Since consumers didn’t whine too much about the addition of $10 “just because” fees airlines imposed on busy travel days, they’ve added fees on more days. Goody for us!
travel
Reader Gets 162,000 Vaporized Hilton Points Reinstated
By 10.7.09
Rikki is happy to report that her 162,000 Hilton points that disappeared without notice or warning are reinstated!
Las Vegas Builders Say No More New Casinos For The Next Decade
By 10.6.09
We hope you like the current casinos in Las Vegas, because that’s what you can look forward to for the next 10 years or so. No newly built Mount Rushmore facade, no Mini Grand Canyon indoor shopping avenue, no Godzilla-shaped hotel—nothing new to delight the vulgar parts of your optic nerve. The Wall Street Journal says after a decade in which casinos spent more than $30 billion on expansions, they’re now going to pay off debt and focus on “branding, marketing and customer loyalty.”
United Lets You Pre-Pay Your Baggage Fees
By 10.6.09
United has just announced a program where you can pay $250 to have their normal checked baggage fees waived for a year. The plan covers 2 bags per passenger, up to 8 passengers “traveling under the same confirmation number.” Current fees are $20 for the first bag and $30 for the second, so if you travel solo a lot and always carry two bags you’ll have to make six trips before you enjoy any savings. On the other hand, if you’ve got a big family trip planned in the next year, this may be a way to shave a little off the fee gouging. But only if you’re stuck with United; BestFares.com notes that “SouthWest offers 2 free bags for free and JetBlue offers the 1st bag free.”
Why American Credit Cards Suck
By 10.4.09
If you prefer to use a credit card when traveling abroad due to safety and better exchange rates, bad news. Other countries have adopted smartchip technology in their bank cards, and soon we Americans may be forced to use cash when traveling.
How To Prepare Your iPhone For International Travel
By 9.29.09
If you think your standard monthly iPhone bill is rough, just get a load of it after you’ve been traveling abroad. A la carte data charges could run your bill up into six figures, according to an AP story.
United: Bad Toilet Timing Leads To Delay, Arrests
By 9.28.09
Two passengers were arrested on a United flight from LA to New York after one of them jumped up and ran to the bathroom after being instructed to remain seated by a flight attendant. Apparently the man just needed to use the bathroom — like now.
Airline Employees Call Police On Angry CEO Who Chewed Them Out
By 9.28.09
This story combines two immutable laws of nature in a surprising twist: that executives don’t always know what their front-line employees are doing, and that airline employees don’t give a f*ck who you are and will call the police if you annoy them.
A Visual Primer On Airplane Etiquette
By 9.24.09
Here are 14 photo illustrations from Australia of jerk-like behavior on airplanes, for those of you who aren’t creeped out by the weird “lets use clones” art direction of the piece. The weirdest tip is that it’s apparently okay to kick your fellow passenger in the crotch if you’re certain you can do it without waking him up, but hey, that’s Australia for you.
When Someone Is Being Rude On An Airplane, Why Don't You Say Something?
By 9.23.09
The NYT has a “Frequent Flier” column from personal finance adviser to the chronically irresponsible, Larry Winget. In it he describes being the sole person on the plane to say what everyone is thinking.
Are You A Hotel Trasher? Don't Stay In Australia
By 9.23.09
Guests Behaving Badly (GBB) is an Australia-only customer blacklist that hotels there can use to weed out potentially bad guests. From their FAQ:
Ban On Long Tarmac Delays Close To Being Passed
By 9.23.09
If Senator Barbara Boxer has her way, the Senate’s Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act will soon require airlines to “deplane passengers after three hours and would require [the airlines] to provide basic services such as food and water while they are waiting on planes.” The requirement is in the current version of the bill, and Boxer and another Democrat, Senator Amy Klobuchar, have threatened to filibuster it if the language is removed.
Get On A Plane, Go To Your Surgery
By 9.11.09
We’re not sure if this is the start of a trend or just some very creative cost-cutting by a few companies, but Business Insurance notes that some self-insured firms are now sending their employees to other states to save money on medical procedures.
Southwest Suddenly Decides Man Is Too Fat To Fly — Again
By 9.8.09
We thought this issue was taken care of the last time a Las Vegas Southwest employee randomly stopped someone from flying without checking to see if they could actually sit in a seat with the arms down (per Southwest’s policy), but apparently not. Now a Chicagoland man says he was stopped from boarding a return flight home to Chicago because he was too big (6’2″ 350lbs), but he airline wouldn’t allow him to prove that he could fit in the seat.
How To Avoid A Bad Hotel …Review
By 9.6.09
Finding a bad place to stay can ruin a trip, or even your entire impression of a city. Lacking personal recommendations, you may turn to online reviews to help you find a place to stay. But how can you tell shill reviews from real ones? Other than an air of general fakeness, AOL Travel tells you what to look for in hotel reviews specifically.
American Express Leaves Customer Stranded In Mumbai With No Money
By 9.6.09
Wait a minute…that headline sounds familiar. It doesn’t have the desolate ring that “stranded in Siberia” has, but Josiah recently found himself without available credit in Mumbai. He recently had made a large payment on his American Express balance, see, and AmEx cut his credit limit accordingly—down to his current balance. Stranded without money in Mumbai?
Want To Cut The Boarding Line On Southwest Airlines? That'll Be $10
By 9.4.09
Do you know what the airline industry really needs about now? More fees! Luckily, Southwest Airlines is happy to oblige. They’re now charging a $10 fee to customers who want to board the plane before everyone else.
