Just about a year ago, we wrote about a travel company for people who thought COVID was a hoax. At the time Freedom Airway & Freedom Travel Alliance (FAFTA) fancied themselves as, “a group of passionate trailblazers defending freedoms and rights to travel the world.”
FAFTA members didn’t think COVID was real; they called it a “plandemic.” So one of their goals at the time was to curate, “…a collection of monthly travel packages for their Natural Health FREEDOM MEMBERS in popular hubs around the globe to partner with accommodations, transport, spa, meeting and faith leaders.” (read: travel places where COVID safety – mainly wearing masks at the time, since most people weren’t eligible for vaccines until a few months later – wasn’t an issue). They also appeared to be something of a travel agency, with trips planned to Tampa, Florida (Feb. 2021, from $499), Ireland (Spring, 2021, from $750) and Brazil (Spring/Summer, 2021, from $999). Except the trips had no structure whatsoever. It was essentially “Give us your money and trust us.”
Welp, like I said, it’s been about a year…how is FAFTA doing? Not very well.
Their overall goal seems to have changed. I guess when your original business plan doesn’t work out, you change your goal? Anyway, their name has changed from Freedom Airway & Freedom Travel Alliance (FAFTA) to just Freedom Travel Alliance (FTA). They’re no longer “a group of passionate trailblazers defending freedoms and rights to travel the world.” They’re now, “building a new ecosystem that respects the right to movement and travel without discrimination for all of our community members.”
Yeah, they finally gave up on the idea of planning trips. In fact, if you go to their Flights-Trips page, you get a big ol’ 404 error.
They haven’t given up on the idea of travel – instead of building trips, they’re making what they call a Freedom Travel Guide. They say they’re, “…creating a directory of freedom-minded businesses, from hotels to gyms and restaurants.” If you go to the directory, you can see hundreds of one-line ads for places from all over the world, none of which have descriptions of what or even remotely where they are (OK, it’s in Canada. Canada’s a big place…WHERE in Canada?), and many of which have nothing to do with travel. A fruit and vegetable shop in Argentina. A copywriter and WordPress website designer in AUS (Austria? Australia? Austin? Hard to tell.). A corporate wellness consultant in Belize. You get the point.
Oh, and if you want to travel in freedom, you can book a charter plane through them. At least they have some idea now of how much that costs:
On a small light jet: up to $3,000 per hour (4 to 6 passengers)
On a midsize jet: up to $8,000 per hour (up to 9 passengers)
On a long-range jet: up to $13,000 per hour (14 to 19 passengers)
**Please note, other fees are also involved with charter service including but not limited to: parking and ramp fees, catering service, de-icing, and other potential operating cost variables subject to location, aircraft type, and service.**
We understand this method of air travel is not for everybody and we are working on making other options available. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is an airline…but we are pushing through and will make larger passenger carriers available for a more modest cost in the months to come.
They don’t suggest any place that offers more freedom in travel…they just suggest that you use them for booking a charter jet.
FAFTA….sorry, FTA…also offers something called Empowerment Experiences, which are touted as “events unlike any other.” It doesn’t sound as if they have anything to do with travel.
The experiences that will change how we see the world. We thrive on partnering to support or create new & exciting experiences that our clients that turn up the volume on brands to get people talking about our client’s products, services or venue. When done well, events have the power to create lasting and powerful positive impressions, creating new connections and pathways to forge a new society.
FTA offers what sounds like podcasts (I think?) called Freedom Talks. “At a time when truth has been silenced & trampled by big tech and conglomerate news networks, Freedom Talks is set to provide a platform for our Natural Freedom Audience to be a part of the discussion so we can broadcast the true opinion of the masses.” Um…OK? Anyway, they’ve hosted about 2 dozen of these things over the course of a year. Most don’t say what they’re about; just who they’re talking to in each episode.
FTA also sponsors webinars. The next one is called Critical Thinking In The Time Of COVID” (Wait, “In the time of COVID?” I guess they believe it exists now? It’s not a plandemic anymore?). It’s scheduled (or was scheduled?) for November 15th. They don’t say if that date is for 2021 or 2022.
FTA still has annual memberships ($100 Bronze, $200 Silver, $500 Gold). They don’t really specify anything about what your membership actually does, save for access to live updates, Zoom calls, etc. However a reply on their Facebook presence (yep, FTA still has a Facebook presence. I suggest you read the comments. ;-)) did suggest that membership, “…supports all our hard work and efforts to save humanity.” (they’re saving humanity? How altruistic of them! ;-)) When challenged about the vagueness of this, they said, “we will not risk posting these publicly and have those we are fighting against work to ruin it for our natural freedom travelers!” Well, OK then.
As for the 5 founding partners of FAFTA (they’re no longer listed on the website – I guess it’s another part of the vagueness? – but had been, back in its earliest months):
- Dolores Cahill has had all sorts of problems, including having her page removed from Facebook over COVID misinformation, and being fined £2,500 by a London court for holding an anti-lockdown protest.
- Susan Sweetin, an event planner (ah, now the “Empowerment Experiences” make more sense), appears to still be involved in FTA.
- Kevin Jenkins, a social media influencer, has been called one of the “Disinformation Dozen,” which are twelve individuals collectively responsible for 65% of Covid-19 anti-vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories on the internet and social media, according to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) in 2021. He’s been identified as a major promoter of misinformation about vaccines, especially targeting the African-American population. So if you have a loved one who believes all those conspiracy theories about COVID, you know who to blame #rolleyes
- Tara Thornton was a well-known name in the California anti-vaxxer population in 2020 and 2021. Her name appears to have disappeared from the media since the summer of 2021. My first thought was, obviously, that maybe she had died of COVID. But as much as I can’t find anything from or about her after August 2021, I can’t find an obituary for her, either. So, I dunno.
- Susan Standfield, a Canadian TV producer, has been involved in tasteful activities such as designing shirts that compare COVID vaccines to the Holocaust. Here are some of the other things she’s been up to.
So yeah, it’s been a year for them. On the good side, I will admit that their website seems to be in better shape; it used to have grammatical errors and typos all over the place and that isn’t the case anymore; I guess they got a proofreader. As for everything else, well, FAFTA seemed pretty disorganized then, perhaps with a hint of…paranoia? Defensiveness? Something like that. Anyway, it looks as if their company name and goals have evolved, but not much else has. They still have next to no actual information on their website. And if all the “good stuff” is only via membership, well, they certainly don’t give a reason to join, save for, same as last year, “just trust us.”
As someone who is vaccinated, boosted and on the lookout for “safe” places to travel (you know, places that encourage vaccines, mask use where appropriate, etc.), I still don’t think FTA is for me. As the good blog says, Your Mileage May Vary.
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