Is the the time right for a travelers alliance?
I used to get the letter once a month, maybe twice. The one telling me how airline passengers, hotel guests and car renters really felt. The one that told me what needed to be done about it. What I needed to do about it. But then I started getting the letter a couple of times a week. And people started calling. The latest note arrived just yesterday.
What the hell? A passenger perspective on airline earnings
Unless you’re a day trader or an industry insider, you probably don’t pay much attention to the airlines’ quarterly earnings reports. But if you did, you’d notice that this quarterly crop of earnings reports is terrific, even though it coincided with one of the worst quarters for customer service in the history of the airline business. Just for kicks, I decided to compare the latest government report card with the major airlines’ financial performance. Here are the worst performers by category.
Elliott’s E-Mail/October 30, 2007
No, it’s not Halloween. That’s tomorrow night. Still, last week’s travel news had some frightening elements. Enough of them so that it wouldn’t make this week’s theme a stretch. Mary Peters talking the language of the passenger rights movement? Delta trying to make nice with passengers? If that doesn’t send chills down your spine, check out my write-up on surprise fees. We also have some Halloween-themed pictures on the photoblog. Enjoy. If you dare.
Help, my points are MIA
Elizabeth Klikas and her family have a dreadful stay at a Doubletree hotel in Miami, and they’re promised a refund of their loyalty points as compensation. But the points never show up in their account, despite repeated calls and e-mails. How does Klikas get Doubletree to keep its word?
Inn is out: 5 reasons to skip a hotel
Your next hotel might not be a hotel. It could be a condo, a rental apartment or a home. And maybe it should be. It isn’t just that traditional hotels, inns and resorts turn off many travelers. There are plenty of reasons to check out of the lodge these days - through-the-roof room rates, being nickeled and dimed for every little extra item - and the alternatives are often roomier, less expensive and more convenient.
Great pumpkin
Aren and Iden hang out with the Great Pumpkin at SeaWorld. They finished a record second trick-or-treat circuit today. Nice job, gents!
On the dunes
Iden, Erysse and Aren practice for their family Christmas photo on the sand dunes at Amelia Island, Fla.
Delta masters the art of cut-and-paste customer service
So does Delta Air Lines allow peripheral computing devices onboard or not? I asked that question in a previous blog posting. Asked Delta. Asked the Transportation Security Adminstration. Asked you, too. And at least one of you put the question to Delta, too. Its answer — or should I say, its non-answer — says something about the airline’s attitude toward customers.
“After we got back to the room, an uneasy feeling came over us”
Timeshare properties can be a reasonably good investment — or a rip-off. For John Morgan and Jill Stephenson, who recently vacationed in Mexico … well, you probably know where this is going. Let’s just say things didn’t turn out well for them.
Liftoff!
This was the view from our driveway as the Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center this morning. A gorgeous day to go into space!
“Today is the day to think about the passengers”
Mary Peters got religion. In remarks made at the controversial JFK airline scheduling meeting in Washington this morning, the Transportation Secretary told airlines, “Enough is enough.” Sort of.
Elliott’s E-Mail/October 23, 2007
I love a happy ending. Who doesn’t? This week, there are so many of them, I figured we had a theme. Mad at NASA for withholding details of that pilot survey? Wait. Late yesterday evening, the space agency said it would reconsider. Overcharged for your hotel room? Hilton makes one customer happy when it lowers its room rate. Plus, find out why Hotwire is hot and “No Excuse” vouchers are cool. It’s all in this week’s issue of Elliott’s E-Mail.
NASA reconsiders withholding pilot survey data
NASA did not make any friends in the blogosphere when it withheld key parts of a controversial pilot survey requested by a news organization under the Freedom of Information Act. Well, as of this afternoon, the space agency is reconsidering its decision. In a prepared statement, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said he had just learned about the situation and suggested he might not agree with the agency’s call.
5 worst things that can happen to a traveler
What’s the worst thing that can happen when you’re traveling? A traffic accident? Terrorist hijacking? Hotel fire? Travel is risky, of course. But there’s just no way of knowing when your number will be up, and your plane will go down.
A hotel dispute in Dubrovnik
The rate at the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik is 181 euros a night, which a phone agent confirms with Sheri Siegel. But when she tacks an extra night on to her reservation at the same rate, something goes wrong. Now her bill is more than $260 higher than she expected — and Hilton won’t help her. Can this hotel stay be saved?