Travellers Care – Have you ever thought of having a personalized flying companion?

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

The idea stared six years ago.

She was called to the gate to assist a gentleman. He didn’t know where he was going. Someone dropped him off at the airport and had left him there. When she spoke with him, she found out that he had to get home, but needed assistance. She took the initiative and got someone to accompany him. She made sure he was taken care of the whole way home. It was such a delicate situation. He needed help, and there was no one to help him.

Shelly-Ann Cawley launched her Travellers Care company in January 2019. The newly innovated enterprise accompanies minors, seniors and canines on flights in the United States and Jamaica. While airlines provide similar service, Shelly-Ann believes the intimate nature of her business has made Travellers Care a suitable alternative.

Eleven million people currently live with some form of disability. Two million disabled passengers are estimated to fly every year, yet for some reason, this population remains grossly underserved.

In 2018, family members told CBS Chicago that an airport porter left a disabled woman alone in her wheelchair overnight after her flight was cancelled. Then there is the story about Justin Levene, a paraplegic man, who had to drag himself along the floor through Luton Airport after his self-propelling wheelchair was left behind on a flight.

Having done the rounds with three major airlines and one of international tourism’s largest brands, Shelly-Ann Crawly has a firm understanding of tourism and travel, and some of the pitfalls that are found in these industries. The Travellers Care approach was developed while Shelly was working with: Air Jamaica, Delta, Jet Blue and Sandals Resorts. Prior to Travellers Care, she escorted minors from the US to Jamaica at the request of parents.

“I started in Air Jamaica, 2001 as a flight attendant. I always had a passion for travel and people. I was an entertainment coordinator for Sandals, and steadily climbed the ranks at Delta. Being in this industry is definitely an experience. One of the more interesting times was when I worked as an Inflight Station Manager in West Wendover. West Wendover is a small city in Elko County, Nevada, United States.

 I worked for the airline that chartered planes. It was an interesting time being the only black person in the town. It was uncomfortable, but I knew that I needed to do this to grow in the industry.”

After spending a year in West Wendover, she transitioned to JetBlue in New York and worked there for about six and half years. At JetBlue, Shelly received several humanitarian awards for her services. After six years at JetBlue, she decided that it was time for a change. Shelly-Ann decided to start her travel assistance company – Travellers Care. During her time in the industry, she had experienced situations like the ones mentioned earlier where: elders, small children, and people with disabilities were left without assistance, and sometimes exposed to uncompromising situations.

“I sprang into action. I figured if there was a designated person to help people throughout the travel process, it would make their experience a much better one.

In my heart, I think people need attention. There are not a lot of companies like Travellers Care.”

Travellers Care specializes in providing positive travel experiences for individuals and families. They offer both domestic and international services on any airline. During my discussion with Shelly-Ann, she filled me in on the details of her company, and why it was so important for her to get this off the ground (no pun intended).

“I have twelve people on my team now. It has been growing steadily, and surprisingly, COVID-19 has actually given Travellers Care an unexpected boost,” Shelly begins.

We do airport to airport, and eventually we would like to do door to door. We give families the comfort of knowing that their loved ones are being taken care of while in transit. As a team, our commitment is to ensure that all of our customers get the best experience and are treated with the utmost respect.”

 “What are some of the difficulties with this line of work Shelly-Ann?”  I questioned.

“The hardest part of this business is getting people to trust you. You also have to deal with many different personalities. Then there are the regulations, taxes; you are dealing with children too. You have to be very careful. You have to do a lot of training, and I stay up to date on regulations given by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Most of my contractors are people who have been in the industry. This makes it easier because they know what the expectations are, and how they are to conduct themselves when working with people.”

I asked Shelly-Ann to pretend that I was a client calling in to have my family member brought from Canada to Jamaica.

“First we do an assessment/ interview to see what we need to do for our client. We find out about their disabilities, allergies, and food allergies, anything that we need to know while we are accompanying them.

 Once we have assessed your request, we send you the direct link to pay for the service. It is very hard to give a standard quote, because every situation is different. Personalized service means personalized prices.

 Disclosure forms are provided to our clients, and as the time comes closer for the trip, we call you to remind you about flight times, time to be at the airport, and what to pack.

 We think that it is important to keep the process seamless, so we will send a picture of your travel care companion, so that when you get to the airport, you know exactly who you are looking for.

 Twenty-four hours before the flight, your companion will call and give you the run down and tell you a little more about themselves.

We check bags, store bags in the overhead compartment, we go through TSA with you; we do everything. If your family member needs to get food, we will get food. Our only care on that day is your loved one. We sanitize everything in their section of the plane and supply our clients with a Travellers Care Gift. We assist in filling out immigration forms. We even bring entertainment; iPads come in handy, especially with children.

We established an unaccompanied minor program. Sometime children have to travel alone, so we have to provide a service for parent or guardians. I have taken puppies as well. We take care of entire families, including pets.

We empower our older clients to take control of their narrative. WE do not promote silence.

When we get to the destination, we sign your family member over to ensure that you know they got their safe.”

Business has picked up for the Travellers Care team during COVID-19, so good that Fox News reached out to Shelly-Ann to learn more about her extraordinary service. You can find out more about this service by visiting https://travelers-care.com/. They can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

“I love serving my community. Small businesses are the backbone of their local communities, and I would love nothing more than for Travellers Care to be seen as that service that cares.”