Sean booked a flight on United Airlines, US Airways, but had found the flight through travel übersearch site Kayak. He learned the hard way that there may be an occasional bug in the system: he says that even though he did everything correctly, his flight was booked on the wrong day. He learned the hard way that when this happens, you’d better notice quickly: there’s only a 24-hour window to call about the error before the airline will just keep your money forever. They’re called “non-refundable” tickets for a reason, after all. [More]
airlines
Flight Somehow Booked For The Wrong Day? Call To Fix It Right Now
By 8.13.12
If We Have To Deal With Increased Airline Fees At Least Planes Are Arriving On Time
By 8.9.12
It might seem too good to be true, but it isn’t: The airline industry is in the midst of its best performance in regards to on-time flight arrivals since 1988. Cold comfort for the next time you’re watching the clock tick your life away waiting to take off on a congested runway during the holidays, sure, but a good sign nevertheless. [More]
Stressed-Out Gate Agent Will Not Tolerate Tiny Purses On United Airlines Flights
By 8.8.12
Jarrod and his wife were returning from their vacation, flying United. Their flight was delayed, and they encountered a gate at 3 A.M. with a single employee working. They went to board their flight, and Mrs. Jarrod had a camera bag, a large shoulder bag, and a tiny travel pouch over her arm. Other airline personnel overlooked the tiny pouch, not even counting it as a “bag” for carry-on luggage purposes. Instead, the agent became just a little unhinged, not allowing Mrs. Jarrod on the flight until she nestled the little bag inside one of her other bags. [More]
Virgin American Refunds Non-Refundable Tickets For Expectant Parents
By 7.31.12
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]
Broken Seat Belt And Massive Customer Service Failure Mean I Miss Grandpa’s Funeral
By 7.25.12
Elizabeth missed her grandfather’s funeral because of a broken seat belt. Well, that’s not entirely true. United Airlines claimed that there was a broken seat belt on the plane she was supposed to take from Chicago to Savannah, then kept pushing back and ultimately canceled the flight. By the time they finally canceled the flight, there were no more flights to Savannah for days. A broken co-pilot seat belt and a massive customer service failure is what kept Elizabeth and other passengers in Chicago. [More]
Will A Looming Possible Pilot Shortage Result In Airlines Hiring Sub Par Crew?
By 7.13.12
The airline industry might be faced with a dearth of new pilots in the next 20 years, which is causing some experts to worry that in the rush to expand their fleets, airlines will end up hiring pilots that aren’t so great just to fill slots. That would not be great for the safety of passengers on commercial jetliners, of course. [More]
You Might Want To Skip Any Airline Not On This List Of Those Who Serve Free Booze
By 7.12.12
The good news is some very discerning minds have gone ahead and done the hard work of assembling a list of airlines that serve free alcohol on in economy class. The bad news is that you’re mostly out of luck when it comes to flights in the U.S. Sigh. [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]
Airlines Cutting Number Of Available Seats On Trans-Atlantic Flights To Support Higher Fares
By 6.28.12
In order to justify higher fares on flights across the wide, blue Atlantic, and protect themselves somewhat from European economic woes, U.S. airlines carriers are cutting down on the number of seats available on those flights. Summer ticket prices to western Europe have been climbing this year, and demand for those seats is holding steady at the same time. [More]
The DOT Thinks It Might Be Nice For You To Get Some Cash From Airlines For Delayed Bags
By 6.15.12
While instances of “mishandled baggage” are at the lowest levels for domestic airlines since 1987, when the Department of Transportation started tracking those numbers, the government seems to be flirting with the idea of making things even better for passengers. Perhaps with say, a little cash for a ridiculously delayed bag. All in favor say “heck, yeah!” [More]
Do You Get More Satisfaction From Cheap Airlines Than Legacy Carriers Because You Expect Less?
By 6.13.12
When it comes to being satisfied with our flying experiences, it turns out we’d rather opt for low-cost carriers like JetBlue, over old legacy airlines like US Airways, according to a new study that rated customer satisfaction. [More]
Navigating Your Way Through The Fees To Cheaper "Free" Miles
By 5.24.12
Hurray, you’ve got some free airline miles to use! The bummer part? Carriers are adding more and bigger surcharges on those frequent flyer miles. There are ways to get the most from your miles, however, without offering up too much of your cash in fees. [More]
Extra Fees For Aisle & Window Seats Means Families Who Fly Together Won't Always Sit Together
By 5.21.12
Flying with kids or in a large group can be tough, which is why it’d be ideal for families to be able to sit together. But now that some airlines are reserving window and aisle seats for customers willing to pay extra for them, or frequent fliers, it could mean some families having to split up on the plane. [More]
Airlines Aren't Pulling In As Much Dough Off Checked Bags Fees As They Used To
By 5.18.12
You might already have suspected that the reason why you engage in a fierce, almost Hunger Gamesesque competition to stow your carry-on is because no one wants to pay to check bags. That free-for-all has resulted in U.S. airlines making less money off baggage fees for the first time since they started assessing them. [More]
Reader Thinks Her iPod Is Lost Forever, But Virgin America Has A Surprise
By 4.23.12
There are many things I’ve learned in three years of reading the Consumerist tipline, and this is one of the most important. Never put any of your electronic devices in the seat-back pouch on an airplane, because you’ll most likely never see it again. iPads are especially vulnerable to this problem. But reader Gladys had the opposite experience from most people who write in. She never expected to see her iPod again, so she was delighted when someone at Virgin America did some detective work to find the device’s owner, and called her up. [More]
United/Continental Systems Merger Makes Flight Reservations Magically Disappear
By 4.11.12
To be honest, I have to start this post by blaming Ryan and his wife. I don’t know what they were thinking. They assumed that just because they booked their round-trip tickets to and from Cancun two months ahead of their vacation and had an itinerary and confirmation numbers, they had an actual reservation. Maybe they did at one point. But between February and April, Continental and United combined their computer systems as part of their Air Voltron merger. Reservations mysteriously disappeared from the system, including theirs. And that’s how Ryan and the pregnant Mrs. Ryan ended flying coach from Cancun and stuck in Houston instead of flying first-class all the way home to Detroit. [More]
American Airlines Voucher Disappears In The Mail, Airline Shrugs
By 4.6.12
The original copy of an air travel voucher has mystical powers, and flights can only be scheduled using the original copy. At least, that’s the impression we get from Ashley’s experience. When she went to redeem her voucher, she mailed it in, as required. Only the tracking number hasn’t been scanned in the USPS system, and there’s no sign of the voucher. [More]
