By:Carrie James
It's been almost nothing but cancellations and refunds at Friendship Travel, 1914 Hempstead Tpke. in East Meadow, since the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked Sept. 11.
"We're dying," said Rose Yanez, owner of Friendship Travel, which opened more than 30 years. "People are afraid to travel and are canceling. I don't know if I'll be in business in January.
"It's not even the canceling, though. It's that the phone doesn't ring," she continued. "I'm paying salaries, and they are only working handling cancellations. The public at large are really frightened."
Not far away at Cruise Holidays of East Meadow, 293 East Meadow Ave., and at P. Morrone Travel, 481 Old Country Road, travel agents tell the same story.
The three agencies have seen dramatic drops in business and/or lost revenues owing to cancellations and refunds in recent weeks.
At P. Morrone Travel, agent Camille Morrone estimates that they have seen an 80- to 90-percent drop in business because of the Sept. 11 incident. Representatives of the other agencies said they have seen similar dips.
"Not only have we been under the emotional strain of what we are all going through, but we are also under the stress of getting people back home, and we've had to do a lot of refunds as well," Morrone said. "It has definitely impacted us emotionally as well as financially. What is happening is that people are frantic."
Many of those forgoing trips are facing strict cancellation penalties, Yanez said. She referred to a group of people scheduled to travel to Europe later this year. Those who canceled had to pay a $600 fee.
Still, Yanez said, she and her staff are doing twice the work per customer and not making any money, since they return the commission they earned when they give a refund.
"We make nothing," she said. "The salary, electricity, rent, everything has got to be paid, and nothing is coming in. They talk about bailing out the airlines, which isn't a bad thing, but what about everyone else that is financially impacted?"
While Cruise Holidays of East Meadow owner Fred Frankel said he has dealt with many cancellations as well, he has brought in some clients who realize now might be the safest time to travel.
He has had vacationers postpone their trips and others come in and book plans on plane trips, cruises and other vacations now, he said, because of the recent strict government regulations and checks.
"People are realizing this is the safest time to fly," Frankel said. "I had a couple just come in because of that reason. They were more willing now because of all the restrictions."
Frankel has still seen his share of cancellations and postponements. He believes, though, that it is only a short-term problem, and "once the scare is over with, it will get safer and better."
The hope is, travel agents said, that their businesses will outlive this short-term problem to again thrive in East Meadow. They know, though, that businesses will go under, and not just travel agencies.
"It's not just travel agencies that are affected," Yanez said. "We're being severely impacted and so are hotels, tour operators. It's not just the airlines that are hurting; it trickles down to everyone. I imagine there's a lot of people going out of business, and I hope that I'm one of the survivors."
