Austin bought two tickets to Aruba last December. By the end of February, Orbitz had changed his itinerary so many times that now they were only flying him as far as Atlanta, and 11 days later were flying him back from Aruba—it was apparently up to him to get from Atlanta to Aruba in the first place. At this point, the only option was to request a refund, which Orbitz said would take 60 days. Two months later, Orbitz told Austin that they’ll give him his money back in 60 days. We’re pretty sure that’s 120 days total, and there’s still no guarantee Austin will see his money.
travel
Behold, The 6 Worst Airline Passengers of 2009
By 5.6.09
Yes, Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com is rounding up the worst airline passengers of 2009 — in May. Maybe he’s optimistic and doesn’t expect the lady who drank all the hand soap from the lavatory to be topped in the many months ahead — or maybe he just wants to write a follow-up in December. Either way, we love it.
Swine Flu Fanatics Kick Man With Sniffles Off Airplane
By 5.4.09
James says he got ejected from his United Airlines flight because he had a cold and some of the other passengers wigged out, fearful of becoming swine flu victims. His letter, and its surprise ending, inside…
Continental: No Refunds For Swine Flu Cancellations
By 5.1.09
The swine flu outbreak is making thing tough for people who had booked Mexican vacations. Reader Kurt is one such person. He got a full refund from the hotel, but is dismayed that Continental won’t extend him the same courtesy.
By 4.29.09
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We’d just like to tip our hats to the cruise ship passenger who helped fight off Somali pirates with a deck chair. [Fox News]
Canceling A Vacation Due To Swine Flu? Expect The Runaround
By 4.28.09
So, you’ve decided to cancel your “nonessential” trip to Mexico to avoid the swine flu outbreak. Great. Just don’t expect the cancellation process to go smoothly.
Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia Suspend Airline Booking Fees
By 4.28.09
If you’ve been avoiding the big travel websites because of their booking fees, you might want to reconsider. Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia have all stopped charging airline booking fees until May 31.
Man Downloads Movie While In Mexico, Receives $62,000 Wireless Bill
By 4.28.09
If you’re going out of the country for more than 15 seconds, don’t forget to turn off, remove, leave at home, freeze in a block of ice, disable, or otherwise render unusable your wireless card. Above all, do not download Wall-E for your nephew to watch on your computer. Unfortunately, we do not have any more details about what was going on here, because Clark Howard apparently has to get back to his NASCAR pit.
US Airways To Charge Fee For Paying Fee
By 4.28.09
US Airways must be running out of ideas. Instead of coming up with a new fee for a previously free service, the dullards in corporate could only muster a top-off on a pre-existing fee. See, for a while US Airways has charged $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second, but now there will be a $5 additional fee if you pay those fees in person rather than online. In other words, a fee for paying a fee. A bit of a watery effort, if I may say so . Come now, gents, put your thinking caps on. We’re looking for a little more sizzle and crackle in our airline fee innovations.
Here's What The Airlines Are Charging For Luggage
By 4.24.09
Daniel at dansdeals.com has put together a chart of baggage fees for 22 US and Canadian airlines. Spirit takes the prize for most expensive, but there are a dozen contenders for second place. The best: Southwest, Air Canada, Porter and WestJet. If you travel with lots of luggage, you may want to bookmark this page for future reference the next time you’re purchasing tickets.
United: Move To An Empty Row For Only $156
By 4.24.09
Reader Matt is annoyed with United Airlines. On a flight from Minneapolis to Denver the passengers were crammed into coach — but there were entire unsold rows in the “$39 extra” section.
Your Reservation At This 4 Star Hotel? It's Now At A Motel Down The Street.
By 4.21.09
Travel guru Christopher Elliott has 5 tips for avoiding what he calls the “newest hotel scam.” It’s called “walking,” and it’s the hotel version of being bumped to another flight due to overbooking. What’s the scam? Well, travelers used to be offered a “comparable” hotel if theirs was overbooked — but lately, hotels have been trying to save a few bucks by booking guests in inferior hotels — and keeping the difference.
Nighttime Itching? Bed Bug Infestations Up 500% Worldwide
By 4.20.09
Call it the Twilight phenomenon. The EPA held its first ever “bed bug summit” last week, to discuss the rise in infestations of the tiny nocturnal bloodsuckers. There was talk of more ‘bed bug task forces’ in big cities, possible federal research into new technology such as steaming or freezing the bugs, and lots of icky close-ups of parasites.
United: If You Can't Fit In One Seat You Need To Buy Two
By 4.15.09
Starting today, United Airlines has a new policy. If you can’t fit into a single seat, you need to buy another one or stay behind.
On Costa Cruises, Your "Waiter" Will Take Your Bread Basket Away And Give It To Another Table
By 4.10.09
There were lots of problems on the recent Costa Cruise vacation that Krista and her friends took, including lukewarm hot tubs, closed buffets, and missing towels. But the biggest surprise was when their waiter was replaced on the second day with a newly promoted, untrained busboy who abandoned them nightly. Well, when he wasn’t taking their sugar or stealing their basket of bread.
By 4.10.09
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Good Job More than 40,000 United Airlines “front-line” workers will receive a $100 bonus because the carrier’s on-time performance topped the Transportation Department’s monthly performance rating for March, the Chicago-based airline said Thursday. [Chicago Tribune]
In Other Magical Lands Hotels Charge You The Price They Quote
By 4.9.09
Christopher Elliott, travel guru, has got to be a liar. In his latest blog entry he posts a story from an American who stayed in a hotel in Vienna... and was charged the room rate times the number of days he stayed. Can this magical hotel really exist?
