Brian and his wife do know the meaning of the word “non-refundable.” Really, they do. But they booked their trip to Mexico without knowing that his wife, Brooke, would get pregnant. Brian Jr. or Brooke Jr. is due right around the time the trip is scheduled, making it a very poor idea. They figured out that they could return the tickets, minus some fees, for Virgin America credit, but that would have to be used within a year. As considerate Consumerist readers, they don’t want to fly for fun with a [potentially screaming] baby. So they checked with Virgin to see whether an exception could be made. [More]
air travel
Sorry Airlines, Court Says You Have To Tell The Truth About Airfares
By 7.24.12
In the last year or so, the U.S. Dept of Transportation has instituted a number of new rules — like requiring airlines to include all known taxes and fees in its advertised prices — aimed at adding more transparency to airfares. Some carriers, especially discount airlines that love to advertise a bottom-dollar price with oodles of fine print hiding the fact that it’s not such a good price, have challenged these changes. But today, a U.S. appeals court sided with federal regulators (and common sense). [More]
Passenger Says TSA Handled Her Feeding Tube During Strip Search
By 7.19.12
A woman with a 4″ feeding tube surgically implanted in her abdomen says she makes frequent trips between her home in Texas and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. And while the tube always draws some extra attention at airport security checkpoints, TSA screeners at Dallas Love Field recently went too far in investigating the issue. [More]
3-Day Delay For United Flight Results In Brawl With Airport Employees
By 7.16.12
When you’ve been stuck for days simply trying to board your flight back home, it’s understandable if things get a little tense. But you don’t necessarily expect it to degrade to the point where you are involved in fisticuffs with airport employees. [More]
Unruly Spirit Airlines Passenger Leaves Travelers Stranded For More Than 10 Hours
By 7.9.12
A Spirit Airlines flight from L.A. to Ft. Lauderdale had to make an unexpected — and incredibly prolonged — stop in Houston on Sunday, all because of an unruly passenger. [More]
Which Airlines Pile On The Most Fees? Compare And Learn
By 7.9.12
Our friends over at NerdWallet are always coming up with useful, easy-to-use tools that sift and collate financial information that is normally scattered in a lot of different places. Most of these tools involve credit cards and banking, but they’ve recently opened a travel section. A handy new tool on the site lets you calculate the fees that different airlines charge for the same options, such as checked baggage, rebooking, or unaccompanied minor tickets. This makes it easier to compare airfares that might seem cheap before you start piling on fees. [More]
United Books Unaccompanied Minor On Flight That Bans Unaccompanied Minors
By 7.3.12
United Airlines has a simple enough policy regarding children flying alone (unaccompanied minors, as airlines call them.) They cannot travel on the last flight of the day. This makes sense: no one wants an unaccompanied minor to become a stranded unaccompanied minor if their flight is canceled. But when Hannah booked a flight for her 12-year-old son to travel unaccompanied, no one mentioned this rule, and United phone agents placed him on the last flight of the day. This meant that he was turned away at the airport, and his departure delayed until the next day. Hannah thinks that the family deserves some kind of compensation for this inconvenience due to United’s screwup. [More]
Too-Tense Flight Attendant Booted From Flight For Telling Passengers To Leave Plane “If They Have The Balls”
By 6.29.12
After all the stories of flight attendants who were perhaps a little too eager to toss passengers off flights for minor infractions, it’s a refreshing change of pace to read about a flight attendant who had to be removed from a delayed plane for taking his frustrations out on passengers. [More]
Is The Hassle Of Getting A Bereavement Airfare Worth Only Saving $15?
By 6.26.12
There is this notion — mostly a hold-over from an era when “customer service” was actually a priority for some airlines — that travelers en route to a funeral can have their airfare slashed by providing the information needed to receive a bereavement discount. But as some people are finding out, it may be more of a hassle than it’s worth. [More]
Only JetBlue, Southwest Score Above Average On Customer Satisfaction Index
By 6.19.12
For almost two decades, Southwest airlines has sat comfortably atop the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s annual survey of air carriers. But not only did Southwest’s numbers slip a bit in the new list, it also ceded the lead to JetBlue. [More]
5 Tips From A Delta Reservation Agent
By 6.18.12
What’s the best site for finding airfares? How do I score free upgrades? Will anyone actually try to call my bluff when I claim a bogus bereavement fare? No one is better suited to answer these questions than an experienced flight reservation agent. [More]
7 TSA Agents Fired For Paying Bribes To Pass Proficiency Tests
By 6.15.12
Pop quiz: What’s the best way to pass a proficiency test when you work for a highly scrutinized federal agency already under fire for ineptitude? If you answered “pay $200 to the instructor,” then maybe you are among those TSA agents getting the boot from Philadelphia International Airport. [More]
Expedia Gives Error Message, Puts Order Through After You Buy Elsewhere
By 6.12.12
Reader TeraGram tried to buy some plane tickets from Expedia, but for some unclear reason, the site wouldn’t let her. She tried to contact them to find out why, but after trying to call a few times and even falling asleep while on hold, she gave up on that route and bought tickets somewhere else. Naturally, after that was when her original purchase from Expedia went through. [More]
Homeland Security Hoping To Find Device To Replace Pat-Downs
By 6.4.12
Perhaps the Dept. of Homeland Security is actually listening to all the people who aren’t exactly thrilled with the possibility of being touched by TSA airport screeners. The department is hoping someone out there can come up with a hand-held device that would take the place of the controversial pat-downs. [More]
Consumers Get Screwed Because Airlines Can't Agree On Unaccompanied Minor Policies
By 5.30.12
For parents, it can be stressful enough to put your children on a plane on their own. And it only gets more irritating when you have to sort through each airline’s particular policy for unaccompanied minors to make sure your child will actually be able to fly without an adult — and how much it’s going to cost. But even then, the airlines can throw in a hitch that invalidates all your efforts. [More]
United Ends Preboarding Policy For Families With Small Kids
By 5.25.12
While airlines love to put out press releases for even the smallest improvements in service, they tend to be pretty quiet when they do something that might tick off customers. Thus, many people are just learning now that back in April, United Airlines ended its policy of allowing families with small children to board flights early. [More]
Airbus Working On Wider Aisle Seats That Will Cost More
By 5.25.12
Airline passengers have proven they are willing to pay for minor luxuries like legroom and early boarding, and airlines have proven their willingness to collect those fees. Thus, the folks at Airbus are working on a seating arrangement that would give some people wider seats and allow the carriers to make some more cash. [More]
Should An Airline Be Allowed To Say Your Shirt Is Too Offensive?
By 5.23.12
When does an airline passenger’s attire cross a line and become so offensive they should not be allowed to board? And who determines where that line is drawn? Those are the questions surrounding an incident involving a woman who says she missed her connecting flight because a pilot said her shirt was inappropriate. [More]
