Consumerist

travel

Want Safe Skies? Strap This Remote-Controlled Stun Device To Yourself!

By cwalters 7.7.08

Make of this what you will, as the story comes from the Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s church-owned Washington Times and may be more fiction than fact, but “a senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser.” Yes, the EMD Safety Bracelet from Lamperd Less Lethal is designed to make flying a fun experience once again. Just check out everything it can do:

Take the place of an airline boarding pass.
Contain personal information about the traveler.
Be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage.
Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes.

airlines

JetBlue Can't Decide If They Charged An Unaccompanied Minor Fee

By consumeristcarey 7.7.08

JetBlue promised Catie’s husband in March that the $798 fare charged to fly his children from Austin to Boston included the unaccompanied minor fee. But when Catie recently called to verify the reservation, she was told that her children wouldn’t be allowed to board unless she paid an extra $200.

airport laptop

Travelers Leave 12,000 Laptops In Airports Every Week

By consumeristcarey 7.5.08

Absentminded travelers flummoxed by airport security leave 12,000 laptops in airports every single week. Only 30% are ever recovered.

hoeksema

Midwest Airlines CEO Takes 40% Pay Cut

By Meg Marco 7.3.08

CEO Timothy Hoeksema will accept a pay cut of 40% as Midwest Airlines attempts to cut costs. From The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

airlines

By Ben Popken 7.2.08

../../../..//2008/07/02/american-airlines-could-be-laying/

American Airlines could be laying off 900 flight attendants. [Dallas News]

airlines

Help! JetBlue Let Me Get On The Wrong Plane!

By Meg Marco 7.2.08

All our lives we’d been walking around with the mistaken impression that when they scanned your boarding pass at the gate, they were making sure you were getting on the right plane. We assumed this for two reasons: 1) Because an airport isn’t like a movie theater, where you can buy a ticket for a G-rated movie and go see “Killer Naked Women From Planet Sex And Violence.” 2) To prevent people from accidentally ending up in New York when they were trying to get to Long Beach, CA.

united airlines

Dear United Airlines: "You Have Designed Your Customer Service To Piss Off Your Customers"

By Meg Marco 7.2.08

After a mechanical snafu grounded his flight to Zurich, Aaron received several vouchers and an upgrade as compensation from United Airlines. Unfortunately, the vouchers and upgrades proved so difficult to use that he has given up and is now publicly vowing never to fly United Airlines again.

travel

How To Get A Passport Fast

By Ben Popken 7.1.08

What do you do if you need a passport in less than three weeks? Don’t shell out for one of those passport expediters, call your Member of Congress. They have these things called constituent liaisons, whose whole reason for existence is prodding other executive agencies. This is the number one way to get a passport quickly. Call the district office for your Congress Critter, which is the number that doesn’t start with 202. A list of Members of Congress can be found here. Another thing to try is paying the extra $60 at the USPS for expedited passport service. The best thing to do is, of course, apply early, but if for some reason that hasn’t happened, getting a hold of a constituent liaison is the way to go.

outsourcing

Spirit Airlines' Customer Service Number Leads To Phone Sex Line

By Ben Popken 6.30.08

When you fly an ultra low budget airliner, you expect ultra low service, but even under that business model, it seems reasonable to assume that calling customer service won’t take you to a phone sex line. Reader Barbara would agree. She writes:

cheap tickets

7 Unexpected Rules For Saving On Airfare

By Ben Popken 6.27.08

With the tightening economy, airfare feels more painful than ever,you can avoid paying more than absolutely necessary with these seven tips…

economy

By Ben Popken 6.26.08

../../../..//2008/06/26/american-airlines-is-cutting-flights/

American Airlines is cutting flights at most regional hubs. [South Florida Business Journal]

travel

American Eagle Kicks Autistic Child And His Mother Off Plane

By JaySlatkin 6.25.08

On Monday, an American Eagle flight which was in the process of taxiing at the Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina turned around to kick 2-and-a-half-year-old Jarett Farell (pictured left) and his mother Janice off of the plane. According to WTVD, the unhappy toddler was crying loudly and after a few warnings, the decision to turn the plane around was made. Janice Farell contends that the crew was very short-tempered and unsympathetic toward her and her son and that everything would have been ok if it weren’t for the flight attendant who kept upsetting Jarett. American Airlines claims they did nothing wrong. Details, inside…

american airlines

Dear American Airlines Employees: "I Hope That One Day You Find A Good Paying Job With An Employer That Cares About You"

By Meg Marco 6.24.08

AJ writes in to let us know that he too was lied to by American Airlines. They canceled his flight(s) from Pittsburgh to Austin (by way of Dallas). He called the 1-800 number but was met with a CSR who used “bad weather in Dallas” as an excuse, and told him there was no way to get him to Austin on time.

suitcase fees

How to Avoid Airline Baggage Fees

By JaySlatkin 6.24.08

The bad news is that because of high fuel costs, United Airlines and US Airways will be following American Airlines in charging a $15 first-bag fee. The even worse news is that most of the remaining airlines will probably follow suit with the exception Southwest who locked in their fuel prices several years ago. Since the airlines are attempting to cash in on baggage fees, SmartMoney offers some tips on how to avoid them. The tips, inside…

california

AA Lies About Bad Weather To Deny Reader Compensation

By Ben Popken 6.23.08

Reader S knows his stuff when it comes to his rights as an airline passenger. He was flying on American Airlines (AA) and takeoff was delayed. AA said it was because of thunderstorms in Dallas. He called a friend in Dallas and they said “there isn’t a cloud in the sky.” AA later revealed the flight was actually delayed because they were waiting for a fax. It’s understandable why AA lied. Since this was something they had control over, it meant they owed several things to the delayed passengers. By lying and saying it was due to the weather, they could escape their obligation. The flight finally took off but reader S missed his connection and had to stay overnight in a hotel, a hotel room that American should have paid for. Inside, the letter S executive email carpet bombed after two customer service reps refused to listen to his story on the phone and an online form sent back a robotic received reply with no real results.

airlines

Call American Airlines Executive Customer Service

By Ben Popken 6.23.08

Two phone numbers for reaching American Airlines Executive Customer Service when normal customer service fails.

charity

U.S. Airways Refunds $2200 Tickets For Recently Unemployed Man

By cwalters 6.23.08

Travel expert Christopher Elliott says US Airways refunded a couple $2200 on a pair of nonrefundable tickets to Ireland after the wife wrote to the COO and explained their situation. They tried Expedia first and were refused, and although they had travel insurance it wouldn’t cover unemployment. The wife, Jennifer Bush, says the US Airways rep who responded to their plea “told me that they all felt for my situation and decided to refund the amount of the airfare.”

TSA

Privacy: What It's Like To Fly With No ID Under The TSA's New Regulations

By Meg Marco 6.23.08

David becomes our first reader to fly under the TSA’s new ID policy. Formerly, if you refused or were unable to show ID you could still fly — but were required to undergo secondary screening by the TSA. Now they’ve altered their position slightly– fliers who willingly refuse to show ID are now barred from flying. The new rule went into effect over the weekend, and David says that in order to board the plane after forgetting his driver’s license he had to answer questions about his political party affiliation and previous addresses.

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