8 rules for travel in 2005
It’s been a flier’s market since 2001 - as well as an opportune time for travelers of all stripes. The post-9/11 travel downturn led to three years of great deals, often at the last minute. But all that is changing. Americans are traveling in big numbers again. Bargains are scarcer, and planning ahead will often be essential. But you can still snare a good deal - if you hew to the new rules for travelers in 2005.
Hey, I didn’t buy that ticket
Q: My credit card was recently charged $472 by Priceline for an airline ticket from Washington to Colorado. But I never meant to buy it.
At the time, I was just searching for fares for a trip to my 40th class reunion. I didn’t mean to make a purchase because I couldn’t afford it.
I [...]
Double trouble
Q: I recently tried to purchase tickets for a flight from Philadelphia to Tampa, Fla., through the US Airways site.
But when I clicked on the “submit” button to buy the tickets, nothing happened, and I received no confirmation e-mail.
Five hours later I went online again and tried to purchase the ticket again for [...]
Grounded without a refund
Q: My son recently bought tickets on Hotwire to fly from Salt Lake City to Louisville, Ky. His family was traveling home for Christmas, and it was to be our first opportunity to meet their newborn son, Alexi.
Unfortunately, there were complications at birth resulting in brain damage to the infant. Alexi’s pediatrician was concerned [...]
Airlines blacklist passengers
Mark Adkins thought that he was doing America West Airlines a favor by giving up his seat on an overbooked flight from Tucson to Las Vegas. But he says the airline returned the favor a few hours later by banishing him for life.
Help, get me out of here!
It was the middle of summer, and I was on an extended stay in Phoenix for a software verification project. One day, the air-conditioning in my room broke down, and with temperatures soaring past the century mark, my hotel quickly moved me to a different room.
I guess you could say that’s when I went out [...]
Cypress Gardens reopens
Cypress Gardens, Florida’s oldest theme park, reopens this week after an arduous restoration. The new owner had planned to revive the park after low attendance forced it to close, but he did not plan on the three hurricanes that struck during renovation.
A bogus bereavement fare
Q: My sister died unexpectedly last summer and I had to fly to Pittsburgh for the funeral. I called several airlines to request a bereavement fare, but the best they could do was $625 roundtrip, which didn’t seem like a good price.
Then I found what I thought was a last-minute fare of $313 on [...]