Author ∣ Advocate ∣ Journalist
On Travel is a weekly column about being a smarter traveler. It covers practical travel advice for the readers of USA Today and the USA Today Network. If you’re interested in publishing this feature, please contact Elliott directly at [email protected] or (202) 370-7934.
Airlines hate to refund your money — even when they’re supposed to.
Don’t believe me? Then talk to Melina Jose, who was supposed to fly from Paris to Orlando, Florida, recently.
Her itinerary, booked through Expedia, included several airlines. But on her return flight, one of the legs, on Flybe from Paris to Manchester, England, mysteriously vanished. She and her husband, Jerard, had to pay $437 for new tickets.
Read more “How to get a refund from an airline”
If it seems like your ticket comes with more ridiculous airline fees than ever, it’s not your imagination. The ability to reserve a seat, change your flight and even to carry a bag onto the plane have been quietly stripped away — and then added back as “gotcha” fees.
Yes, you can still get those “perks.” But you either have to pay extra for them or participate in the airline’s habit-forming frequent flier program. The most recent indignity, a dustup over minimum seat size, has many travelers asking: Should there be other minimum standards, when it comes to flying?
Read more “No one should have to pay these ridiculous airline fees”
If you’ve ever had such a horrible flight that you promised you’d never fly that airline again, then this is your year to follow through. Make a New Year’s resolution you can keep: Let’s boycott bad airlines.
Jenny Lehman did. In 2002, after enduring numerous delays without apology or compensation, she decided to add American Airlines to her personal no-fly list.
“The employees acted like they enjoyed our misery,” she recalls. “It was a kick-’em-while-they’re-down mentality.”
Read more “New Year’s resolution: Let’s boycott bad airlines!”
Want to get better customer service from an airline? Mind your manners — and don’t expect too much.
That’s the consensus of travelers, experts and insiders who have worked for these airlines. And by “these” airlines, I mean carriers that are known for their bare-bones fares, where everything is extra and whose customer service ratings are circling the drain. (Those would be Frontier and Spirit, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index.)
Read more “Yes, you can get better customer service from an airline. Here’s how”
Travel surcharges are so annoying. And the hidden travel fees are just getting worse.
At least that’s the assessment of Jayne Hanlin, a retired elementary school teacher from St. Louis. Late last summer, the hotel chain informed her that it would start applying a new $20 “destination fee” to each night of her stay. The mandatory fee covers “premium” Wi-Fi, phone calls, and two bottles of water in her room – items that should be included.
“This is ridiculous,” says Hanlin.
Read more “Try these pro tips for avoiding hidden travel fees”
