Elliott spoke with an Expedia spokesman to find out why the company dropped the fee so soon, and whether this hints at a brewing price war among Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz.

This is not a competitive response to Travelocity's recent announcement. It's a move to strengthen our leadership in the entire industry. We don't feel that we are engaged in a continuing fee battle with other OTAs. On the contrary, we feel like we are setting the market rates – or lack thereof – and it's up to our competitors to react.

[...]

we'd like to point out that Expedia was already charging a smaller fee than our competitors, so the impact to us isn't nearly as significant as it would be to other OTAs. We believe that if we remove this fee, travelers will reward us with their loyalty.

Will Travelocity and Orbitz respond in kind? There's no word yet, maybe because only last week they were busy out-doing each other on sunny sounding "price guarantees" that seem designed more to generate good PR than to protect customers.

"Fee Wars II? Expedia plans to remove book-by-phone charges" [Elliott.org]

A week later came an email from British Airways saying the deal was an error, his flight was canceled and he'd have to settle for a $300 voucher. Here's that email:

Earlier this week you were informed about an error in our fares between the US and India that resulted in the cancellation of your booking. We are sorry for any inconvenience that our actions may have caused you.

As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer you $300 off any retail World Traveller fare from the US to India when you book between now and November 12, 2009*. This offer will be valid for travel between now and September 30, 2010. Please note this offer is non-transferable and only valid to customers who were originally booked using the incorrect fare.

To take advantage of this offer, please call us at 1-800-247-9297. Please have your original flight details available for our team to assist you with your booking.

Once again, we sincerely regret this error and any inconvenience it may have caused you. We hope to see you on board again soon.

Akshay believes what British Airways did isn't legal because it entered into a contract with him. He doesn't want to sue British Airways, but is wondering if there's anything else he can do to get the price he feels he was entitled to. Any advice?

(Photo: zonaphoto)

The first bag will remain free but the second bag will now cost $50. Last month, AA raised the fees for checked bags on domestic flights by $5 per bag.

(Photo: balmes)

Most of the suggestions revolve around tips we've written about before: be polite but firm, know when to escalate your complaint, and give good feedback if the employee helping you goes above and beyond.

Use Sun Tzu's The Art of War to Win Battles at the Ticket Counter [foxnomad]
(Photo: eBelinda)

On 7/29, I was visiting friends in Portland, OR, and was to fly to Houston later that day. I had a number of connecting flights, one of which was on American. I was late to my initial flight from Portland, and went to Alaska Airlines (my initial carrier,) to explain the situation. They then rescheduled me to a direct Continental flight that day, and everything was ducky. Sounds fine, right? I thought so.

On 7/31, when I was supposed to fly home to Albany, NY, I had my friend drop me off at Houston Hobby airport early in the morning as scheduled. Come to find out, because I'd missed the flight TWO DAYS PRIOR, American had canceled my entire reservation and re-sold my seat to someone else. No e-mail, no phone call, no nothing. They then told me that I'd have to go to GW Bush International Airport ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN, somehow get a ride, and pick up a later flight. I called my (very understanding) friend back, who got up again, and ferried me across town from Houston Hobby to GW Bush Int'l. During the drive between airports, I got on the phone to AA's customer service, which was beyond terrible. They were completely unapologetic about canceling a flight that I'd already paid for, refused any compensation for the inconvenience, and dared to make it sound like this whole fiasco was my fault for not catching a totally unrelated flight earlier in the day. I spoke to a supervisor, who gave me the weaselly "I'm sorry you feel that way" line, in addition to having the gall to tell me that "American isn't like other carriers; we do business the RIGHT way!" and totally refused any help, assistance, or compensation for the shoddy treatment.

I eventually caught the rescheduled flight from GW Bush International, but the morons at AA neither a.) had my baggage follow me on my subsequent flights home, nor b.) gave me any boarding passes to the subsequent connecting flights, since they were with a different carrier. I wound up *missing* my connecting flights since a.) the flight I eventually caught was an hour later than planned, b.) I had to go to baggage claim to pick up my suitcase, since it didn't follow me, and c.) get from one side of an unfamiliar airport (Dallas,) to another. By the time I hit the Continental check-in desk, it was too late to catch a flight, and there were no available seats on any flights to Albany. Continental said they'd give me a definite seat on a late afternoon flight to Newark, but I'd have to fly standby to Albany after that. However, poor weather in Albany was leading to a number of flight cancellations, so even if I managed to get a standby flight, there was a good possibility that my flight would be canceled anyway. I opted to take the train from Newark to Albany instead. When I called American Airlines back to explain exactly how much time, money, etc. they'd cost me, and gave them one more shot to somehow make it right for arbitrarily canceling an already paid-for flight with no notice, they stonewalled me with the same crappy excuses again, and no apologies for their horrible treatment. Result? Stuck in Dallas until tonight, and getting home is going to be a long, arduous nightmare. On my second call, I wanted the telephone number to AA's corporate offices. Unapologetically, I was told that I couldn't have it, but I could have the address where they'd promptly round-file my complaint.

So yeah, avoid flying American. And if somehow you have to take their crappy flights, make sure you call ahead and get confirmation numbers if you dare to miss their flights. Not that they'll compensate you if they screw up, but it'll make any lawsuits easier later.

Yikes. At least Kim can look at the bright side. Even though American didn't honor her reservations or make her borked travel scenario any easier, at least it gave her a wonderful party story that John Hughes may just option for a Planes, Trains and Automobiles sequel.

(Photo: zonaphoto)

Apparently the Charleston airport is rebuilding one of its runways, and the airport has been closed from midnight till 6 a.m. every night since June 9 for the repairs. The flight was delayed out of Charlotte by weather, and didn't end up taking off until 11:43 p.m. A representative of the airline said, "We thought we were going to be able to make it in time. In addition, we thought the tower might remain open a little later." They were wrong.

As usual, life imitates The Onion.

Flight Canceled Mid-Air, Heads Back to Charlotte
(Photo: bala)

The idea isn't so farfetched. Airbus, the European aircraft maker, has been studying the safety issues of standing passengers for years.

Passengers would be strapped to a bar-stool-like stand during takeoff and landing, a Spring Airlines spokesman said.

"It's just like bar stools. The safety belt is the most important thing. It will still be fastened around the waist," airline spokesman Zhang Wuan said, adding that Airbus had told the carrier that the proposal was safe.

The news is a huge disappointment, mostly because it's coming from Spring Airlines and not RyanAir.

Anyway, standing on a plane: a good way to save money and spice up your trip, or a means to the bathroom? Decide in the comments.

Chinese airline may offer cheaper fares to passengers who stand [The Los Angeles Times]

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)

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)

He writes:

I booked an itinerary on Continental from Washington-Dulles to Delhi, India via Newark last month because their schedule happened to fit my schedule. My layover in Newark is 1h22m, which might be a bit short, but didn't seem like it was cutting it too close. Recently, I thought I might check into how on-time my flight to Newark is...and one website claims it's 37% on time (with an average 103min delay), and Continental claims it's 4% on time. I called and tried to reason with them that this almost guarantees I'll miss their one flight daily to India and it makes sense to let me change to an earlier flight. Obviously, I'm trying to avoid the $250 change fee, but my arguments were to no avail. Is there any way that I can successfully get them to change without charging me (or at least charging me less than $250)? Thanks.

Update: It turns out being persistent and calling their reservations line until you get a sympathetic rep works (fourth time is the charm). I was almost speechless when she offered to change me to an earlier flight for no charge (especially after the first three told me it would be at least $250 change fee plus $113 fare increase). It really made my day and now I feel much less stressed about the possibility of missing my flight. I might even pick Continental more in the future because of this.

(Photo: FlyGuy92586)

Ned writes:

In early January, 2008, I was traveling via Delta Airlines from my home base in Las Vegas to Atlanta, connecting to Washington DC, where I was going to stage a new-book launch at the National Press Club. My seat was in the emergency exit row – at my request, because of the extra leg room – and after I took my seat, I put on a soft-collar neck brace, which I use in lieu of a pillow to support my head while in flight. Like most airlines, Delta's seats seem to have been designed by Torquemada, and anything that adds to my comfort is a plus.

When a flight steward saw this, he informed me that I'd need to change seats, as someone with a handicap could not sit in the exit row. I'm not handicapped – this neck brace stems from being rear-ended in '76, and I keep it around for flying and not much else. I explained this to the steward in reasonable terms, even taking it off and demonstrating my neck mobility. However, he was on a mission from God to purge the flight from evil handicapped men in emergency exit row seats, and would not be calmed. That the plane was full and the flight was long both motivated me to want to hang on to my aisle seat. After listening to this "gentleman" for way too long, I asked to speak to the senior flight attendant. Unlike this cretin, she was reasonable – I explained to her my situation and choice, demonstrated my mobility – and she told me to stay in my seat, but wait until after take-off to put the neck brace back on. She was so reasonable that I was glad to comply.

After take-off – in fact, I waited until we could all turn on our electronic devices again – I put my neck brace back on. A couple of hours later, during the in-flight movie that I was watching (at $5), the steward came back, manhandling the drink cart. When he saw me with the neck brace on, he went ballistic. He got in my face – literally, just inches away, and I thought I'd need an umbrella to avoid the spittle. He was furious that I had bucked his ‘authority.' I tried to explain to him that I'd gotten his boss's permission, and that he should back off, or at least check with her before he broke a blood vessel. That didn't seem to please him, but he finally backed off after threatening me with unspecified dire results. Under my breath, I mumbled "son of a bitch" – and meant it – but even though he didn't hear it, he figured out that it wasn't flattering, and really went thermonuclear. He demanded to know what I said, and I informed him that it was none of his business.

Well, it took me about 45 minutes to get my blood pressure back down from low earth orbit, but eventually I calmed down and "enjoyed" the rest of the flight. As I was getting off the airplane in Atlanta, this guy avoided my gaze, but with a smirk. Moments later, I found out why when I was accosted by an "official" looking middle-aged woman with an official red blazer, a clipboard and an attitude. She said something like, "I understand there was a problem on the plane …" Since I was intent on making my connection (also with Delta) and because I'd just about had it with power-crazed minions who should have been treating me like a customer instead of a problem, I chose an unusual approach.

"Yes," I said, "and I hadn't intended to report it – I figured I'd just let it go – but since you brought it up, I'd like to file a complaint against that flight attendant who treated me so rudely." I briefly described the nature of my complaint, and kept pressing her to give me the complaint form and get the name of the flight attendant, as I wanted to take this to the top. Suddenly, she got an emergency phone call and had to depart the scene. It clearly hadn't gone the way she'd expected.

Especially since 9/11, there have been a small but annoying cadre of airline people who think they have real power over passengers – that they can use the threat of booting someone off the plane (or worse) to enforce things that are way beyond their rights. This isn't the first (or the last) time I've been hassled on airplanes or at gates, and it isn't the worst case, either, but it was the only time when I'd figured out a way of deflecting the problem. I thought others might want to consider the same approach – instead of submitting meekly, complain ABOUT them to proper airline authorities, putting them (and the system) on the defensive.

(Photo: bixentro)

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)

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)

We thought there was a risk of cargo holds being unheated or unpressurized, but luckily for the anonymous stowaway Jet Blue pressurizes theirs. It's certainly a better place to hide than the wheel well.

"The flight was free, but the ride was rough" [The Boston Globe] (Thanks to R!)
(Photo: Spring Dew)

On February 12, 2009, I arrived at Newark-Liberty Intl Airport to take a return flight home from a business trip. The automated kiosk was unable to locate my reservation and I had a gate agent assist me. The gate agent found that my return flight was booked for March 12, not February 12. She then gave me the number for Delta customer service so I could try and figure out how to fly out that day. While I was making the call, another gate agent, Samantha B., asked me to come over to the counter so she could assist me. She explained that a website glitch had caused several other travelers to have their flights booked for next month as well despite specifying the correct date on Delta.com. Had I checked the e-mail confirmation, I would have caught the error and been able to correct it prior to travel. Samantha did a great job at re-booking me for a later direct flight and handled the situation very well. Unfortunately, it all goes downhill from there. The flight I had originally planned to take would have left at 10:55AM that morning; the new direct flight left at 5:10PM. Later that afternoon, I was notified that the flight was delayed until 8:10PM, then 8:30PM, then 8:55PM. The plane did not actually leave the gate until 9:20PM and had to spend 45 minutes on the tarmac since we were 20th in line for takeoff. This new flight ended up arriving in Salt Lake City at 12:40AM, over 8 hours after I had originally planned to arrive back home. The flight was also very uncomfortable as I had spent nearly 12 hours sitting in the airport in uncomfortable chairs only to spend nearly 5 more sitting on the plane. Granted, I should have reviewed the confirmation e-mail to catch the Delta.com website glitch that fouled up my booking, but I think it a reasonable expectation that if I specify a date, the website should not attempt to automatically change it. The website glitch cost me a very significant chunk of my day and left me unable to return to work today due to a lack of sleep. (I've never been able to sleep on planes, so this was not an option.) Since my employer has paid for the travel costs, I would like to seek compensation in the form of additional frequent flier miles in an amount you deem appropriate. I would appreciate a quick response in this matter.

In less than 24 hours, I got the following response:

Dear Mr. Harris, Thank you for your e-mail describing the inconvenience you experienced due to flight irregularities. We're sorry you were inconvenienced. Your time is valuable, and operating on schedule is equally important to us. In the process of providing air service over many different routes each day, we sometimes encounter mechanical problems, adverse weather, air traffic restriction's and other unavoidable interruptions. These are situations faced by all airlines and no carrier can guarantee that all flights will depart and arrive as planned. We apologize for the difficulties you encountered due to a problem on delta.com. We have received reports like yours, for some customers, when selecting the return date and purchasing the ticket, the date will book a month later. While the customer is given several opportunities to review their itinerary choices before purchasing the ticket, some customers miss the opportunities to review and end up purchasing the wrong return date. Our website development team is dedicated to continuously improving our site to minimize this technical difficulty. Your valued feedback will help us to eliminate the problem you encountered. As a goodwill gesture, we have credited your SkyMiles account with 5,000 bonus miles. They may be applied toward the travel award of your choice, and the adjustment will be noted on a future statement. You may also view your account balance online at delta.com. Again, thank you for writing. Please accept our apology for the inconvenience you experienced. We look forward to serving you under better circumstances. Sincerely, Mark P. Benson Manager Customer Care

I really like flying Delta since they have a hub in SLC and things usually go a lot smoother than this. Good job, guys!

(Photo: Andrei Dimofte)

"Virgin complaint letter: Author of Virgin letter offered chance as airline's food tester" [Telegraph]
(Photo: annia316)

"One more drink per flight = $4 million a year" [Airline Biz Blog | Dallas Morning News] (Thanks to Paul!)
(Photo: skyfaller)

Spirit suckered the Bahamas, supposedly the epitome of relaxation, not annoyance, to serve as the airline's first spam advertiser. More will follow.

Spirit's press release asks: Where else can you find 100 percent saturation with a targeted captive audience that will be actively engaged by your ad for an average of three hours?

Spirit is right. Saturation does have an effect. A profoundly negative effect. After starting at the same taunting ad for three hours, we'd want to stab every ad exec and airline official with a Hurricane-sharpened palm tree. But we're vindictive and have "anger issues." Who would you stab?

Spirit Airlines Launches Mile High Media (Press Release) [Spirit via Jaunted]

Here's a head's up - Continental has canceled dozens of flights going into and out of Houston (IAH)...but they haven't told anyone. They canceled my outbound flight to California through Houston (which, fine, understandable), but didn't send me so much as an email or phone call, like most carriers do. It wasn't until I tried to check this morning that I was met with their proposed new flight plan (see attached.) It's sad and hilarious at the same time. Needless to say, I've rebooked since then.

I'd have been in trouble at the airport if I hadn't tried to check in this morning, so just a warning to anyone trying to fly across the country today - the airlines, particularly Continental, are doing their usual awesome job at handling the situation. I'm not so much upset about changing my plans, it's the total lack of communication from Continental and the completely useless "solution" they tried to offer.

(Photo: FlyGuy92586)

"In order to ensure that all carriers remain focused on safety, aviation regulations do not require airlines to pay compensation for consequential expenses because of delayed or canceled flights."

Come on, U.S. Air, at least make up interesting bullshit. Compensating passengers could resurrect mighty Rodan, whose insatiable hunger for man-blood would imperil plump business-class passengers. Stuff like that.

Here's the rest of their letter:

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced when Flight 1860 was cancelled due to Air Traffic Control. You have every right to expect our flights to operate as scheduled. We certainly don’t intend to cause difficulties for our customers and realize that any service failure, even when the cancellation is mandated by Air Traffic Control, creates a negative impression of our company.

All airlines must adhere to the instructions given by the airport’s traffic tower. We realize the cancellation of your flight was a frustrating situation; however, the flight was cancelled in conjunction with airport conditions and information from the airport tower.

Deteriorated weather conditions made flying to Philadelphia an impossibility. It became apparent an improvement in this situation was not going to happen. Safety considerations are paramount to all concerned and override flight schedules. We realize this was a frustrating situation; however, the flight was cancelled for safety reasons.

In order to ensure that all carriers remain focused on safety, aviation regulations do not require airlines to pay compensation for consequential expenses because of delayed or canceled flights. This would include such items as hotel expenses, telephone calls, lost wages, missed meetings and other personal expenses including purchasing alternate transportation.

I’m sincerely sorry for the difficulties and the inconvenience you experienced on this trip. Regretfully, per policy and guidelines this is not a compensation issue.

Technically, U.S. Airways is correct in that neither the contract of carriage nor federal regulations compel the airline to offer anything, including an apology letter. Still, as travel-meister Chris Elliot points out, "the federal government doesn't force us" isn't good enough.

...common sense tells you it should do something, even if it means sending them a couple of hundred bucks in vouchers that will be impossible to redeem (or that the passengers will refuse to redeem). But “this is not a compensation issue” is unacceptable.

So what would the right response look like? Could any airline offer a response we'd find acceptable? Compare U.S. Airways' response to Southwest's classy handling of a 2-hour delayed flight.

US Airways to Dominican flight victims: “This is not a compensation issue” [Tripso]
(Photo: Getty)

Travelers can now receive up to $400 if they are involuntarily bumped and rebooked on another flight within two hours after their original domestic flight time and within four hours for international. They are eligible for up to $800 in cash if they are not rerouted by then. The final amount depends on the length of the flight and the price paid for the ticket.

Even stricter rules apply in Europe, where compensation ranges from 125 euros (about $185) to 600 euros (about $888), depending on the length of the flight and the amount of time the passenger will be delayed.

Compensation must be paid immediately in cash, or with a voucher if the passenger accepts it, and the airline must offer a choice of a refund, a return flight to their departure city or an alternative flight. Volunteers also receive compensation, which they negotiate with the airline.

Passengers are learning, however, that if an airline does not get enough volunteers at a lower figure, they might be able to bid up the offer, and also obtain sweeteners that include vouchers for meals, hotels, transportation and even plane tickets.

Baiting the bump is a proud tradition for many thrifty travelers. If negotiating provides a cathartic prelude to vacation, read our guide for getting bumped.

If your trip can't wait for vouchers and cash, we also have a handy guide for holding onto your seat.

As Overbooked Flights Rise, So Do Payoffs for Those Who Are Bumped [The New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Mark Watts summed up the experience for CBS:

Abandoned! We're here in like, a foreign country, you know. And we're sitting on the ground by the tarmac with a roof over our heads with no sides on the building, and we refuse to get on a bus that was going to take us to the front of the aircraft to give us our luggage and say "see you later." And it's dangerous, man!"

Passenger Mike Maney sent us this brief missive from the island nation:

Battery dying but usairways is abandoned 200 of us in Dominican republic and saying we have to leave airport without any hotel. Pasengers including kids concerned about safety.

He later added:

We're still in the airport after being kicked out of the airport last night by armed security (they threatened to arrest one passenger who was demanding answers. We ended up sleeping in a bus because they couldn't find any hotel rooms. Seemed all they wanted was for everyone to leave the airport. Rather than fly in a fresh plane US air left 274 passengers scrambling all night to try to get back home. Sounds like all flights are overbooked. US air should be ashamed more than I suspect it normally is, as should the Dominican republic tourism agency.

And:

Also, we were told at first it was weather related but also that the crew had burned through their hours. Flights were going in and out. Absolutely no acceptable excuse on either the airline's or the airport's part. The weather only exacerbated the logistical and human incompetence of both organizations.

It is unclear when the passengers will be able to return to the United States.

Dozens of Philadelphians Stranded in Paradise [CBS3] (Thanks to Tim!)

The cancellation seems legit—the plane simply won't be there when it's scheduled—but because United is calling it weather-related, they don't have to compensate Jonathan or find him a seat on another carrier.

I bought tickets on United for my friend to fly from Boston (BOS) to Chicago (ORD) leaving last Friday and returning today. On the way out she was delayed nearly four hours due to mechanical and paperwork problems. At this point I was already expecting some form of compensation as a loyal United customer for years.

Yesterday United calls to say her returning flight has been canceled. She was supposed to leave at 8am to get a half day of work in, but apparently the next available United flight leaves at 1pm. That won't work, I explain, and ask for the ticket to be endorsed to another carrier that can meet our schedule. The customer service rep responds that the cancellation is weather-related and therefore not eligible for endorsement.

This sounded pretty fishy - a flight canceled a day in advance due to weather? I first check other United flights in the morning and hers is the only one canceled. How could that be if there’s bad weather? The rep explains the weather's earlier in the morning; the plane couldn't make it to Chicago for her flight. Same problem - only the one flight in from Boston was canceled. In addition, flights on other major carriers were all still scheduled. So at this point it's not weather in the early morning either.

I finally get a supervisor who explains that the bad weather was yesterday night, and United canceled a flight to Boston which would have positioned the plane to head to Chicago early today and finally back to Boston for our flight. To verify this new story I checked the FAA's airport status site, which said there were only delays of up to 45 minutes in Boston because of thunderstorms. And again, other United flights and carriers were making it into Boston, albeit with substantial delays. Doesn't sound like a forced cancellation to me.

United's claim to weather isn't the usual and understandable problem, then - storms between the endpoints during the flight. Nor is it even weather for the flight inbound, which is a bit of a stretch for me; if the skies are clear I feel it's up to the airline to find a plane. If other carriers can fly the route, it's not weather. United’s claim is bad weather the day before that seems to have selectively impacted them. No way does weather - which may not even have been cancellation-worthy - the day before, two flights before, justify this cancellation. I’ve heard stories of airlines stretching what counts as a weather-related delay / cancellation before, but this is a whopper.

Jonathan asks, "How would you suggest approaching an airline in future when they claim weather is a factor when you feel it isn’t? How would you frame a request to United for compensation? And what compensation do you feel it would be appropriate to ask for?"

Jonathan, you might want to try calling the FAA's hotline to ask them if there's any sort of regulation about this. You should also escalate this up to the executive level and demand some clarification about United's official "weather cancellation" policy. Finally, you may want to try contacting the travel writer/advocate Christopher Elliott at www.elliott.org—this is the kind of topic he might know more about, or he might be able to ask an airline representative on your behalf.

Readers, any suggestions? Do any of you know whether there's a statute of limitations on blaming weather for canceled flights?

(Photo: Getty)

A spokesman for Dulles said:

When the passengers were allowed off the plane, they had to wait until 4 a.m. for their luggage because American didn't have personnel on duty.

"We have a relatively small operation at Dulles and it was already closed up," Smith says. "It took a while for us to call in some additional employees from home."

Didn't the airport have some advance warning that the plane was being rerouted, though? Or was it more like an airport employee happened to walk by a window around 2 a.m. or so and saw a plane sitting out there flashing its lights?

"Delayed flight sits for hours at Dulles" [WTOP News] (Thanks to Keith and Jeff!)

United's pilots are understandably pissed that management is saving costs by axing 1,600 employees while simultaneously funding a $130 million executive cash bath. As a form of Ghandi-esque protest, the pilot's union has asked its members to take off their hats in management's presence—which seems counterintuitive, since we always thought taking your hat off was a sign of respect, not a way to flip a finger to The Man.

Anyway, this poor pilot KEPT HIS HAT ON! He was busted by another flight crew, and was so bent out of shape by the ensuing "interpersonal confrontation" that he decided to cancel his flight—which is much better than flying angry, because you really don't want your pilot cutting off other planes or tailgating.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said in an e-mailed statement that the flight was canceled according to company procedures designed to ensure flight crews are prepared to fly. The airline re-accommodated its customers on other flights and will give them "goodwill gestures," which may include miles and travel certificates, she said.

Urbanski declined to identify the pilot or provide details of the incident, but she did not dispute the passenger's account.

"We will conduct a full investigation of the events leading up to the cancellation and take appropriate, necessary action," she wrote in the e-mail.

David Kelly, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents United pilots, said the union won't comment on the incident.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it's up to the airlines to determine when and how pilots can walk away from the cockpit if they feel unfit to fly. "But we'd expect that if the pilots aren't fit to fly, they would not fly," said FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette.

And now we know how airline labor negotiations can directly impact customer service.

United flight canceled after upset pilot refuses to fly [USA Today]
(Photo: Getty)

(Photo: Photocapy)

This week, travel guy Christopher Elliott talks about the growing worthlessness of buddy passes—the travel vouchers airline employees get for family members, or unhappy customers sometimes get as a peace offering. For examples, "on American Airlines, it’s often less expensive to buy an advance-purchase ticket than to use a buddy pass, once you factor in all taxes and fees." And Continental will add a $100 to $400 surcharge per buddy pass starting this Monday, rendering the "perk" of a buddy pass entirely moot.

But wait. It gets better.

As a result of current market conditions, CO is no longer in a position to absorb additional fuel costs for the weight of a Buddy Pass rider’s second checked bag. Like non-elite revenue passengers, Buddy Pass riders will be assessed a $25 service charge for their second checked bag. When applicable, excess, overweight, and oversized baggage charges will still apply.

This is sending a clear message to Continental’s employees: Our elite frequent fliers are more important than your friends and family. What a shame.

So the next time some airline apologist points out that Gokhan Mutlu, the JetBlue toilet passenger, was flying on a buddy pass, it’s worth noting that these passes hardly pass for a perk anymore.

"You call that a perk? The truth about airline buddy passes" [Elliott.org]

RELATED
"JetBlue Forces Passenger To Sit On Toilet For Flight"
(Photo: Getty Images)

The passenger, Gokhan Mutlu, was traveling on a buddy pass, and says about 90 minutes in to the 5 1/2 hour flight from New York to San Diego the pilot told him to give up his seat to a flight attendant.

When Mutlu expressed reluctance to go sit in the bathroom, the pilot, who was not named in the lawsuit, told him that "he was the pilot, that this was his plane, under his command that (Mutlu) should be grateful for being on board," the lawsuit said.

When the aircraft hit turbulence and passengers were directed to return to their seats, but "the plaintiff had no seat to return to, sitting on a toilet stool with no seat belts," court papers say.

Sometime later, a male flight attendant knocked on the restroom door and told Mutlu he could return to his original seat, court papers say.

We wonder if this is just a new corporate policy to reduce the attractiveness of buddy passes. To be honest, though, traveling in a plane bathroom—no strangers sitting nearby, your own sink, free to stand or sit the entire time, and the opportunity to spend most of the flight in your underwear—doesn't really sound that bad. It'd be like a very short prison term, and who doesn't want to get away from everything now and then?

"Man Says JetBlue Pilot Forced Him To Sit On Toilet" [CBStv.com] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
(Photo: qmnonic)

Here's his full story:

Recently I purchased a ticket from Farmington NM to Houston Texas on Frontier airlines (which connects through Denver for a total of 4 'segments').
 
I did not make the flight - but when I tried to rebook the flight (and pay the change fee), the airline says I flew to Denver using 1 of the segments. I assured the booking agent that I had not flown and would know if I had done so, but after being put on hold several times for what felt like an eternity, the booking agent insisted that I had actually flown on the flight (and insinuated that I was lying). Upon my persistence, she suggested I call "customer relations" in Denver.
 
I did so, but now several calls to the airline have not resolved the situation.
 
"Mary" from Frontier Airlines "customer relations" keeps promising to get the flight logs (to see if I was actually on the plane I suppose) and get back to me - but after weeks and several calls, she never actually gets the logs (she blames this on their 'subsdiary') and doesn't seem to be able to do anything to resolve the situation.
 
It this day of TSA and "enhanced security," there is no reason - whatsoever - for the airlines not to know who has flown and who has not. I did not give my ticket to anyone and no one else even knew I wa flying, so I highly doubt someone pretended to me. If they would ever actually check their logs, this would be resolved.
 
I think they are just "waiting me out."
Matthew

The [whistleblower] inspectors say FAA managers knew about the lapse in safety at Southwest, but decided to allow the airline to conduct the safety checks on a slower schedule because taking "aircraft out of service would have disrupted Southwest Airlines' flight schedule."

According to statements made by one of the FAA inspectors seeking whistle-blower status, a manager at the FAA "permitted the operation of these unsafe aircraft in a matter that would provide relief" to the airline, even though customers were on board.

Laura Brown, an FAA spokeswoman, told CNN that the administration has taken action and that a supervisor who was in charge of overseeing Southwest is "no longer in a supervisory position."

"The FAA penalty is related to one of many routine and redundant inspections on our aircraft fleet involving an extremely small area in one of the many overlapping inspections. These inspections were designed to detect early signs of skin cracking," the airline said in a statement Thursday evening.

"Southwest Airlines discovered the missed inspection area, disclosed it to the FAA, and promptly reinspected all potentially affected aircraft in March 2007. The FAA approved our actions and considered the matter closed as of April 2007."

(Thanks to Tzepish!)

"Records: Southwest Airlines flew 'unsafe' planes " [CNN]
(Photo: Boeing Photo)

I was on Jetblue flight 324 that left Las Vegas Christmas night and arrived in Washington DC this morning.

I fell asleep and slept through most of the flight. I remember waking up as I heard the captain announce that we were close to Washington DC.

Around then a short blonde female crewmember with a nasal voice (didn't catch her name) began loudly arguing with a lady in the row across from me. The crewmember kept yelling at the lady to put up her young son's seat, and the lady was trying, but the seat wouldn't budge. The crewmember repeated her request to put the seat up several times, and the woman struggled with her seat, arguing that it wouldn't move.

The crewmember said that she was putting in a "warning card" and that the woman and her kids would be met by airport security on the ground.

The crewmember went to the front of the plane, then came back and started yelling at the woman again. At this point, the woman asked the crewmember to try putting up the seat herself. The crewmember struggled with it, admitted that the spring was broken, but said that since the woman was so rude, security would still be meeting her.

About then, the plane touched down. I looked down and noticed I wasn't wearing a seatbelt and that none of my stuff was stowed. I had swapped seats with someone so I could have an empty seat next to me and my carry on bag was on that seat.

I was really confused. The crewmember seemed to have really overreacted to that woman's kid's seat being back an inch or so, but she hadn't even noticed that my stuff wasn't stowed. (I would have stowed it if she'd reminded me about it, I just went from being asleep to watching the argument to feeling the plane set down.)

As I left the plane, I was mentioning my confusion to a man who had been sitting near me. I couldn't imagine why the crewmember was so quick to get the woman in trouble while not even noticing me. He supplied the answer. Apparently, the crewmember had been loudly talking during the night and her voice kept waking up the woman's kids. (The woman, her kids and I were in the last row of the plane, and the blonde crewmember was in the back.)

So the woman had complained about the crewmember making so much noise. Twice.

As I left the plane, I saw airport security interrogating the woman as her freaked-out children watched. That image is still bothering me.

I get that air safety is really important and the unruly passengers can cause a lot of problems. But from my perspective, this really looked like the blonde crewmember called the police not because the woman was creating a disturbance, but because the woman had gotten her in trouble earlier in the flight.

I love your airline and have recommended it to my friends. I get that this was an isolated incident and I will fly Jetblue again. Your customer service has been awesome literally every time I've flown with you, except for today.

All that said, I really think this crew member is, to put it bluntly, a whackjob who is better suited to working for one of your more sadistic competitors.

At the very least, she needs a talking to.

Thanks

(Photo: Getty Images)

My wife, suspecting this was coming again since the same thing happened last time, waves a document issued by AA stating that international flights such as this one (to and from an overseas city, including the legs inside US) were 70 pounds maximum..."

The AA lady doesn't read it and proceeds to repeat the same garbage over and over. My wife waves the document again and again stating: please read this. Is this not an AA policy? Do you question the validity of this? Why don't you go access the same information. through one ear and out the other.

Sometime later the conversation turned into the AA lady stating to my wife, and I quote: "your daughter cannot travel for free.". My wife takes out my daughter's plane ticket, takes out the ticket receipt, and shows her: "oh this is not a receipt". My wife explains: "here is the amount paid + tax + fee = total, it is printed in the same paper as a plane ticket but it is a receipt, AA said this is the receipt, we paid for it, please call the sales agent if your computer somehow doesn't show. AA lady: "this is not a receipt, your daughter is not booked in the flight and she cannot go". My wife: "that is fraud from AA". At this point I lose it, yell at the AA lady and go away to take care of my screaming daughter (she is 1 year old).

And so the conversation goes on and on for 1 hour and 40 minutes. When it was 10 minutes before the plane departure time somehow, mysteriously, everything gets resolved, my wife gets her boarding passes, luggage gets checked in, no explanations given, no apologies, no nothing.

Lacking any automated system for keeping track of all those diverted planes, Mr. Dillman and his colleagues furiously scribbled down details of where they had gone, how long they had sat there, and whether pilots had enough time left on their daily work limits to keep flying when the weather cleared.

Ultimately, 44 of the planes sat on tarmacs for more than four hours.

The kinds of programs American and others are installing are neither terribly expensive nor "a great leap" in technology, and thus could have been in place years earlier, Mr. Mogel said.

Not stranding passengers "is just a matter of will," he added.

The worst times for bumping are Sunday night, Monday morning, Thursday night and Friday morning. It happens more often on heavily traveled routes like L.A.-to-NYC, but there's not much you can do about that.

Airlines are required to ask for volunteers before resorting to bumping, and to offer those volunteers compensation, so if you're a good bargainer this is your chance to score anything extra airline tickets, first class upgrades, and hotel stays. However, you shouldn't trade in your ticket "until you have a confirmed seat on a later flight and know whether vouchers you're offered have blackouts or reservations restrictions."

Lacking volunteers, agents usually target the last passengers to arrive at the gate. If that happens to you, you'll receive a written statement describing your rights (small comfort as you watch the plane depart) and promising you a seat on another flight. If you can be booked on a flight that will get you to your destination within one hour of your original arrival time, you're entitled to nothing except maybe an apology. But if you'll be one to two hours late, the airline owes you cash: the cost of the fare to your destination, up to $200. If you are delayed by more than two hours, the compensation doubles, to as much as $400.

The move is an attempt by the airlines to address both the incredibly high rate of delays (up to 28% this year) and the deep customer dissatisfaction (up to 1893% this year), before the feds step in with legislation or congestion pricing. They're expected to produce an official draft of their congestion-reduction plan this December, and Congress says they'll be checking in every three months to monitor progress—which we think means one more time before summer comes around?

"Smoother Skies Ahead for Frustrated Travelers" [Kiplinger's]
(Photo: Getty)

When mom took the teens to the airport July 28, there was already trouble. Flight delays made the connection schedule tight.

They hatched plan B: The kids would fly direct from Phoenix to Raleigh on US Airways. The plan was confirmed while the boys were on the first leg of their journey, and an agent was to redirect them in Phoenix.

Tucker tracked their progress online. About 20 minutes after the US Airways flight departed Phoenix for Raleigh, he called the airline and was told that Calvin and Joel were on the flight list.

Two hours later, the phone rang. It was Joel.

" 'Aren't you on a plane?' " asked an alarmed Tucker. Nobody met the boys in Phoenix and as experienced flyers — they've flown cross-country twice a year for about eight years — the teens went to the Delta gate.

They missed their final connection in Cincinnati, and no other flights were headed for Raleigh that night. Joel was on a pay phone, with Calvin running to McDonald's for change to keep the connection.

"There was a tremendous amount of panic," Tucker said. "There's nobody in Cincinnati that I know. It's definitely panic, alarm and outrage."

It took Tucker 40 minutes to wind his way through the phone tree at US Airways, which dispatched a representative to find the boys. They were given vouchers for food and taken to the control tower to sleep on cots.

US Airways loses track of 2 teens [News & Observer]
(Photo:brappy!)

Economy-class passengers have had to settle for being packed into tightly regimented reclining seats for extended periods of travel, which have been blamed for causing potentially fatal blood clots known as deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT, in susceptible individuals.

Until now, airlines have been reluctant to introduce fully reclining seats in economy class because they require more space.

This reduces the number of passengers and decreases profit for the carriers.

But by stacking beds one on top of another, the airline can make use of the normally unused space in the cabin above fliers.

Lufthansa revealed computer-generated pictures of its triple-decker bunk beds as part of a customer survey it conducted among selected customers to see if the idea had wings.

Welcome to sardine air: Airline introduces triple bunk beds in economy [Daily Mail]
(Photo:Daily Mail)