Stranded Students Put London Trip On Hold Number Of Difficulties Hamper Spokane Company’S Travel Planning

Bad weather and bad luck last weekend forced the cancellation of a tour trip to England arranged by a Spokane company for 56 Wisconsin and Indiana students.

The middle school students were scheduled to fly from Chicago to New York last week, then to London and Ireland for a 21-day trip costing each student $4,000.

It took them three days before they got as far as Detroit. The trip was then canceled and the students returned home without their luggage, the only part of their entourage that did make it to London.

The England trip was one of about 500 trips organized each year for students by Ambassador Program. The Spokane company arranges travel plans, host-family arrangements and educational programs.

Participants take part in a program called People-to-People Student Ambassadors, which for a fee organizes international travel experiences. The Spokane-based company also organizes trips for adult travelers and sports teams.

Ralph Baard, a vice president of Ambassador Program, said Wednesday the students from the canceled trip have all agreed to try again July 11.

“This was easily for me the most difficult experience I’ve had to go through,” said Baird.

The bad weather back East coincided with the busiest travel time for flights heading overseas, added Baard.

“We’ve had delays before, but nothing as significant as what we went through last week,” he said.

The students were stuck on standby in Chicago while bad weather hampered flights across the East Coast, said Baard.

On Friday they flew to Detroit, hoping to find flights to London. But an assortment of problems stymied the effort.

Air traffic control problems in England canceled several flights that might have been available for the students, Baard said.

On Saturday the students flew home to Madison, Wis., and Indianapolis.

Their luggage at the time had already been transported to London. It was retrieved later, according to an airlines spokesman.

Ambassador Program, with about 200 employees, is owned by the publicly held parent company, Ambassadors International. Its board chairman is Peter Ueberroth, former Major League Baseball commissioner and one-time U.S. Olympic Committee director.

The parent company’s 1999 revenue was $43.9 million, with net income of $1.8 million.