Plane food worth paying for
Should you bring your own meal on your next airline trip - or buy it on the plane?
Free food on shorter flights is gone. The major carriers eliminated their air fare in a recent cost-cutting effort, and not a moment too soon. Few people liked the in-flight meals to begin with.
But travelers don’t want to [...]
ATA’s mileage mishap
Q: I recently earned a free companion ticket on ATA. I applied for the travel certificate but don’t recall ever receiving it by e-mail. It may have been sent, but I know that I don’t have it and have never used it.
ATA refuses to reissue the certificate. It seems ridiculous that they can’t reproduce [...]
Flying the unfriendly skies
Remember when air travel was an elegant experience that passengers dressed up for? When meals were served on china with real silverware? And doting flight attendants pinned honorary plastic wings on the lapels of wide-eyed youngsters? I do, because I was one of those kids. I was charmed by crew members who made me feel like I was sitting in first class, even though I had a seat in economy. And, of course, I wanted to grow up to be a pilot. Every boy who was lucky enough to fly in those days wanted to be a pilot, especially after a visit to the cockpit.
A vacation without future
Q: I recently booked a trip to Las Vegas for my parents for their 57th wedding anniversary. Since my parents aren’t young, I also bought trip cancellation insurance through my travel agent.
Within three weeks of the making the reservations, my dad developed a severe bladder problem which would prevent him from traveling. His doctor [...]
Best first-class cabins
The closest most air travelers will ever come to a first-class seat is the humiliating “perp walk” to the economy-class section during boarding.
No, we aren’t criminals, but we sure feel like second-class citizens when we shuffle past the already boarded elite passengers, who glare at us between sips of their mimosas as if we’re no [...]
Unsolved travel mysteries
Not every case that crosses my desk is solvable. Sometimes, a travel company refuses to help a traveler with a legitimate gripe. Here are two such complaints.
US Airways lost my luggage
Q: I took a vacation to Bermuda with my three daughters in 1999. On our return flight, we each checked one piece of [...]
Sick of traveling? Don’t overdo it
My nose is clogged shut. My chest rattles every time I inhale. The back of my throat feels as if I tried to swallow a porcupine.
I’m sick.
What’s worse, I’m on a business trip. I should be conducting an interview. Instead, I’m flat on my back in a hotel room, rendered practically incoherent by the effects [...]
Hit and miss on Enterprise
Q: When I received my latest credit-card statement, I discovered that a recent car rental from Enterprise had more than doubled. Seems the company charged me for 142 excess miles.
Funny, but the receipt given to me by the agent did not have miles driven on it. Where did they get that?
I called Enterprise’s [...]