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vacations
travel
What Do You Do If You Have Tickets On A Bankrupt Airline?
What do you do if you have a flight planned on one of the three airlines, ATA, Champion and Aloha, that filed for bankruptcy and terminated all flights this week? First thing to do is if you paid with a credit card company, call them up and ask for a refund. An ATA insider tells us, "When an airline bills you for your ticket, they don't receive payment—the money's escrowed until you fly or the terms of the contract are met, i.e. one year validity limit, so the bankruptcy doesn't affect those customers." Elliot.org has the run-down of other options: On the press release level, United Airlines has agreed to take on Aloha Airlines passengers, but anecdotal evidence suggests the ground-level customer service reps are bungling the hand-off. Southwest has agreed to rebook ATA passengers, but the language suggests this deal is only good for flights that were codeshares between the two airlines. Lastly, if you bought your ticket with ATA by check or cash, you can claim a refund, for probably a fraction of its value, after the airline is liquidated.
My airline is grounded — now what? [Elliot]
(Photo: $arah Murray)
security
TSA Will Allow Women With Nipple Piercings To Fly If They Flash Officials
Your nipple piercings are still a threat to national security, but the TSA will let you fly if you "allow a visual inspection of [your] piercings." The announcement came after TSA officials in Texas forced Mandi Hamlin to remove her nipple piercings with a pair of pliers before allowing her to board her flight. The TSA stopped short of apologizing to Ms. Hamlin, instead saying: "TSA acknowledges that our procedures caused difficulty for the passenger involved and regrets the situation in which she found herself."
TSA Responds to Nipple Ring Complaint [AP] (Thanks to Louis!)
PREVIOUSLY: TSA Forces Woman To Remove Nipple Piercings
nosplice:3
Travel Between New York And Washington For $1 With BoltBus
BoltBus offers service between Washington D.C. and New York with fares starting at $1. Each ride comes not just with WiFi, but with power outlets at every seat—a luxury usually confined to Amtrak. The downside? (There are several.) More »
travel
The Final Word On Rule 240
Reader Laura was nearly stranded in Manchester when Continental canceled her flight two days before a major college test. She politely asked to be rebooked; she begged for another flight; when that failed, she invoked Rule 240. Laura's experience presents the perfect opportunity to clarify once and for all what Rule 240 is and isn't. First, her story. More »
whoops
Passengers Watch With Disbelief As Their Allegiant Air Flight Leaves Without Them
Over 20 passengers watched in horror as their Allegiant Air flight from Huntsville to Fort Lauderdale took off without them. The passengers had lined up at the gate, tickets in hand, when the plane pushed back. Apparently, the single ticketing agent had struggled to handle everyone on time and didn't tell the plane to wait. Passengers called the airline once they realized they were stranded as kids shouted, "We want to go to Disney World!""So, everybody calls Allegiant Air," Rigas said. "Three people got hung up on."More »
polls
Should American Airlines Have Flown Five Overbooked Passengers Across The Atlantic In An Empty Plane?
American Airlines managed to rebook all but five passengers after canceling one of its four daily flights from Chicago to London. The five still needed to get to London, so American rustled up an empty plane and invited everyone up to business class. Seems nice, but Friends of the Earth is outraged that American burned 22,000 gallons of fuel for five passengers. Great customer service or eco-scandal? Vote in our poll, after the jump. More »
travel
3 Questions To Ask Before Checking Into Your Hotel Room
Travel guru Peter Greenberg shares three useful and unexpected questions that can make a huge difference when booking a hotel room. Inside, learn how to avoid digs next to the inevitable construction and instead score the room with a shower strong enough to clean a stinky elephant. More »
hotels
Reader ds143 wrote in with a reminder to ask hotels about added fees before reserving a room. He booked a six-night stay at the Comfort Suites in the Bahamas for his family of four without realizing that the hotel levied a $6 per person, per night "energy surcharge." The financial sucker punch set ds143 back $144.
More »
Comfort Suite's Shady "Energy Surcharge" Costs You $144
Reader ds143 wrote in with a reminder to ask hotels about added fees before reserving a room. He booked a six-night stay at the Comfort Suites in the Bahamas for his family of four without realizing that the hotel levied a $6 per person, per night "energy surcharge." The financial sucker punch set ds143 back $144.
More »
complaints
Bank Of America Stranded Me In Japan Without Cash On My Honeymoon
Before leaving for his honeymoon, Derek called Bank of America to make sure he could rely on his debit card while he was in Japan. Bank of America assured him that he would have no problem accessing money. Yet on the third day of his honeymoon, neither he nor his wife could draw cash from their cards, stranding them with only $15 in cash. More »
fees
US Airways To Charge $25 For Checking 2 Bags
If you find yourself identifying with those dames in movies set in the 19th century who always travel with a stagecoach full of steamer trunks, you won't like US Airways new policy. Starting May 5, US Airways will levy a $25 fee against passengers checking a second bag. United Airlines announced the same thing earlier this month, and is also starting the fee on May 5. We can expect to see more and more of these fees as airlines struggle to make money, making it even harder to comparison shop for tickets. As Upgrade: Travel Better notes, no airfare search engine is equipped to take add-on fees into account (hello, market opportunity somebody?). Inside, the email US Airways sent out to its passengers. More »
smoking
Violating A Hotel's No Smoking Policy Could Cost You $250
Hotels are starting to to hit smokers with hefty fines for violating their no smoking policies. Take Dan Cole. He didn't light up in his non-smoking Marriott room, honest. Those butts in his garbage can? Um, he smoked them somewhere else and threw them out in the room?
It costs Marriott over $1,000 to scrub the smoke-stink off a room, a charge they happily offset by smacking smokers like Dan with a $250 fine.
More »
complaints
6 Worst Travel Agents Of 2007
According to the Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report the top 6 most complained about travel agents for 2007 are: More »
travel
5 Things Airlines Don't Want You To Know About Weather Delays
When an airplane is delayed due to the weather, they get out of a lot of obligations, and there's little oversight over what they get to call a weather-related delay. Elliot.org interviewed industry experts and came up with five interesting things the industry is keeping from you about weather delays...
More »
success stories
Executive Email Carpet Bomb Scores Direct Hit On Cathay Pacific
Meet Tony Tyler, CEO of Cathay Pacific. Reader Jeff sent him an email after Cathay Pacific lost his reservation for a window seat on his flight to Australia and then served him a half-frozen kosher meal. Jeff wanted an upgrade to business class for his return trip, or a refund. Cathay Pacific's customer service representatives were unwilling to provide either, but then Mr. Tyler intervened. More »
travel
JetBlue Now Selling Refundable, Pricier Tickets
Low-cost carrier JetBlue is now selling refundable fares, with a catch: they'll cost fifty to over a couple hundred bucks more. A nonrefundable adult ticket from Buffalo, NY to JFK on Valentine's Day, returning on Monday, will cost $69. Wanna upgrade to refundable? That'll be $299 total please. At that premium, the prospect of getting a refund hardly seems worth it for most travelers. For airfare nerds, the new fares will be designated class Y, fares previously designated Y will now be class E. The airline is promoting the refundable tickets by giving quadruple TrueBlue points for tickets bought before February 13.
Attention Frequent Flyers: JetBlue Airways Now Offers More Convenience and Flexibility With Refundable Fares [Press Release]
(Photo: crawfishpipe)
travel
Fuel Surcharges Nearly Double Cost Of International Airfare
Last week, a United Airlines flight from the US to Tokyo cost $400, plus $300 in fuel surcharges. Airlines say they're passing on higher fuel costs, but some see it as an excuse to jimmy a hidden fare hike. The Los Angeles Times writes, "You can argue forever about whether this is justified, but how they are doing it shows their worst nature," [Joesentme.com, a business traveler website] said, noting how, for instance, a surcharge is not eligible for a corporate discount." Companies love to stuff their operating costs into the fees, taxes and surcharges on your final bill. It means they get to advertise artificially low prices, lure deal hunters, then soak them later.
Fuel fees pump up airfares [Los Angeles Times] (Thanks to Nicole!)
(Photo: basictheory)
delays
Top 10 Airports With Worst On-Time Departures
Which airports are you most likely to be stuck twiddling your thumbs in? The Department of Transportation released statistics on the nation's airports on-time departure percentages for 2007 (based on data through November). Here's the results:
Rank / Airport / On-time departure percentage
10. Chicago, IL (MDW) 74.09%
9. Miami, FL (MIA) 73.70%
8. New York, NY (LGA) 72.29%
7. Atlanta, GA (ATL) 72.19%
6. Charlotte, NC (CLT) 71.66%
5. Dallas/Ft.Worth, TX (DFW) 71.57%
4. Philadelphia, PA (PHL) 69.62%
3. New York, NY (JFK) 69.06%
2. Newark, NJ (EWR) 68.40%
1. Chicago, IL (ORD) 68.15%
Seek alternate airports when possible, or factor the likelihood of a delay into your plans.
Ranking of Major Airport On-Time Departure Performance Year-to-date through November 2007 [DOT via Rick Seaney]
(Photo: Lili Vieira de Carvalho)
