Reservations Cancel Rush, Holiday Charters Limited

The Harvard Student Agency (HSA) is only offering charter flights to California for the upcoming vacation because of the small demand for charters to other destinations. Students from other parts of the country will have to pay full airfare to return home, an HSA spokesman said yesterday.

Despite the general lack of charter service, Harvard students should find no difficulties returning home for the winter holidays. Most students, foreseeing the holiday rush, have made travel reservation well in advance. HSA travel service reported solid bookings on California charters by mid-October.

"One of the problems with charters is that everyone wants maximum vacation time and it's always touch and go to see if the airlines will give us a favorable time," HSA travel representative Dana Wechsler '78 said yesterday.

"It would have been hard for me to go home it I hadn't gone with the charter," said Betsy Gershun '80. "The only inconvenience is that the dates are set for you."

Other students would like to see the charter flights arranged through two or more schools. "As it is, there are not enough students at Harvard to fill a charter to Georgia, but if MIT and Tufts combined with Harvard, maybe there would be," Melissa Allen '80 said yesterday.

Unlike the airlines, bus services do not place reservations, thus assuring passage for late minute travelers. As many buses run as there are people who buy tickets, Greyhound information officer Addie Nelson said yesterday.

Among Harvard students, busses have proved to be a popular mode of transportation. HSA chartered six to New York over Thanksgiving and will be running three over the winter holiday.

Daniel Wright, AmTrak station supervisor, said yesterday the bulk of holiday train traffic will be heading south, "It's hard to tell the amount of students that will be passing through here, we get a very large number on any holiday," said Wright, adding that, "Our busiest southern route is between Boston and Washington D.C."