LEAMIS has always booked the travel for my previous foreign trips, and even on this trip — with me as co-leader — it was Gail Drake who originally dealt with the travel agent. But since our uncertainty over the return flight from Nairobi, I’ve been included in the loop of messages from our travel agent, Heather at MTS Travel, and I have to say that so far, I’m thoroughly impressed by her attitude and her customer service. MTS Travel specializes is mission trip and relief work travel — according to its web site, it originally grew out of a Mennonite church agency. It now works with a broad spectrum of groups and denominations and has access to special fares intended for mission or relief work.

Heather is trying to sort through the sometimes-conflicting information she’s getting from Delta. She has customers in Nairobi right now and says the airline people at Jomo Kenyatta Airport seem to be on top of the situation (more so, in fact, than the reservations people here stateside); the folks at the airport are making alternate travel arrangements for anyone who happens to arrive in Nairobi without knowing about the problems with the Nairobi-to-Atlanta route. But, obviously, it would be preferable to get a new itinerary worked out before we leave, and Heather is on the case.

Naturally, what we want to happen here is for the airline to make the changes, since the it’s their responsibility, so that we can avoid any fees. Yes, we can always get a refund and book alternate passage ourselves, but that would be more costly and would be only an emergency last resort.