routine to help ensure his passengers’ safety, and it’s one he never alters. “I always arrive a half hour early to have coffee, get prepared and thoroughly check my bus before heading out on the road.” |
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| Part 1 of 2:  When Animals Can Ride or Fly with Passengers |
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| Under what circumstances can passengers legally bring animals aboard an Indian Trails or Michigan Flyer bus? How about a Greyhound bus, an Amtrak train, or a plane of a major airline that connects with us? Due to confusing laws and regulations, it can be hard to tell. So we’ll try to clarify things—both for passengers who consider animals to be part of their families, and those who see them as potential nuisances or even hazards. For starters, the rules differ according to the type of animal and service provided. “Service animals” are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and must be allowed on buses, trains and airplanes. For transportation purposes, “emotional support animals” are not covered by the ADA, nor are “psychiatric support animals” that do not perform a specific function for a person with a disability, or others collectively considered “pets.” Under the ADA, a “service animal’ means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. In addition, miniature horses that have been trained to help people with disabilities with specific tasks may now be considered service animals. The Policy for Buses is Simple Like Greyhound, Indian Trails and Michigan Flyer motorcoaches welcome bona fide service animals on board with customers who have disabilities. Service animals may ride in the passenger compartment of the bus at no additional charge. For an optimal experience, people who will be traveling with service animals may wish to notify our office 24 hours in advance. Once on board, passengers must remain in control of their service animals at all times—on a leash or harness, or in a carrier—and the animal must ride within the passenger’s own space; it cannot occupy a separate seat or lay down in the aisle. If we believe a service animal may threaten the health or safety of other passengers or our staff, or disrupt our operations (such as by barking, growling, biting, jumping on passengers, urinating or defecating), we may refuse to allow it on board. True service animals—which are nearly always dogs—are trained to provide specific services such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, fetching dropped items, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, or calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack. Is That Really a Service Animal? To determine if an animal qualifies as a service animal, our driver or another staff member may ask two questions: 1. Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability? 2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform? We don’t ask about a person’s disability, require medical documentation, or ask to see a special identification card or certificate of animal training. Credible verbal assurances are enough for us. But be advised that we do NOT transport any other dogs, cats, birds, or other species of animals, period. Whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, they’re pets under federal ADA law. A doctor’s note saying someone needs a certain animal for emotional support does not turn it into a service animal.  Unfortunately, to help passengers falsely claim that their pets are service animals, a number of online businesses have sprung up to sell them vests, harnesses, ID tags, and letters attesting to their owners’ need for mental or emotional support. We don’t recognize such phony indicators of service animal status. On the other hand, to avoid hassles, people with disabilities who travel in Michigan may want to consider registering their service animals with the state. Those who do receive an official “Registered Service Animal” identification card, plus a big, colorful patch for their animal. Registration is voluntary and free of charge, though an affidavit attesting to the truth of the application must be signed before a notary public. [NOTE: Part 2 of this article continues in the September 2018 edition of this newsletter, where we’ll explain how Amtrak and the major airlines deal with passengers who travel with animals.] |
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| Happy Labor Day! |
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| On Monday, Sept. 3, we’ll celebrate the 124th anniversary of Labor Day. Congress passed an act in 1894 making the first Monday in September a legal holiday in honor of the contributions American workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. Enjoy the long weekend and the remaining days of summer! Autumn begins on Saturday, Sept. 22. |
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| Custom charter trips from your group’s location in Michigan, Northern Ohio and Northern Indiana to anywhere in the Continental U.S. or Canada            |
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| Indian Trails, Inc.  109 E. Comstock St.    Owosso  MI  48867    You received this email because you are subscribed to Marketing Information from Indian Trails, Inc.. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails Did you enjoy this issue of Indian Trails Express? If so, please feel free to forward it to anyone else who might appreciate the content. Was this email forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe and receive charter news each month. |
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