Angela won a “Wish List” contest from American Express, which let her buy a $100 JetBlue gift card for $70. JetBlue managed to wipe out that $30 savings and any good will Angela might have felt by making her waste 129 minutes trying to redeem the card–and then charging her $15 for the service. At the end of her letter to AmEx and JetBlue, Angela writes, “I don’t know about other AmEx cardholders, but spending almost two hours on hold in order to be able to use something you’ve already paid for is not on my Wish List.” [More]
flights
American Airlines, Jet Blue, Delta Seek To Delay Tarmac Imprisonment Rule
By 3.17.10
You know that new rule that says airlines have to let passengers off the plane if it’s stuck on the tarmac for more than 3 hours? It’s supposed to go into effect in April, but at least three airlines are hoping to delay it because they say runway repairs at JFK Airport will interfere with schedules. [More]
Delta Won't Let Me Use The $55 Change On My Travel Voucher
By 2.25.10
Delta Airlines gave Treat a $400 voucher when it bumped him from a flight, but it turned out to be something of a trick. When he used $345 of that to buy another flight, Delta’s computer system wouldn’t let him access that final $55. [More]
Jazz Air Kicks Stinky Passenger Off Of Flight
By 2.18.10
Earlier this month, an American was removed from a flight operated by Canadian airline Jazz Air because of his “brutal” body odor. Apparently the flight crew tried to find a way to separate him from the other passengers, but eventually admitted defeat and asked him to leave. He flew out the next day. A spokeswoman for the airline told CNN that it doesn’t have an official policy about body odor. [More]
Delta Gets Creative, Fakes Out Passenger With Reverse Cancellation Trick
By 2.11.10
Nelson is a Silver Medallion frequent flyer on Delta, so clearly he’s got some experience with the airline’s usual bag of tricks. This time Delta out-smarted him, though, by cancelling an 8:30 flight and then re-confirming it after he’d seen that it was cancelled. As far as Delta is concerned, it’s not their problem–the weather made them do it, and he should have kept checking in all morning yesterday. [More]
Buying Tix For Overbooked Flights Got Me Bumped, Well-Rewarded
By 2.10.10
A clever testimonial on Money Crashers explains how the writer procured four free flights by buying tickets for potentially overbooked flights, then getting bumped and paid off in travel vouchers. [More]
Plane That Landed In Hudson Last Year Up For Auction
By 1.22.10
I’m not sure what you could do with an extensively water-damaged plane with the wings detached, but if you want to own a piece of aviation history you can now bid on US Airways Flight 1549. The plane that Capt. Sully safely landed in the Hudson river a year ago is being auctioned off “AS IS/WHERE IS,” which happens to be at a salvage yard in New Jersey. CNN says the engines are not included. (The detached wings, however, are.) [More]
Virgin Atlantic Refunds $220 Hidden Fee A Year Later
By 1.13.10
Priya complained to us back in November that Virgin Atlantic stuck her with a massive hidden fee for a flight to India in late 2008. [More]
TSA Gets Some Damned Sense, Eases Flight Restrictions
By 12.28.09
Good news, people who are in the unfortunate position of having to do business with an airline in the near future: the TSA’s embarrassingly reactionary new “security rules” have been eased as of this afternoon. Now it is up to the captain whether they’re enforced on each flight, reports CBS News. [More]
Craig Ferguson Badmouths Continental Airlines
By 12.16.09
I just assume that celebrities get better treatment from airlines, but this story from Craig Ferguson proves otherwise. Here’s a tip for gate agents: if you’ve just told a TV personality who volunteered to get off a flight that his reward is a 6 hour layover, it’s probably not a good idea to add, “Don’t badmouth us on TV!” [More]
Southwest Flight Forced To Land After In-Flight Entertainment Turns Out To Be A Live Birth
By 12.4.09
A Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City was forced to land in Denver this morning, after a passenger on the flight surprised everyone by producing a baby in mid-air. [More]
They Turned My Flight Around For A Sick Stewardess
By 12.4.09
An anonymous reader says her U.S. Airways flight 798 from Philadelphia to Amsterdam gave her a shorter round trip than she bargained for. The pilot turned the plane around over the Atlantic because a stewardess felt under the weather. She writes: [More]
British Airways Won't Fly You To India For $40
By 12.1.09
If you happened to log onto British Airways’ site Oct. 2, you could have bought a $40 flight to India. Well, you could have bought the flight, but wouldn’t have been able to use the tickets because the airline said the offer was a mistake. [More]
Watch Out For Changes To Your Flight Itinerary
By 11.23.09
Alexandros received an update from Orbitz about his trip and realized that United had changed the time of his flight. For various reasons he couldn’t make the new time, so he was lucky to have caught it—not to mention he could have missed the flight entirely had he not seen the change.
Virgin Atlantic Overcharged Me, Says They Sent Refund, Didn't
By 11.12.09
Priya says Virgin Atlantic sprung a hidden $220 fee on her for a flight to India late last year. She paid the fee but started fighting for a refund immediately.
Expedia Drops Fee For Booking By Phone
By 11.5.09
This morning, travel service Expedia announced it will abandon its book by phone fee, which it first implemented last May. This makes it the only major online travel agency to not ding customers with a fee for booking flights over the phone, notes consumer travel advocate Christopher Elliott.
British Airways Sells Cheap Flight, Says It Was A Mistake And Cancels Reservation
By 11.4.09
Akshay thought he’d found a great deal on a Thanksgiving weekend flight from San Francisco to Mumbai — $554 for a round trip — and booked it excitedly at ba.com, getting a confirmation number.
American Airlines Raises Baggage Fees For Flights Abroad
By 8.28.09
If you thought you could escape American Airlines‘ increased domestic baggage fees by only flying abroad, think again: AA is raising checked bag fees for some international flights to Europe and India.
