William’s dilemma with Priceline and Westin is what we’re guessing will be the first of very many travel problems caused by what is now Tropical Storm Isaac. William used to live in New Orleans, and knows better than to be anywhere near the projected path of a hurricane if he doesn’t have to. He had plans to travel to a vacation spot in Florida right in Isaac’s predicted path this weekend, and was probably supposed to be in the air right now. He was able to cancel his normally non-refundable AirTran flight, but the hotel, a Westin, won’t budge. He paid through Priceline, which has a no-refunds policy. That’s common knowledge. The problem is that Westin wouldn’t cancel his reservation anyway until an actual evacuation order is issued for the area. [More]
tropical storms
U.S. Airways: Abandoning Passengers "Is Not A Compensation Issue"
By 8.31.08
“In order to ensure that all carriers remain focused on safety, aviation regulations do not require airlines to pay compensation for consequential expenses because of delayed or canceled flights.”
U.S. Airways Boots 274 Stranded Passengers From Caribbean Airport, Refuses To Pay For Hotels
By 8.16.08
Armed guards ordered 274 stranded passengers out of the Punta Cana airport with no place to go after bad weather forced U.S. Airways to cancel its flight from the Dominican Republic to Philadelphia. Several passengers ended up sleeping in a bus after the airline responded to Tropical Storm Fay by asking passengers to pick up their luggage and get lost.
