vega travel chicago

Vega International Travel

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29 E Madison St

Chicago, IL 60602

Holden Ct & Wabash Ave

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About the Business

Established in 1948. Full service travel agency specializing in luxury international Travel. …

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We just got back from a trip to Costa Rica that Margarita from Vega Travel helped us plan. I had contacted Vega just a few weeks before our trip. Making reservations for holiday travel can be tricky, but Margarita was very helpful in planning the trip, booking all the activities from our wish list. We made our own housing and flight arrangements (something Vega can do for you) but Vega researched and booked everything else for us - we got English speaking private tour guides and drivers between our accommodations (we stayed in 4 different places during the 11 days) and points of interest. Working with Vega was very easy - after initial phone conversation, everything else was discussed over e-mail. Their response time was under 24 hours (and sometimes within minutes). Prior to our trip, Vega provided us with an app that included all the travel arrangements and phone numbers in one place. During the trip, while we worked with different guides, there was a local contact for the entire trip, and when we did have a couple of small glitches, we had someone to contact who quickly responded (even on Christmas Day!) and resolved our concerns. After the trip, Margarita followed up to see how our trip went. I will definitely work with Vega again in the future.

Would recommend 100%. Vega Travel helped my husband and me plan our first trip to Europe (Paris, Positano, Rome) with only a few weeks' notice! They helped us narrow down accommodations/activities, scheduled and booked everything, checked us in, etc. I called initially to describe what we were looking for and the rest of the communication was mostly via email. So easy! They had very fast and thorough responses 24/7. And they didn't charge us anything for their services. Give them a call to help plan your next trip, you won't regret it. We had a wonderful trip and stress free planning!

We arranged our trip to Mexico via Vega. Margarita and her colleagues were very helpful. Margarita came up with great suggestions for locations and hotel and was extremely helpful for planning our trip. We are looking forward to plan our next trip via her and Vega travel.

Gennady booked our trip to Malta and Sicily last year and I have never had such an excellent customer service experience with a travel agency. He took care of the smallest details and his recommendations were simply awesome. He listens to you and finds you the optimal experience based on your budget and other considerations. We are using him again for our next European vacation. Thank you.

Vega travel is exactly how travel agent should be. We have used Genna multiple times and we are extremely satisfied. Everything is planned with most attention to details. The staff is very accommodating and always on top of their game. We were aways given a choice of a few hotels based on the budget. Even when we were on vacation in Sicily and emailed Gena with a question, we received his response shortly with the recommendations. I would recommend Vega travel any day for smooth and pleasant experience.

Gennady and his colleagues helped us book my family's first trip to Greece. Everything from flights, ferry rides, hotels, excursions was booked perfectly. It was our first time using a travel agent so I was a bit nervous, however now I am happy to say we look forward to working with Gennady again for our future trips. I would also recommend Vega Travels.

About me: I'm an avid traveler having now made it to 41 countries! I started traveling with my family since the day I was born and along with my family we have used numerous travel agencies across the world from here domestically to the Orient. Vega Travel: Hands down, one of the best travel agents I have had the pleasure of working. With. Gennady is always on top of things and communication is effortless. Was able to work wth me and get me fantastic prices on hotels/flights and helped us secure tours in Asia for our two week trip this April to Tokyo-Beijing-Bangkok-Krabi-Siem Reap-Ho Chi Minh City. We are very excited about the upcoming adventures ahead and thanks to all the hard work at Vega Travel, we are looking forward to what should be a very memorable experience. *Will update again after our trip*

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29 E Madison St #1201, Chicago, IL 60602

+1 312 332 7211

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Managing partner of Chicago travel agency indicted for carrying out $1.75m fraud on Delta's Skybonus program

ATLANTA - Gennady Podolsky, a dual Ukrainian and American citizen, and managing partner of Vega International Travel Services, Inc., has been arraigned for wire fraud. 

“Podolsky used his knowledge of the travel industry to take advantage of his travel agency clients,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Through his access, he allegedly took advantage of Delta Airlines corporate frequent flyer program, illegally reaping millions of SkyBonus points worth more than $1.75 million dollars.”

“The fraudulent accumulation of frequent flyer miles in the travel industry may seem like a victimless crime, however, large corporations stand to lose significant profits”, said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.  “The FBI will do everything in its power to protect companies and to stop anyone who participates in this corrupt behavior.”  

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:  Vega International Travel Services, Inc. (“Vega Travel”) was a small, full-service travel agency located in Chicago, Illinois, that catered to clients of Russian and Eastern European descent who were living abroad. 

Podolsky was Vega Travel’s managing partner and lead travel agent.  Delta Air Lines, based in Atlanta, Georgia, operates a frequent-flyer program for individuals called SkyMiles, and a similar program for businesses called SkyBonus, that allows individuals and businesses to earn points for free travel and other valuable perks.  Enrolled businesses can earn points under the SkyBonus program at the same time the traveling passengers earned points under the SkyMiles program.

A business enrolled in the SkyBonus program accrues points whenever its employees travel on Delta and a SkyBonus account identification number is entered electronically at the time of booking.  For an enrolled business to accrue SkyBonus points under the terms of the program, the traveling passenger must have been an actual employee of that business.  Enrolled businesses could redeem accrued SkyBonus points for flight reward certificates, ticket upgrades, and other valuable benefits.

According to the indictment, beginning in March 2014 until April 2015, Podolsky allegedly devised and executed a scheme to defraud Delta through the fraudulent accrual and redemption of over 42 million SkyBonus points, causing a loss to Delta of over $1.75 million dollars.  As part of the scheme, Podolsky caused a SkyBonus account to be registered in the name of a fertility center owned and operated by a family member of the president of Vega Travel. 

When Vega Travel booked its customers for air travel on Delta, Podolsky caused the SkyBonus account number for the fertility center to be associated with those customers’ tickets, even though those customers were not employees of that company or any similar entity.  By doing so, Podolsky caused SkyBonus points to accrue fraudulently in the fertility center’s account for passengers who were not employees of that company.  Podolsky then caused the SkyBonus points that had fraudulently accrued to be redeemed by requesting, receiving, and utilizing reward certificates for free air travel and other valuable benefits.

Gennady Podolsky, 43, of Kiev, Ukraine, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard on twelve counts of wire fraud.  Podolsky was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 11, 2019.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys John S. Ghose and Bernita Malloy are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga .

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