Thank you! United fixes “last vacation” for terminal cancer patient

November 26, 2009

baliHere’s a heart-warming story for the Thanksgiving holiday: James Thomson and a longtime friend, who is suffering from terminal cancer, ran into trouble with their flights from San Francisco to Bali. One leg of Thompson’s flight was canceled, which threatened to end his friend’s final vacation.

Despite repeated efforts to contact United Airlines, he was getting nowhere.

Would Thompson’s friend miss his last trip?
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Southwest Airlines strikes out in airline food survey; Continental tops the list

November 25, 2009

nutsAirline food. No, that’s not the punchline to a joke.

Air carriers serve meals, and where there’s food, there can’t be a restaurant critic too far behind. Just in time for the buys travel holiday season, DietDetective.com has released its annual airline food investigation. Continental Airlines topped this year’s rankings, winning accolades for its “free, low-calorie, high-impact meals,” while Southwest Airlines rated the lowest for offering “not much in terms of nutritional value.”
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Help, my travel insurance company won’t answer the phone!

It’s every traveler’s worst nightmare: You’re in trouble, so you reach for your phone to call your travel insurance company. The line rings. And rings. And rings.

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Government issues “precedent-setting” fines against three airlines in Rochester delay incident

Remember last summer’s overnight tarmac stranding incident in Rochester, Minn.? The government does. This morning it issued what it called a “precedent-setting” series of fines against two airlines in connection with the lengthy ground delay.

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Hawaii hotel forecloses, taking guest’s $2,541 deposit with it

The foreclosure crisis isn’t just affecting homeowners. It’s also hitting hotel guests.

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Thanksgiving on Treasure Island

Thanksgiving evokes memories of cold weather and warm Turkey dinner, but here in Florida it’s a great time to go to the beach.

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What’s new on Elliott: Renovation regrets, bad holiday advice and Thanksgiving on Treasure Island

Hotel renovation regrets. Plus, what to do about bad holiday advice, and spending Thanksgiving on Treasure Island.

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It’s holiday travel time! You heard it here first!

Take your car in for a tuneup. Give yourself extra time if you’re flying. Oh, and it’s going to be one for the record books.

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Continental’s little PIN problem is fixed — finally!

When Tim Milller tried to cash in a travel certificate to buy a Continental Airlines ticket, the system didn’t accept his PIN number. But instead of working with him to fix the problem, the airline charged him for the full amount of the ticket and told him he was out of luck.

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Can’t-miss holiday gifts for the traveler in your life

Like a tie for dad, a kitchen appliance for mom, or socks for the kids, there’s no shortage of holiday gift clichés for travelers. Wheeled luggage, ticket holders and inflatable pillows come to mind.

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‘Keystroke error’ turns $289 rate into $28

Terry Capps finds a $28 a night room rate at a Westin hotel in Orlando. Turns out the hotel made a mistake, and that the real price is $289 a night. What now? Should the resort honor the original price or can it change the rate and force Capps to pay?

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“CheapoAir made my mother cry”

And they were not tears of joy at having found a bargain. Elizabeth Hutton’s mother, Mary Ellyn, bought a round trip ticket from Cincinnati to Tallinn, Estonia, with stopovers in Newark and Stockholm. But something was wrong with the reservation, and she had to pay for another flight.

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What’s new on Elliott: CheapoAir made me cry, confusing holiday forecasts, and contagious niceness

CheapoAir made my mother cry. Plus, confusing holiday forecasts, a car rental disaster and contagious niceness.

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Holiday travel forecasts: “Cautious optimism” — or billion-dollar bloodbath?

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

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After car rental disaster, angry customer mails “gesture of goodwill” back to Thrifty

Like most travelers, Bette Waterstreet doesn’t expect much when she rents a car. A clean, running vehicle that’s in the same car class she ordered will do just fine. But that’s not what she got when she rented from Thrifty in Ontario, Calif., recently.

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