When will airlines realize that when a flight gets diverted and things go wrong — you just should not force people to stay on an airplane for 11 hours with only a bag of pretzels to eat. What was ExpressJet’s (operator of the Continental flight) excuse? The TSA screeners had gone home for the night, so they couldn’t let anyone get back on the plane if they let them off. Oh no!
travel
Want Help Getting A Student Visa? Call This $3-A-Minute 1-900 Number
By 8.7.09
Jon is headed to grad school in England and looking to nail down his student visa. Before he can hop the pond he’s going through a grad-level course on absurd, pricely hassles. Turns out the U.K. may have outsourced its visa customer service to a contractor that takes calls at a pay 1-900 number.
American Airlines Raises Baggage Fees
By 7.27.09
Despite lowered fuel prices, American Airlines just can’t seem to figure out how to make money. That’s too bad for you — because you’ll be paying higher bag fees.
Want Free Housing? Become A Traveling Caretaker
By 7.22.09
Cool Tools describes the Caretaker Gazette as “house-sitting classifieds.” The tipster writes, “I’ve used [it] to live rent-free for the past three years […] living as a caretaker in California and Idaho. In exchange for my accommodations, my duties have included keeping trespassers off the property, taking messages, mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool and generally watching over the home when the owners are away.” An online subscription costs $30 a year, and includes a PDF issue every two months, plus listings online and a weekly email update.
Delta Adds The "Fee For Not Paying A Fee" Fee
By 7.21.09
Following in the fee-laden footsteps of US Airways, Delta has added a $5 fee for not paying your baggage fees online in advance.
Amtrak's Exemplary Service Saves You Time And Money
By 7.19.09
Bob didn’t realize that his Amtrak train from Syracuse would be delayed for more than an hour until an Amtrak agent called him up and offered to upgrade him free of charge to an earlier and pricier train. Bob initially declined, but later called back to change his mind. When he got to the station, the same agent realized that he qualified for a cheaper ticket and refunded the difference on the spot.
10 Easy Ways To Keep Your Flight Attendant Happy
By 7.19.09
A happy flight attendant makes for a happy flight, and 24-year-old flight attendant Brandi Lynne has a list of 10 things you can do to make your next flight a little more enjoyable…
Help, Baggage Screeners Stole My Underwear!
By 7.19.09
Careful travelers, there’s a panty-stealing baggage screener lurking in San Francisco’s international airport, according to reader Ari, whose girlfriend lost eight days worth of underwear on a recent trip.
JetAmerica Crashes And Burns (Business Plan-Wise)
By 7.17.09
JetAmerica, the ultra-low-cost airline (think $9 fares), the back-from-the-dead kissing cousin to SkyBus, has ceased to exist before taking a single passenger aloft, reports Jaunted. The carrier was unable to secure landing rights at Newark International Airport, and will be issuing refunds to all customers. Sad. US travelers deserve an American version of RyanAir. Then they’ll really have something to complain about.
American Airlines: Behold The Doggy Restroom
By 7.16.09
Canine companions now have a place to do their business before boarding American Airlines flights at JFK. We think the fire hydrant was a nice touch, don’t you?
Southwest Jet Makes Emergency Landing After Gremlin Rips Hole In Fuselage
By 7.14.09
Southwest Airlines flight 2298 made an emergency landing in West Virginia yesterday after a hole appeared on the top of the plane while in flight. “Passengers reported that they could see the sky through the rupture,” writes the Washington Post. It left Nashville around 4:05pm, but landed only 50 minutes later. According to this WPRI video clip, Southwest spent the night inspecting 181 of its Boeing 737-300 jets, and they say there should be no delays today.
By 7.13.09
../../../..//2009/07/13/hate-baggage-fees-love-baggage/
Hate baggage fees? Love baggage? Christopher Elliott has 7 ways to get around those pesky fees. Some of them are pretty darn sneaky — like checking your bags all the way through when the first airline doesn’t charge a fee but your second airline does. Ha! [MSNBC]
Turtles In Heat Shut Down J.F.K. Runway
By 7.12.09
78 turtles ambled out of Jamaica Bay on Wednesday to make sweet, sweet love all over one New York City’s busiest runways. It took Port Authority workers 35 minutes to shut down the impromptu nightclub, but the damage was done and travelers at J.F.K. experienced delays of up to an hour and a half.
Dave Carroll Says No To Guitar Hush Money From United
By 7.10.09
We officially love Dave Carroll now. Not only is he cute and a good singer, but he’s classy (check out how he defends the United employee in this video response) and has principles. The best part is at the end he encourages us to stay tuned for song #2. United hoped it could pay for the guitar and put an end to the bad publicity—but it looks like you’re not getting off that easily, United. Check out the full video response below.
Which Airlines Are The Most Pet Friendly?
By 7.9.09
Petfinder.com compared airlines to see which ones are the best choices if you’re traveling with pets. You may remember our post a while back on Pet Airways, about which Petfinder says, “While Pet Airways didn’t make the rankings because they haven’t ‘hit the air’ yet, [we are] excited to see the promising airline take off.”
By 7.8.09
../../../..//2009/07/08/dave-carrolls-united-breaks-guitars/
Dave Carroll’s “United Breaks Guitars” song and video EECB appears to be having the desired effect. Check out this tweet from United. [Twitter] (Thanks to Chris!) Update: Dave Carroll responds.
United Breaks Guitars
By 7.7.09
When United Airlines broke Dave Carroll’s $3500 Taylor guitar in the the spring of 2008, he contacted them to ask for compensation. After all, he and other passengers watched from the plane as United baggage handlers actually threw his guitar around on the tarmac. United said they wouldn’t pay for the damages, so Carroll wrote this catchy song about how much United sucks. We think it should go in United’s next ad campaign.
Get The Best Seat When Flying Coach
By 7.4.09
Snagging the best plane seat doesn’t always require an upgrade, thanks to a few handy tips from Condé Nast Traveler. Inside, how to avoid the dreaded middle seat and keep yourself entertained on the flight…
