Jim,

Thank you for sending the allergy translation cards I ordered, both the "Strongly Worded Peanuts" cards for China and Hong Kong, as well as the "List of Nuts" cards for China and Hong Kong. However, including cards that I did not order, but that would be extremely helpful for someone who is severely allergic to nuts, is a great example of a company going above and beyond what they normally do in business. With my allergy, which could easily lead to death in an instant, those emergency cards work out to be extremely helpful in the unfortunate event I need to use them.

I will let you know how these cards worked out upon returning from my trip.

Since Michael had ordered his cards as PDFs, it didn't require a lot of resources to enclose extra cards with his order, but it was still a thoughtful gesture and very useful to him!

Our tipster writes:

My 13 year old daughter Taylor's best friend Kayla moved to Colorado last year. As Taylor and Kayla were saying their goodbyes we told them we would have Kayla out for a visit someday.

So this summer Kayla's parents arranged for Kayla to come visit my Daughter here in California for a week in June. Kayla's parents flew her out via Frontier airlines and paid the extra $100 unaccompanied minor fee. My wife picked Kayla up from the airport without a hitch and everything was fine.

Fast forward to the day of the return trip a week later.

Kayla's flight was scheduled to leave from San Diego at 2:59PM. I called Frontier Airlines around 11:00 AM to make sure the flight was on time and to see how early we needed to arrive at the airport and to verify her reservation. While talking to the agent I found out that even though Kayla's mother had put me on the list of people authorized to receive a gate pass so I could walk Kayla to her departure gate, I was not showing up in Frontiers computer system. After a few phone calls to Kayla's Mother and to Frontier we straightened this out and I was placed on the approval list in Frontiers System.

We showed up 2 hours early to the airport for her flight. While checking Kayla in I was required to fill out Frontiers standard unaccompanied minor request for carriage form which contains all the contact information on who is dropping the minor off and who will be picking the minor up from the destination airport. The form was filled out completely with both kaylas mother and father being the recipients. Kayla bags were checked in and I was given a gate pass.

After waiting an hour and a half at the departure gate the same ticket agent that checked us in called Kayla's name to board early. We walked up to the gate and gave the agent the paperwork we had along with the request for carriage form. The agent took the paperwork, said thank you and immediately turned and started walking down boarding ramp with Kayla. I stopped the agent and asked, "dont I get a receipt or anything?! " The agent stopped and looked at the other agent at the gate. "I guess we could give him our copy" she said to the agent behind the check in counter. She then flipped through the FIVE duplicate pages on the form and pulled out a canary colored copy and gave it to me. I commented to her that I just gave her a very precious passenger and to be careful with her. I also told Kayla that if she was taken off the plane for any reason to immediately call me. I called Kayla's mother and let her know that her daughter was on the flight and was on her way home and to call me as soon as she had Kayla in hand.

So fast forward 3 hours later and I get a call from Kaylas Mother. I was expecting to hear that she had Kayla but instead she asked who's name I had filled out on the request for carriage form. She had been getting the run around at the Frontier check gate in Colorado. Even though she was the legal guardian and had the proper forms and I.D. Frontier would not let her have a gate pass to meet and pick up her daughter at the gate. When I talked to her she was frantic. I checked the receipt that I insisted the agent in San Diego give me. Her mother was listed first and then her Father.

So I called Frontier airlines and explained the situation. They told me that they didn't know why her mother was not on the list but that her father was listed and there is only room in the system for one name. They said it was corrected and I called Kayla's mother back to inform her. At this point the plane had been on the ground for some time and through text messages we found out Kayla was taken to a security station at the denver airport and placed in a holding room. It was about an hour before she was finally reunited with her mother.

In my opinion this is inexcusable. Not only did her mother have to pay an extra $100 unaccompanied minor charge to the airline, but the airline dropped the ball and didn't get it right. They left a mother in a panic for an hour in a busy airport and scared the heck out of an innocent 13 year old girl by placing her in a security room. All the agents had to do is look at the request for carriage form that was with her.

I'm writing this because I think Frontier Airlines needs to carefully review and revise their procedures to insure that this never has to happen to another parent of child flying with them again. I think they also owe Kayla's mother a refund for at least $100 for the unaccompanied minor fee and a huge apology .

(Photo: ATIS547)

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A spokesman from the safety regulation group at the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority said that although there are no explicit rules that prohibit such practice, there were logistical and security issues. More luggage would lengthen security screening times while some baggage might not even fit through scanners, he said.

Under Ryanair's proposed policy, passengers would not be allowed to pack liquids, razors and other items now prohibited in carry-on baggage, despite having the luggage stored in the aircraft's cargo hold.

Ryanair did not specify whether personnel responsible for loading and unloading baggage would be Ryanair employees or members of an independent baggage-handling service.

The airline expects to debut their in-flight gambling service within five years, even though the U.K. Gambling Association says that "all forms of commercial betting and gaming are illegal on aircraft." Whatever. Norms and rules are for other airlines, not RyanAir. No, they'll never abandon their zealous mission to become the first successful airline with the motto: "Bring Your Own Plane!"

Ryanair To Ban Check-In Baggage And Airport Check-In [Dow Jones]
(Photo: scalleja)

It is further alleged that Port Authority police pursued the van in a marked vehicle with their lights flashing and sirens blaring and were assisted in the chase by at least 10 other police vehicles. During the chase from the airport, the defendants allegedly swerved through traffic, forcing vehicles and pedestrians to jump out of the van's way, and at times ran stop signs and red lights and traveled at speeds of 60 miles per hour on crowded residential streets.

In the course of the chase, the five tourists – Esther Mamane and her mother Claudie Mamane, 60, and Gwenaelle Dulugat and her parents, Michele Dulugat, 61, and Jean- Jacques Dulugat, 62 – were allegedly locked in the van and the defendants refused their pleas to stop as they cried and screamed to be let go.

Additionally, it is alleged that when the defendants were confronted by a dead end street, they turned the van into a postal facility at 1050 Forbell St. in the East New York section of Brooklyn and jumped out, fleeing on foot as the vehicle continued to move with their five screaming passengers locked inside.

Rick Seaney has a few tips to help you avoid getting trapped in a runaway cab like the Dulugats:

• Avoid "gypsy cabs" and other non-licensed vehicles: the legitimate cabs are all lined up at the curb. If your cabbie claims to be licensed, and it's a hike to his vehicle, he isn't. By the way, these taxis can cost just as much as the legit ones.
• Check out the transportation choices before you arrive: JFK, for example, offers many alternatives to taxis including trains and a bus system that takes you directly to Grand Central for $27 roundtrip.
• Consider a private car service: it need not be a limo - and it can cost just a few bucks more than a taxi fare.

As for the Dulugat's, they received an apology from the Mayor's office, along with free Broadway tickets and passes to the Museum of Modern Art.

DA: JFK Hustlers Held French Tourists Captive [North Country Gazette]
Day after their ride from hell, French family lives American Dream in NYC [NY Daily News via Rick Seaney]

The move is part of the airline's attempt to cater more towards business customers, who don't always want to fly into the second-tier airports Southwest usually favors.

[CEO Gary C. Kelly] has been fine-tuning the Southwest model since becoming CEO in 2004. In pursuit of business travelers, he bent the traditional "first come, first serve" seating rules with "Business Select." Passengers pay a few bucks more to get a spot at the front of the boarding line, an extra frequent-flier award and a free drink. He also pushed Southwest into the kind of huge airports it once spurned. The strategy has worked in Denver and Philadelphia, where Southwest has grown rapidly.

Now it needs the big Eastern cities to buttress its service at Chicago's Midway Airport, Southwest's second-busiest hub, with more than 200 daily flights.

"If we're holding ourselves out to Chicagoans saying, 'We want to be your business airline,' we've got to be able to take them" to New York, Boston and Minneapolis, Kelly said.

New Yorkers will be able to catch five flights daily to Chicago's Midway airport, and three flights to Baltimore/Washington International. Starting in mid-August, the airline will also start flying from Boston's Logan airport.

Though LaGuardia is notoriously congested, it's still nice have another quality discount airline flying out of New York.

Southwest means business as it comes to New York [AP]
(Photo: dooleymtv)

Southwest Airlines says (to Chip):

Certainly, your history as our Customer would suggest that our Employees haven't identified you as a Customer of size in the past, and we regret the inconsistency you experienced in Las Vegas. As a very frequent Customer who notes he is a "huge fan," you're no doubt aware that the primary key to our success over the past 38 years is our workforce. And, of course, our workforce is made up of humans who are, unfortunately, fallible. As you describe yourself as "barely" fitting into our seats, it isn't unreasonable (as you acknowledge) for our Employee to approach you about your seating needs.

However, once your situation escalated to a Supervisor and you explained again that you've traveled many, many times without being approached, our Employees should have reevaluated the situation.

I assure you that the appropriate Leaders have been made aware of your concerns. Although we will be unable to share any specifics with you, we are confident our Leaders will address the situation appropriately.

Additionally, as a tangible expression of our apologies, I have issued you [redacted] in travel credit, the value of which equals that of your roundtrip fare. The travel credit will arrive via e-mail within a few days.

As you're aware, Southwest Airlines is a very good airline with an excellent performance record; friendly, capable Employees; and a strong commitment to Customer Service. We regret making you feel otherwise on June 15, and I hope that your faith in our Company continues and that we can look forward to future opportunities to have you on our flights.

Chip says:

Although this wasn't about money, I accept your offer.

It is probably worth mentioning that I have already flown on Southwest four(4) times since last Monday. Many many people have suggested that I switch airlines, but that would be foolish. I already fly the best airline in the US, so there's no need to change. I know that the two employees that hampered my travel plans last Monday are the exception to Southwest's fine customer service, not the rule. Hopefully they are being dealt with accordingly.

We love a happy ending. You can check out Southwest's full letter and more of Chip's thoughts about the incident, here.

Thank You Jim Ruppel at Southwest [Chip's Blog]

The reader called the website, Cheapostay.com, to ask about the outrageous fees... but was disconnected after 45 minutes on hold.

All we can say is thank goodness for that $10 instant promotion they tacked on there at the end. That really made all the difference.

No cheapo hotel: fees double price of "discounted" hotel room [Elliott]

Apparently, the new streamlined "black diamond" security line for business travelers may have put Clear out of business.

[An Atlanta airport spokesperson] said the shutdown of Clear "will not impact our customers" because although Clear members had their own lines leading up to security screening, they used the same checkpoint lanes as other passengers to proceed through metal detectors and have luggage screened.

The airport also expanded its security checkpoints and launched streamlined, free security lanes for non-Clear members with designations such as black diamond for expert travelers. That, along with other factors, lessened the advantage Clear had to attract members.

"Since our security expansion last fall, security lines at Hartsfield have rarely exceeded 10 minutes," Kennedy said.

The company's website says that no refunds are to be issued "at the present time." Despite that unfortunate reality, when the potential for shenanigans is taken into account, the closing of this service seems like no great loss to planet Earth.

Clear shuts down paid airport security lines business [AJC] (Thanks, j!)

Chip writes:

I fly twice a week for business exclusively on Southwest Airlines. In the last year I have probably flown 50-60 times on Southwest. I am about as loyal a Southwest customer as could be expected.

So imagine my surprise last Monday when I went to board my 12:40pm flight from Las Vegas (where I live) to Omaha and was prevented from doing so an unruly the gate agent who thought just by looking at me, she could determine whether I was too big to fit in one seat and informed me that I needed to buy a 2nd ticket.

Now I am a big guy (6'1, a few extra pounds) but I've never been stopped, asked, suggested, or otherwise looked-at-funny that I should buy 2 seats, by Southwest or any other airline... so I initially shrugged it off as an honest mistake. But she wouldn't budge! Nor would two of the supervisors who were called. They dug their heels in and I stood there arguing with them as my flight boarded and left without me. This was a business trip, so I ended up losing a day of work.

The worst part of the whole experience, when I told them I fly twice a week they didn't believe me! I tried to get no less than four(4) Southwest staff to pull up my travel history, both to show them that I was a frequent traveler and my weight wasn't an issue, and to show them I'm a LOYAL customer, but they wouldn't do it. I was stunned at the lack of customer service.

The proverbial cherry on top of the whole ordeal was a backhanded apology by the final supervisor who said "he was sorry that I was never stopped before." Now I was irate.

Defeated, I went home to reschedule my flight for the next day. I looked up their rules for ejecting "persons of size" and it turns out the true test for determining if someone is too big for one seat is the put them in the seat and see if the armrests go all the way down. These people didn't even do that. They are clearly not allowed to just visually determine if someone is too big or not, that's discrimination! Mind you, I didn't get anywhere near the plane, this all happened at the top of the jetway where the tickets are collected.

It's been one week and although I've sent this to Southwest executives, Southwest customer service, and Southwest's twitter account, I have yet to receive any official response or apology from them other than the appalled customer service rep who's job it is to constantly apologize to people like me. Would this be a good time to mention that their customer service line is constantly busy and the only time to get through to them is 7am in the morning?

I'm not looking for any free stuff, all I want are the two Southwest employees who denied me my flight (one gate agent, one supervisor) to be educated on what their policies actually are so this won't happen again. As I said, I fly twice a week and I don't want to be ejected again.

Thanks Consumerist. Keep fighting the good fight!

Chip also provided a blog entry where he details his communication with Southwest. A customer service rep has indeed apologized over the phone, but could not guarantee that Chip wouldn't be randomly yanked from a flight in the future.

Here's what he would like from the airline:

1. An official written apology/letter from Southwest management that I can carry with me so as to prevent this from happening again.
2. An acknowledgment that the gate agent and supervisor acted in the wrong.
3. That gate agent and supervisor are reprimanded or otherwise informed that they acted in the wrong, directed to the actual guidelines for "customers of size" so they will not arbitrarily yank someone off a flight again.

That's all, no money, no free stuff, no lawsuit, no 6 o'clock news. Just an apology and some effort put into making sure this is not a repeat occurrence.

The policy as written is pretty clear, and Chip just wants it to be followed. That doesn't sound like too much to ask from a guy who flies twice a week. What do you think?

Chip says his rebooked (single ticket) flight to Omaha progressed without incident.

Frequent Traveler is Too Fat to Fly on Southwest Airlines [Chip's Blog]

UPDATE: This complaint has been resolved.

How will the TSA enforce the new limits? The answer lies in subsection (e):

(e) Use of Template

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, TSA shall install and utilize a template with a maximum depth and width that will prevent the conveyor belt passage at each security checkpoint of carry-on baggage or a personal item that exceeds the dimensions set forth in subsection (a).

Otherwise, the bill would provide roomier new carry-on limits.

...the proposed bill would allow travelers who currently have bags at the limit to buy a new bag, or expand their current one, as the new limit would be 22 inches by 18 inches by 10 inches.

But many domestic carriers now require bags to be smaller than that. American Airlines requires bags to be a maximum of 45 inches (length plus width plus height.) Delta Airlines and United Airlines set the limit as 22 inches by 14 inches by 9 inches.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Dan Lipinksky (D-IL) has yet to attract any co-sponsors, but the three-term Congressman is a member of the Transportation Committee's Aviation Subcommittee.

We're fans of the larger carry-on limits, but we're told the TSA is there to keep us safe. Maybe we should let them focus on going through our bags instead of worrying how large they are.

Thanks, Uncle Sam! Carry-on baggage limits may increase by a few inches [Tripso]
H. R. 2870 - Securing Cabin Baggage Act [THOMAS]
(Photo: mil8)

Mike writes (to Southwest Airlines):

I recently flew via Southwest for the first time. The Trip from Chicago, IL to Amarillo, TX went quite well, although I had a few problems that were quickly remedied by Southwest, and as such, I feel that you should know this. My first problem was caused by me, and was in no way your fault; I left my camera sitting at the gate in Amarillo, TX. I only realized this 30,000 feet above Texas, when it was far too late to go back and get my camera.

Since I had a connecting flight in Denver, the first thing I did when I arrived was to go to the ticketing agent at my gate in Denver, to see if she could help me at least determine if my bag had been found (which I suspected it had, as the TSA seems to dislike unattended bags). She tried calling Baggage Services at Amarillo, which surprised me, as I expected her to just give me the phone number there, and send me on my way. She was unable to contact them, but was able to give me 2 phone numbers, one for Baggage Services in Amarillo, and another that was Southwest's 800 number. First, I tried calling Baggage Services, and received no response, so I left a voice mail message with my name, phone number, and a description of the problem I had. I then called the 800 number she gave me which was Southwest's main line. There I was directed to another representative that also tried, unsuccessfully, to reach Amarillo, to inform them of the lost bag. In the end, she was only able to take my information, and file a lost and found report, as well as post a message about the missing bag. All told, this only took me about a half an hour of my time; although at this point, I fully expected to not get my camera back, but that was my own fault, and not the airline's.

This is where my second problem occurred, after getting into Chicago (Midway), I waited at the baggage carousel for about 15 minutes (after waiting 20 minutes for one to be assigned to my flight), and after seeing all of the baggage come out, I went to the Midway Southwest baggage services, and filed a claim, which took about 5 minutes.

After all this, I call my dad, to tell him to come pick me up (he was waiting in one of the parking lots at Midway), and while I was waiting, I got a call from Baggage Services in Amarillo stating that they had found my camera, and they could ship it to me, although they needed a FedEx account number, because they needed to ship the camera, they couldn't fly it. Hearing this, I was quite happy, and told them I would call back on Monday with a FedEx account number.

I make it home, and around 8PM that night, I receive another call from Southwest, this time from Midway baggage services, stating that they had found my checked baggage, and they could put it on a van for delivery that would be leaving Midway at 9PM that night, and the delivery window would be 2-4 hours. I told them that I wouldn't be awake, and they said it would be fine to leave the signed baggage claim form on my porch, and they would just leave the bag there. Well, I ended up getting sidetracked while digging through my backpack for the claim form, and forgot to sign it and leave it on the porch. I realized this the next morning when I woke up; I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get my bag back, as I didn't know whom to contact at Southwest about the bag. When I looked on my porch, my bag was there, they had left it, even in spite of my mistake, I had my luggage back, another pleasant surprise.

On Monday, I called back to the baggage services office in Amarillo, and gave them a FedEx account number, and the address they could ship the camera to. Although I asked for, and never received the tracking number, I did receive my camera from FedEx yesterday, and everything is still there in the bag, intact.

(Photo:Zonaphoto)

The pilot, who had more than 20 years of service to the airline, died of natural causes. The flight landed safely at Newark.

Pilot dies midflight, FAA says [CNN]

Yesterday, Jonathan's ten-year-old daughter boarded a plane from Boston to Cleveland to visit her grandparents. She flew as an unaccompanied minor, meaning that her family paid an extra fee for airline staff to keep an eye on her and make sure she was taken care of and ended up where she needed to be. They didn't. She ended up on a plane bound for Newark, NJ.

The planes to Cleveland and Newark, both regional jets, used the same departure gate and were parked next to each other on the tarmac. Airline staff put the little girl on the wrong plane, and no one realized that anything was amiss until Jonathan's in-laws in Ohio received a phone call telling them that they could pick up their granddaughter. In New Jersey.

Jonathan wrote about the situation and the immediate aftermath on his blog:

When the flight arrived in Newark, no one there noticed that my daughter had been put on the wrong flight and flown the wrong city, again despite the fact that her paperwork clearly spelled out both the flight number and destination. The Continental people in Newark called my in-laws' phone number to tell them to come pick her up as if nothing was wrong, despite the fact that their address on the form was an Ohio address and their phone number had an Ohio area code. The people in Newark did not call my home or cell number to find out why no one was at the airport to pick up my daughter, despite the fact that they had both of those numbers on the same paperwork as my in-laws' number.

We didn't find out something was wrong until my father-in-law called me from the arrival gate in Cleveland to ask why my daughter wasn't on the plane.

It took forty-five minutes from that point until the Continental people in Cleveland finally confirmed that she was in Newark. The only reason they were able to figure it out at all is because I told them that there had been a flight to Newark boarding at the same gate and the best possible explanation for her whereabouts was that the gate agent put her on the wrong flight (the alternatives were much worse!). God only knows how long it would have taken them to figure out where she was if I hadn't noticed the Newark flight leaving from Boston and mentioned it to them.

The folks in Cleveland "graciously" offered to refund the unaccompanied minor fee. My father-in-law laughed when they made the offer, it was so outrageous. You can bet they'll be refunding a lot more than that fee by the time I'm done with them.

I can see all of the parents reading this post shuddering right now. Jonathan has contacted the airline as well as the FAA, and hopes to hear back from them very, very soon.

Another airline screwup you just will NOT believe: Continental puts my unaccompanied minor daughter on the wrong plane! [Something better to do]
Frequently Asked Questions about Children Traveling Alone [Continental Airlines]

(Photo: quinnanya)

The Kansas City star singles out the airlines that are most often on time, as well as those that take schedules only as humorous suggestions:

Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance, while Comair - a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc. - had the worst. Among legacy carriers, Northwest Airlines - operated by Atlanta-based Delta - was on time the most, and Continental Airlines Inc. posted the worst on-time performance.

If you're not like me, and don't get mad when your flight starts because it means you have to stop playing your DS for a little while, punctuality may be something to keep in mind when deciding which airline to book for your summer vacation.

More U.S. Flights on Time [Kansas City Star]
(Photo: So Cal Metro)

To get things going again, the Mexico City government is hooking up every visitor with health insurance.

"Tourists will be insured the moment they register in their hotels," Alejandro Rojas, the city's tourism minister, told the Financial Times on Friday.

The cover, which will be provided by ACE Seguros, the Mexican arm of the ACE Group, an international insurer, will allow any foreign tourists to seek medical attention at private hospitals throughout the city. It will not cover long-term maladies or illnesses contracted before arrival.

The city government announced that it would also launch a bank card for national tourists visiting Mexico City, which would give them an interest-free loan for purchases made in the capital and payable via monthly deductions from their salary.

Whoah, there. Interest-free loans on top of free health care? Mexico City, you should have no problem luring Gringos with such grandiose perks. The problem will be getting them to leave.

(Thanks, TRANSRACIALNYC!)

Mexico City offers free health cover [Financial Times]
(Photo: robinryan.ca)

According to the article, the employee's roommate was moving to Arizona, and did not understand the proper procedure for traveling with firearms. When he asked the US airways employee for help, the employee allegedly offered to smuggle the gun aboard.

The employee has a different story. He claims he accidentally grabbed the wrong bag from their home that morning and was switching it back.

The passenger has a license for the gun and a permit to carry it. For those of you thinking of traveling with firearms — be sure to read the TSA's rules. It's possible to travel with both guns and ammo if you plan ahead and check a bag. We hate US Airways baggage fees too — but we bet these two guys wish they'd just paid the extra money.

FBI: Airline worker helped roommate get gun on jet [USAToday]
(Photo:afagen)

Apparently, American Airlines has just added (brace yourself) 12 additional seats to new 737-800 jets from Boeing. How are the airlines able to cram more seats into the same amount of space? They're removing galleys, ordering slimmer seats, and yes... squeezing the rows closer together.

What's interesting is that the seat squeeze means discount airlines now offer more generous seat-pitch then their competitors. You get at least 34 inches of space in each row of a JetBlue A320, including the seat (the seat pitch, in industry parlance). At Southwest, seat pitch is 32-33 inches in 737s. But at American, United, Delta, Continental and others, seat-pitch is standardizing down at 31 inches in domestic coach.

Something to think about when you're booking travel.

Seat Squeeze: Low-Cost Carriers Now Offer The Most Legroom [WSJ]
(Photo:JohnKit)

The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Flight 1195 to Phoenix was delayed 4 hours due to the incident. The owner of the bag and the U.S. Airways worker are being questioned.

US Airways is, of course, taking it very seriously.

Safety and security is our first and foremost priority in everything we do," Morgan Durrant, senior manager of corporate communications for the airline, said in an e-mailed statement. "We are cooperating with investigators fully and take security considerations very seriously. Further comment right now is not appropriate out of respect to the ongoing investigation."

To see what else is being taken seriously, click here.

Police: Handgun handed off at airport, gets on plane [Philadelphia Inquirer]
(Photo:Flying Photog)

From the NYT:

Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's outspoken chief executive, told The Guardian that the airline plans to ask Boeing to add a credit-card reader to toilet locks and wants to reconfigure its 737-800 jets, adding space for six additional seats by removing two of the three toilets. "We are flying aircraft on an average flight time of one hour around Europe," Mr. O'Leary argued, "what the hell do we need three toilets for?"

Meanwhile, other UK media outlets are reporting that Ryanair is going to get rid of airport check-in desks and will start charging passengers to check-in online. There was also some discussion of making passengers handle their own bags.

Of course, it might all be a bunch of bullsh*t. Previously, O'Leary admitted that the pay toilet scheme was just a PR stunt. Perhaps Mr. O'Leary should charge the newspapers a fee to know if he's kidding or not.

Budget Airline to Charge for Toilet Use [NYT]

I don't want to change my name, I just want to shuffle Pearl from my middle name there — over there to the next box, next to McPhee. Simple, yes?

No. That's a name change. They can't change it. I cant change it. Only the agent who booked it can change it. I call Andrews McMeel (who are the agent who booked it and also eight flavours of awesome through the whole thing) and tell them what's happening. They check the original booking, and find that while they provided my name correctly, and yay, verily, it is even correct on their receipt, something has shifted in the AWISNNBIATATGTTGH [Airline-Whom-I-Shall-Not-Name-Because-I-Am-Too-Angry-To-Give-Them-The-Google-Hits] computer. We agree that this is crazy pie, but that it sounds simple to fix. They call AWISNNBIATATGTTGH and point out that all of my names appear on the ticket. (This, it turns out is sheer folly, since I had already tried the superweapon of logic on AWISNNBIATATGTTGH, and they were undefeated.) AWISNNBIATATGTTGH replies that it does not matter, since my last name on the ticket is McPhee, and McPhee is not my last name. (On this, we all agree.)

For my part, while they are on the phone with the lady from AWISNNBIATATGTTGH, I pull out various pieces of ID with my name on it, and brandish the sword of calmness and information. It is fruitless.

Kathy from Andrews McMeel eventually figures this out too, after a very, very noble attempt to be sensible in the face of it all, and she finally snaps, and tells the AWISNNBIATATGTTGH lady (who is now on the phone with AWISNNBIATATGTTGH head office and Kathy, one phone to each ear) to forget it. The name is wrong. It does not matter why or how it is wrong, the degree of wrongness doesn't matter. We get that we can't change it. (The reasons for this are unclear, but the name now cannot be changed. Possibly because there are about 14 seconds until the flight closes. Who knows.) Kathy tells them to forget the ticket. That ticket is dead to us. We don't know any McPhee lady and we don't want to. We wipe the slate clean and say that we would like to buy a ticket to Florida please... a whole new ticket. A ticket that has nothing to do with the other ticket, and the lady from AWISNNBIATATGTTGH smiles a little, because she has won on the name thing, and then she says:

"Sorry. There are no seats available on that flight."

Pearl-McPhee finally gave up and walked away from the mystery airline so she could instead book a ticket with Air Canada.

In which I try not to complain [Yarn Harlot]
(Photo: dykstranet)

My experience with Southwest Airlines was a bit shocking. I was traveling from Denver to Baltimore on my first vacation in about a year.

When the flight attendant came around, asking what everyone would like to drink, I told her I would like a can of Coke. Southwest has been gracious in the past about offering a full can of a drink, if a passenger has requested it, and I have taken advantage of that policy from time to time.

When I asked for the can, the flight attendant gave me a weird look, almost as if she couldn't believe I asked for the full can, but I nodded yes, and she walked away.

A few minutes later, this same flight attendant came over to me, gave me the can and flipped the can over to the nutritional information.

She used her finger to point out that the can had 39 grams of sugar in it, and went on to inform me that each gram is equivalent to a teaspoon of sugar, so in essence I'd be ingesting that much sugar if I drank the whole can.

I was incredibly humiliated and offended. Other passengers could hear her, and she did not offer the same sort of nutritional information to them. I believe she may have been singling me out for whatever reason she felt necessary. She made me feel like I wasn't able to read, or that I was stupid as to what grams of sugar means. I am an intelligent person, but she certainly insulted that part of me.

Laura wrote a complaint to Southwest about the encounter—"If I wanted to talk about nutrition, I'd see a nutritionist," she told us. Unfortunately—and this is the really annoying part—Southwest's responses have been vague and generic. We think Laura has a legitimate complaint, which is that she felt she was treated inappropriately by an employee. The least Southwest could do is respond forthrightly to her complaint.

I have received a response from the company, but it was a general apology form letter. I was not happy with the response, and I emailed the company yet again to let them be aware that their reply was inadequate.

What is most frustrating about the email process is that when Southwest replies to complaints, they have a "no-reply" email address, so each time you want to refer to your original email, you have to go back to their main webpage and fill in your name, email, phone, address, flight number, destination city, original city, etc. I have asked to speak with a supervisor directly, but I have yet to hear from one. This whole process has taken almost a month.

A complaint should not take this long to be resolved. I feel like my issue was just swept under the rug. I was informed that my complaint would be given to senior leadership, and they meet once a month. What does this mean? Would I hear from senior leadership? Would I find out if the flight attendant was ever spoken to about her inappropriate behavior?

I am not thrilled with Southwest and how this one flight attendant spoke to me. Next time I will just have to handle it myself, in person, with the flight attendant, and risk being arrested at the gate, I suppose. (sarcasm)

My return flight was pretty relaxed. The flight attendants were giving out full cans of drinks to everyone, regardless of what they asked for. Now, that's MUCH better service!

(Photo: i eated a cookie)

The Wall Street Journal notes that eliminating fees is a ploy to change the way that many peoplr use travel sites:

Right now, about 31% of people who spend time shopping with an online travel agency go to the airline's own site to book, according to PhoCusWright, a travel research company. There is some evidence that the online agencies are retaining more of these customers since they began their no-booking-fee promotions, says Jake Fuller, an analyst at Travel Wise Research LLC. He noted that both Expedia and Orbitz said in recent conference calls to discuss earnings that airline booking volume had increased since the promotions started.

I generally use the big travel sites to see which airlines have flights going where I need them to at my desired time, and then I go to the airline's Web site in order to eliminate a layer of customer service reps and often save some money.

Book Any Flight Without Booking Fees [Expedia]
Expedia Eliminates Fees for Booking Flights Online [WSJ]

The same general rules of spending apply when you're traveling: put large purchases on your credit card for the usual consumer protections, and withdraw cash with your debit card. Just make sure you won't get slapped by outrageous fees.

Credit Card Foreign Transaction Fees

American Express: 2.7 percent
Bank of America: 3 percent
Barclaycard/Juniper: 2 to 3 percent
Capital One: 0 percent
Citibank/Diners: 3 percent
Diners Club: 3 percent
HSBC: 3% (most)
JP Morgan Chase: 3% (most)
US Bank: 3 percent
USAA: 1 percent
Wells Fargo: 3 percent

Debit (ATM) cards for cash

Bank of America(a) : $0/0 percent
Bank of America: $5/1 percent
Citibank(b): $0/1 percent
Citibank $1.50/1 percent
JP Morgan Chase: $3/3 percent
US Bank $2/1 percent
USAA: $0/1 percent
Wells Fargo: $5/0 percent

Small banks sometimes won't charge withdrawal fees, and might even be willing to refund charges from other banks. Your bank might also be part of global alliances that lets you withdraw fee-free cash from a local partner bank. If you're staying in one place for a bit, it might make sense to open a local bank account with a check drawn from your U.S. bank.

Regardless, visit your bank before leaving and ask about your options.

Which credit and debit cards are best overseas? [USA Today]
(Photo: frankieleon)

On May 18, 2009 I drove my girlfriend to Ronald Regan National Airport (DCA) to drop her off for her 7:35pm flight to Tampa, FL. I live about 10 miles from the airport and we were not anticipating any traffic, but a car accident held us up a bit. We arrived at the airport and parked at 6:48pm. We were in no hurry because it is typically very quick to check in and get to your gate at DCA. We got out, got her bags, and walked to the check-in counter.

By the time we arrived there it was nearing 7PM. My girlfriend tried to check-in using the computer, but it kept telling her that no seats were available. After two tries I assumed that she must have been doing something wrong, I fly U.S. Airways regularly for both business and pleasure and have never had any issues checking in. I attempted to check her in and got the same result.

It said to notify one of the staff members there. There were two staff members standing right next to us chatting, one male and one female. I politely disrupted their conversation to inform them of the issue. I explained the error and the female staff member said to "just press continue". I informed her that there was no option to continue, only an option to start over. She argued that there was a continue button and I stated that there was not. She then, seemingly annoyed, came over to do it herself. She got the same error and then said that my girlfriend had missed her flight.

I argued that was impossible because the plane was still there. She then stated that it was U.S. Airways policy that they give your seats away to other passengers if you are not 30 minutes early. I argued that we were certainly more than thirty minutes early. After wasting several minutes of valuable time arguing with me she stated that "as of right now, you are three minutes late of thirty minutes". I was furious.

She said that she would get my girlfriend onto the next flight to Tampa which wasn't until the following morning. We cooled off and realized that there was little we could do, this woman obviously doing everything she could to be as little to us as possible. She told us the flight time, 8:40am, and then in a condescending tone told us to "make sure that you are here thirty minutes early this time, which will be at 8:10am".

There was no mention of any additional money or fees, but the following day my girlfriend found that she had been charged $120 additional on her credit card for the new flight.

I know that she was a victim of overbooking and the airline profitted more that twice from her. They sold too many tickets, making more money than the plane was able to carry passengers. Essentially, selling her seat twice. Then, when she arrived late they charged her for another seat on the new flight.

Is there even anything that we can do to fight back?

You can contact US Airways and ask them to at the very least credit your girlfriend the $120 additional fee that they should have never charged in the first place. If you have any sort of documentation that proves your case, like a parking ticket with a timestamp on it, send a scan of that too. You may also want to emphasize that you're a repeat customer who uses this airline frequently, and that you'd hate to have your opinion of them diminished because they ripped off your girlfriend and lied to her.

(Photo: randomduck)

The airlines are quick to stress that there's no connection between salary and safety, and that the amount a pilot or first officer makes is determined by the marketplace:

Yet, anyone horrified by Shaw's salary must also confront their own primary motivation when booking an airline ticket: finding the lowest possible fare. The two are connected, say airline executives and pilots. "People will spend three hours on the Internet to save $8," says Arne Haak, vice-president for finance at AirTran Airways (AAI). "You know this! You do it yourself."

Airline economics changed dramatically with the deregulation of U.S. airlines in the late 1970s. The industry responded by evolving into hubs and spokes. Gradually, and far more in recent years, regional airlines have come to dominate most of the places where mainline flying is no longer economical. Smaller "regional" jets have become popular to handle busy routes that were once the exclusive domain of mainline pilots-even some Chicago-to-New York flights, for example. Air travel has become a commodity product, affordable for the masses, with the only difference on most flights being what you pay for the ticket. This fact drives nearly every revenue and cost decision. "Congress made a decision in 1978," says Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Assn., which represents the smaller airlines. "It is what it is."

Just how low can a cockpit salary go?

Have Airlines Cut Too Deep? [BusinessWeek]
(Photo:.nutter)

Drew says:

While checking in with Delta yesterday morning I found it funny that they seem to miss the basic concept behind "Free". By not checking a bag, I am not being charged. This is Free service offered. The fact that they offer me nothing, and label it as "Free" is a bit of a concern. With that tactic mastered they're likely to offer the lowest fare on flights that don't exist!

Although, considering the state of things with Airlines I should count myself lucky to be charged $0 and receive nothing, it's a bargain.

Evan writes:

I'm a fat person, I fully admit it. So I decided to do what everyone says fat people should do and purchase a second seat from Delta Airlines for a flight I needed to NYC this fall. More room for me, happier seatmates, Delta can keep the extra meal and coke. Only, I can't. For all this hullaballoo in the press about wanting fat people to buy another seat, the airlines make it impossible.

First of all, Delta doesn't offer one shred of information about this topic on their website. So you're left to guess what their official policy is, although in this article they say something about "offering the passenger the option of purchasing an additional seat. Um, how?

Here's what happened to me. First, I try to order two tickets online, but it says tickets cannot be assigned the same name. So then I try to call customer services, where after many times on hold while he checks with another person, the agent said he could help me. Only he gave me a price of nearly double the online price. After I protested, he gave me several different prices, finally ending on one that was $200 more than what I was looking at in front of me online. I told him I'd have to think about it.

I called back and spoke to another customer service agent who tells me that it can be done, but I have to speak to the department who assists with online purchases and they can help me make my purchase. After one of the longest periods I have ever spent on hold, I spoke to yet another agent who told me that I could try putting in a middle initial on one of the names to purchase the two seats, however he said, just so I know, they will give my second seat away if they need it, even if I paid for it. At this point, I had spent 1.5 hours on the phone (most of it on hold) and I hung up in a rage.

I sent a complaint email, but I've heard nothing back.

Okay, I'm big. You can hate me for it if you want, it seems to be all the rage, but if I'm willing to pay double, what's the problem? Why isn't my money good enough? By not allowing me to purchase the tickets, and by making it very difficult to find information or use online services, it really amounts to discrimination. Shame on you, Delta.

Honestly, what do you expect from an airline that tells passengers with special needs to ask for "Complaint Resolution Officials?" You can try contacting Delta's customer relations managers at either beth.reed@delta.com or leigh.attaway@delta.com. If they can't help, call Delta C.E.O. Richard Anderson and tell him that you hope to one day sit next to him. His number is (404) 715-2600.

(Photo: Dan)

She writes:

My husband is from England. In researching fares for a possible surprise family visit in a month or so, I had commented to him that Virgin had some good fares in the $800 range - better than I would have expected for his nearly-summer time frame (when fares nomally skyrocket).

Being the industrious guy that he is, however, he checked cheaptickets.com. I've used the site before, but haven't found a deal better through it than I have through Virgin (or BA's) website. Normally, any cheaper fares involve one or two stops or are on carriers I don't prefer over VA/BA and the price difference isn't huge anyway.

Imagine my shock when my husband pointed out what he found (see attached screen captures). I had always noticed that the VA flight I routinely take to and from the UK is cross-listed as a Continental Airlines flight, but I never imagined VA would allow such a price difference. Is this a taxes thing? What gives?

The Continental flight costs $551 all-in. The VA flight? $845 all-in. (And having looked at the VA site's price matrix, there was nothing around those dates approaching $551 on offer from Virgin.)

Go to England, everyone!

Or am I missing some fine print?

There's no fine print, but if anything goes wrong, you'll need to deal with the airline issuing the tickets, not the one flying the plane.

So how do you find codeshares? First, find your desired flight number and punch it into a flight tracking service like Flight Stats. Look for a section breaking out specific codeshares and the flight numbers associated with the other airlines. Then, go to each airline listed and search for the codeshared flight number to compare the price. Once you've found the lowest fare, book it and start packing!

(Photo: So Cal Metro)

When he refused to do so, he was dragged off the plane by three police officers, pinned into a wheelchair, held by the throat, lost the cane he uses to navigate, held at the airport for five hours without food, water, or access to any phone, moved to a 6' x 7' police cell at 3 a.m., questioned by a psychiatrist, and detained for 16 hours. And it was only at the end of this ordeal that the police finally believed he wasn't faking his blindness.

Cantisani has since had nightmares about "being held hostage," waking up in a prison cell, and generally reliving his "kidnapping." He has no plans ever to return to Philadelphia and, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, he remains "'beside himself' about the flight procedures, the crew and the officers who handled him."

But instead of receiving an apology from U.S. Airways and the Philly P.D., Cantisani is facing charges for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. It would appear that U.S. Airways still hasn't learned a thing from Southwest and needs to retrain its crews until they understand the difference between a true "security risk" and a frustrated passenger.

(Photo: Sebastian Fritzon)

United Airlines kicked off the fun back in February of 2008 when it announced a $25 fee for the second checked bag. In May, while fuel prices soared and airlines started to hurt, American announced that it would add a $15 fee for the first bag, and the flood gates opened.

Now that consumers are used to the fees, there's really no getting rid of them, though Southwest recently claimed that its lack of fees was helping it gain market share.

Airlines bag $1 billion for luggage [Star-Trib]
(Photo:opacity)

Michelle wrote that her boyfriend was hit with a $325 fee today:

My boyfriend just sent me this email while waiting to board a non-stop flight to Atlanta. He is a professional photographer that travels all over the country for location shoots. Therefore, he has to transport a lot of equipment. He drives to locations whenever it's feasible, which he's done most of this year. This is the first time he's used Delta since the merger.

From: Bradley
Date: May 8, 2009 1:25:13 PM EDT
To: Michele
Subject: Me idiot

Guess how much the extra baggage fees were: $15 first bag, $25 second bag, $125 third bag, $200 fourth bag. The gate agent felt sorry for me so only charged me $325...

There's nothing on the site about how much 3rd & 4th bags are; still, I should have called.

B

What the? I looked up Delta's baggage policy as soon as I got his email, and confirmed that there is nothing on the Delta website about 3rd and 4th bags - nothing!! Brad had to call the client and tell him about the unexpected charges, which will total over $700 roundtrip, and needless to say the client is not happy about the additional expense.

Is this for real, or did he get scammed by a baggage checker? If it is for real, what sort of recourse does he have, if any, since Delta did not provide any up front information regarding charges for extra bags?

Unfortunately for Bradley, the information is on Delta's site, but it's separated into a page by itself under the heading "excess baggage." This is where you can find out what sort of gouging they're going to do if you exceed the norm of 2 bags—and where it says that bag 3 will cost $125, and bags 4-10 will cost $200 each.

Even if you think you're going to outsmart the airlines by just shoving everything you need to bring into two giant suitcases, be sure to check for any excess baggage information prior to showing up at the airport. Your overweight bags might trip similar excess baggage fees and leave you staggering to the plane with a drained bank account.

"Excess Baggage" [Delta]
(Photo: sun dazed)

• Must buy your tickets between May 5th and May 7th for travel between May 8th and May 31st;
• Must depart from Washington Dulles International Airport or Richmond International Airport;
• Good for non-stop flights only to Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and New York/JFK;
• Active-duty servicemembers only—no retirees, reservists, or military families.

There's no way we're going to deny that a $1 fare is awesome, but maybe it would have been nicer had JetBlue offered a more realistic, less sensational fare—say, $49 or $59—that they could have extended to other hubs, for example, or across a wider period of time. But hey, if you're active military living in the Virginia area who's got family or friends in one of those five cities and who can take off by yourself for a quick visit before the end of this month, this is really too good to pass up.

(Hurry, though—flights from Dulles to Long Beach or Oakland are already sold out.)

May Military Offer [JetBlue]

Here's his story in his own words:

Dec 7, 2008: I get online to buy some plane tickets for my honeymoon. I end up at Orbitz.com and purchase 2 round trip tickets to Aruba for Late June. I paid extra to get a direct flight from Chicago, IL to Aruba. Over the month, "Itinerary Change" emails keep trickling in. All in all, my flight ended up being Chicago to Atlanta to Charlotte to Aruba. I asked for some sort of monetary compensation for the extra layovers since I had initially paid extra for that direct flight. This request was promptly rejected. I wasn't happy, but what could I do...so I just took it.

February 22 2009: I get ANOTHER "Itinerary Change" email. This one was rather cryptic. I put off investigating it until the weekend. Upon closer inspection, I was now being flow from Chicago to Atlanta. My next flight was out of Aruba to Miami 11 days later!!! No where was it clearly stated that I was not being flown TO Aruba, and that half my flights had been cancelled. Well, I obviously had to call in at this point since my "Itinerary Change" left me stranded in Atlanta to find my own way to Aruba! After working with them on the phone for literally over 4 hours...they came to the conclusion that there was no way they could get me to Aruba. At this point the said "If you would like, we can refund your money". I said that I really wanted to just get to Aruba, but if that couldn't happen, that yes, I wanted my money back. At this point, they informed me that it would be 60 DAYS until they'd refund my money!!! I had 2 tickets at OVER $700 each sitting out there, and was not gonna get my money back for 30 days!!! I wasn't happy, but they informed me it was "policy" to do that. So at this point I inquired about the refund of the over $80 I had spent to get insurance on these tickets. The response that I got was "Sir, we don't offer refunds on insurance policies. We told you when you bought it that you couldn't cancel this policy." Well, to me, that seems a bit flawed when I really didn't want to cancel the policy or the plane tickets....THEY DID IT! As I complained about this, they informed me that "I could write a letter to a manager at the Insurance company and they may waive the no refund rule and give my money back." I couldn't believe my ears. But once again, what could I do. So I set out to wait my 2 months to get my money back.

April 23rd, 2009: I've now bought another set of plane tickets. I've closed on a house. Money is tight. So my 60 days has passed, on the nose. No sign of the money. I call Orbitz once again to find out why I STILL haven't received my money. They give the off the cuff answer of "sir, it will take 60 days to receive your money". I explain that I have waited the 2 months and that I still don't have anything back. I get put on hold for some crazy length of time...and upon his return, the representative says to me..."Oh, sir, you requested your refund on February 22nd, correct?" I said, "No, you guys cancelled my plane tickets on Feb. 22 and YOU issued my refund by force." He says back, "Well sir, you will have your refund within 60 business days."

Seriously? I have to wait almost 3 months to get my money back for a plane ticket that THEY cancelled? This is outrageous! They didn't offer me an interest free loan to pay the tickets 3 months after I bought them!! Heck no! They took my money the very day I ordered them. They were VERY prompt about billing my Credit Card! I think that it is an outrage that they are even allowed to sit on my nearly $1800 for 3 months when I have NOTHING from them. NOTHING!! No tangible items, no promise of flights for my honeymoon, nothing. Yet they can take their sweet time returning my money.

Here are 2 of the 6:

"Liquid Soap Lady": A woman on a United flight allegedly took pills and alcohol, then tried to bite a crew member's leg. She also reportedly drank down the contents of a lavatory's liquid soap dispenser (apparently for its alcohol content). Her explanation to the cops: "I sometimes do crazy things."

"Get Me Outta Here": An American Airlines jet had landed but was still waiting for gate space when an impatient passenger decided, "Enough!" He opened an aircraft door, deploying the emergency slide that he then used to make his getaway. He was detained by the cops but so were all the other passengers because they had to wait for "slide removal" before the aircraft could get to the gate.

The Six Worst Airplane Passengers of 2009 [ABC]
(Photo:balmes)

I was rather angry at United after being thrown off of flight UA 938 because coughing and sniffles from my cold "made other passengers uncomfortable" — swine flu panic run wild, particularly from the passenger in seat 33F, next to me (who got moved away at his request, and some minutes later I was ordered to leave. The passenger in 33G was appalled when I was given the order to leave.)

However, United's Denver employees, gate agent Brian Groscop and supervisor Mary Louise Taylor, turned this around. Not only were they level headed about the problem, but they also got me rebooked — onto a direct flight that got me home to Kansas City hours earlier than I'd expected! Upgrading my seat class put icing on the cake.

As a result of Brian Groscop's and Mary Louise Taylor's actions, I'm writing to compliment their dedication to service, instead of complaining that United 938 caved in to swine flu panic.

Better not fly with a cold or else the other passengers might rise up against you!

(Photo: macieklew)

Kurt says:

I just got off the phone with Continental Airlines customer service because I had to reluctantly cancel my vacation to Cozumel, Mexico at the last minute because of this Pig Fever "epidemic" going on. It's not that I'm afraid of catching what's just basically the flu, but I'm more afraid of the hysteria surrounding it and what the US may do (stopping flights resulting in my becoming stranded, etc.) as a result of people feeling kind of icky.

So, I called Wyndham to cancel my hotel and they were great. No problems there at all. They offered a full refund even though my date of stay begins Monday May 4.

Next I called Continental Airlines where I spoke with Charlotte. She informed me that she would be more than happy to give me credit good for the same amount, valid through January 31, 2010 (a year after I bought the original tickets). But, I explained to Charlotte, I won't be going anywhere else in this timeframe, so I would like my $1051.38 credited back to my card please. She told me that this would be IMPOSSIBLE.

See, I apparently purchased a non-refundable ticket with the package deal I had received via Wyndham. I understand what non-refundable means, but when the CDC advises you not to fly to Mexico, no matter how Un-goddamn-refundable a ticket is, you'd think that the impossible would become the possible and they'd give me back my money.

Alas, this was not the case. Even when I posed an admittedly, in retrospect, borderline-terrorist threat of, "Well, what if, for some reason, Continental planes all started crashing and I feared for my life to use the airline, would I get a refund then?" Charlotte went back to the well and replied, "No, sir, you would be issued credit for Continental Airlines good for one year after the date of original purchase." That's comforting.

She indicated to me that she had been denying refunds all day to people because this was their policy. I'm not the only one in this situation.

Well, Kurt, we're afraid we don't have good news for you. This swine flu thing is out of their control, so allowing passengers to rebook or take credits is probably all the airlines are going to be able to do for you unless you have a refundable ticket. But look at it this way — at least you didn't book a cruise to Mexico.

Over at Elliott.org cruise passengers are being told that instead of going to Mexico — they're going to California. No refunds, no rebooking, no nothing, unless they bought the cruise line's insurance package. After a fair amount of outrage one cruise line decided to offer a 50% discount on the next cruise as compensation, but only if the your cruise was entirely to Mexico. Skipping just one Mexican port? Too bad. Enjoy your day at sea.

So it could be worse.

Have any of you seasoned travelers managed to get an actual refund from an airline because of the swine flu outbreak? How did you do it?

(Photo:FlyGuy92586)