A glitch in Delta’s website bumped Jesse’s return date up by a month, which sort of interfered with his travel plans when he showed up at the airport to check in. Here’s the complaint letter he sent to Delta, and their response.
airports
Thefts At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Have Doubled Since 2003
By 2.12.09
If you’re looking to start or end a vacation with having something stolen from your luggage, D/FW Airport is a good place to go. At least that’s the impression you get when you look at the rising number of reported thefts over the past 5 years.
By 12.26.08
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Here’s a bittersweet elegy on airline travel. [New York Times]
Delta Helps You Escape Chicago Before The Winter Storm Of Doom
By 12.18.08
There’s a nasty winter storm coming to Chicagoland — a mix of rain, sleet and snow that might result in 12″ of accumulation. Jennifer was scheduled to fly right in the middle of it.
Homeland Security Boss: Before 9/12/01 Hijackings Were "Regular, Routine"
By 12.16.08
BoingBoing’s Joel Johnson recently interviewed departing Homeland Security boss Michael Chertoff — and we all know how much you love “security theater”…
Avoid Airport Rental Car Fees
By 12.9.08
Upgrade: Travel Better has good some ideas on how you can avoid those excessive airport rental car fees (you know, the ones like “facility fee.” What is that, you have to pay a fee for the rental place having a roof? Can I choose the place without a roof then?) One idea is to rent at the airport, then drop the car off the next day downtown. This way you only pay extra airport fees on the first day. Just make sure the place isn’t going to tack on a one-way dropoff fee. This is even better in Europe, which isn’t as into one-way fees as America is.
TSA To Stop Being So Crazy About Liquids
By 10.2.08
Soon you might be able to take your shampoo and booze on the plane once again without trouble. The head of the TSA told WSJ’s The Middle Seat Terminal blog, “I think realistically in one year we, the TSA and foreign colleagues, will be a position to relax liquids restrictions…We are within a year of having the ability to differentiate threat liquids through the screening process.” The rule relaxation is thanks to airports deploying new x-ray machines and scanners that should be able to tell the difference between a bottle of water and a bomb. Just don’t expect it to happen any time before 2009.
What It's Like To Be A Flight Attendant
By 9.25.08
“Who would have thought, after 30 years, that we’d be a flying 7-Eleven,” Becky Gilbert, a three-decade veteran of the industry told me during a break in our training session in Fort Worth.
Continental Confuses California With NYC?
By 9.12.08
[Update: Several commenters have pointed out that “Ontario, CA” actually refers to Ontario, California, which is near L.A. And to be fair to the OP, we’re the ones who misinterpreted Ontario, not her. We’ve updated the post. Also, check out Fly Girl’s insider explanation as to what likely happened.]
Continental canceled one leg of Lesley’s flight from NYC to California without notice—she only discovered it when she went online to check that everything was okay this morning. What’s worse, however, is the alternative flight plan they proposed, which would have her going from NYC to Houston to California and immediately back to Houston to NYC again, depositing her 20+ hours later in Newark, New Jersey—where we presume a gang of Continental employees will be waiting for Lesley at the gate to beat the crap out of her with confiscated water bottles. East Coast hates West Coast, Lesley!
Orbitz Supervisor Plays Hardball With USAir, Gets Them To Rebook Tickets
By 9.11.08
Nicholas had a business trip go bad quickly when USAir canceled a flight and wouldn’t make things right again. His tickets were through Orbitz, and although he had a terrible experience with Orbitz’s first line of CSRs, he eventually managed to find a supervisor who made sure USAir helped solve the problem—even going so far as to let Nicholas secretly listen in on a call with a USAir agent.
AirTran Agent Screams, Curses At Travelers While Supervisor Looks On
By 8.25.08
Forget about those dowdy old-school Olympics. What we need is an international competition to see which airline can suck the most, since everyone is getting so good at it. In the category of Random Rudeness, this AirTran agent and her equally hostile supervisor would have a good shot at the gold—especially since they aimed their hostility at a honeymooning couple.
By 8.22.08
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Northwest Airlines has pulled political billboards depicting Minneapolis being targeted by nuclear weapons from their terminal in the Minneapolis airport. We wonder why. [NYT]
4 New Airline Fees And How To Get Around Them
By 8.6.08
Travel expert to the stars Christopher Elliott has a new column that explains 4 new or grotesquely inflated airline fees and some ways to get around them…
Homeland Security: We Can Detain Your Laptop Indefinitely Without Cause
By 8.2.08
The Orwellian Department of Homeland Security claims that it can indefinitely confiscate laptops and iPods from law abiding citizens without any provocation or justification. The Department “clarified” their policies after several business travelers started asking the press why Homeland Security was fiddling with their laptops and PDAs for months on end.
Delta Wants $300 In Fees On A $306 Ticket
By 7.31.08
When reader Anayah booked a ticket for her little sister to come visit her in New York, she specifically asked Delta if there would be a fee for an unaccompanied minor. They told her (twice) that since her sister was 14, there would be no fee. When Anayah’s family got to the gate Delta informed them that there would be a charge of $100 each way. Anayah’s mother could not afford to pay this fee and, since Delta would not allow Anayah to pay the fee in person at the ticket counter in New York, there would be an additional charge of $100 to pay by phone. The confusion caused her sister to miss her flight, and now Delta wants another fee to rebook her.
Passengers Stuck Overnight At Dulles—First On Plane, Then In Luggage Area
By 7.14.08
Here’s further proof you should never get on an airplane these days without a handful of energy bars and one of these: over 100 passengers of an American Airlines flight out of Miami were diverted to Dulles after it had pretty much closed up for the night, and consequently they were stuck for almost two and a half hours on the tarmac, then had to wait until after 4 a.m. to get their luggage this morning. The flight was supposed to land a little before midnight last night. “We regret the inconvenience, but the decision has to be safety first,” an AA spokesman told WTOP News.
American Airlines Cancels Flight Because Their Customers Are Too Pissed Off To Fly
By 7.8.08
Can it actually be unsafe to fly a plane full of seething, rage-filled passengers from Florida to New York? Apparently so. Flight 1908 from Miami to LaGuardia was delayed because the flight crew didn’t arrive on time. When they did finally show up, the angry passengers started to boo.
Southwest Airlines Says Family Is Too Unruly To Fly
By 7.7.08
Wendy Slaughter, her four children and her sister are too unruly for Southwest Airlines! The airline says that the children were so out of control that the airline decided to deny boarding for their connecting flight from Phoenix to Seattle — stranding them in Phoenix for the night while they tried to arrange other travel plans.
