Behind J.D.’s Web ratings
The latest J.D. Powers travel Web site ratings are out, and the big news isn’t that Hotwire.com “ranks highest among independent travel Web sites in satisfying customers who book their reservations online,” as our pollster friends would suggest.
A shuttle disaster
Lana Carlson’s airport shuttle is supposed to pick her up at 11 p.m. But it’s a no-show. Four hours later, she still has no ride to the airport. Finally, Carlson hails a cab after the van company, SuperShuttle, promises to refund her fare. But guess what? Now her reimbursement is delayed, too. What gives?
Three wishes
The other day a colleague asked me an interesting question. If I had three wishes for the travel industry, what would they be? Hmmm. Just three?
Timing is everything
Timing may be important in business, but in business travel it can mean the difference between life and death. I’ve had enough close calls on the road to know.
The socket seekers
Just when travelers thought they had run out of things to complain about at the airport, their fading laptops and cellphones have signaled yet another problem: a shortage of power outlets.
Mile-high club: the facts
The mile-high club is making headlines again. A California couple was recently in trouble for trying to join that elite group of air travelers who do the wild thing at 36,000 feet. A new private service offers travelers the chance to join the club without getting arrested.
Carnival’s Norwalk deaths?
Here’s a question that is raised far too infrequently: Can the Norwalk virus — an increasingly common shipboard affliction — kill passengers? That’s what one Tarpon Springs, Fla., family is asking after their father, David Lee Fitzgerald, died on a recent Carnival cruise.
5 ways to avoid holiday lines
You think flying last holiday season was bad? Wait until you try it this year. A record number of travelers will take off in November and December. That is, if they can navigate their way through the Transportation Security Administration’s new liquid-and-gel rules.
Get me to the gate on time
When Daniel Nicastri gets stuck in a traffic jam, his airline reassures him that he’ll still be able to board his flight from New York to London. Wrong! Not only does the airline refuse to allow Nicastri on the plane, but it also can’t accommodate him on the next flight. Then Nicastri is told he can’t fly at all. What’s going on?
More bad grades for airlines
This must be the week to pile it on the airline industry. Many readers of this blog are convinced that during the upcoming holiday season, the airlines will hold more of their customers captive, mistreat them and torture them than a Guantanamo interrogator with a mean streak.
The future of air travel?
As we wait in long lines at the airport this week, many of us will probably wonder if we are looking at the future of air travel: long lines, overcrowded flights, cranky crewmembers.
Savoring the furniture
Business travel kindles my imagination. The experiences that I have on the road spark my creativity and become a part of my designs.
The 7 worst airlines
Admit it, you’re tired of the self-serving “best of” polls that are published around this time of year. You want to know about the companies to avoid. Specifically, you want to know which airlines to stay away from.
No card — no ticket
Philip Gissen is denied a boarding pass on a Copa Airlines flight because he can’t show the airline representative the credit card with which he bought the ticket. His only alternative is to buy a new ticket, so now he wants a refund for the unused ticket. Should Copa cough up the money?
US Airways, Delta to merge?
So what does the proposed merger between US Airways and Delta mean for passengers? If this $8 billion hostile takeover goes through, US Airways will essentially gobble up bankrupt Delta, but take on its name.