When you rent a car, you expect the rate you’ve been promised to be the rate you pay, right? Wrong. Often, auto rental companies tack on extra fees after you return to car, billing for everything from “mandatory” insurance to tire disposal. But some don’t even bother waiting, as reader Vicki Lewis recently discovered.
November 2007
Thanksgiving is the time of year when Americans like to reflect on the things for which they’re grateful. But this week, we break with tradition. In my MSNBC column, I ponder all the things travelers aren’t thankful for. If you’ve eaten and airline meal lately — or perhaps more to the point, not eaten an airline meal — you’ll want to sound off on this week’s burning question. There are also blog entries on car rental companies, the Skybus saga, and the strange tale of Joel Widzer’s “death.” Read all about it in this week’s issue.
This is supposed to be the busiest week for travel in the history of the aviation industry. Oh, sorry. I’ve been reading too many of my favorite travel columnists. Make that just super-darned busy. Or is it? I just zipped through the TSA line in Orlando in less than five minutes.
Oh no, not another Skybus complaint! That was my first thought when I received an e-mail with the subject line “Skybus left us stranded.” If I write something about this, I said to myself, Skybus and its mainstream media apologists will really think I have a grudge against this no-frills startup airline — especially after outing its executives in my blog — even though nothing could be further from the truth.
Never underestimate a car rental company’s drive to make an extra buck. Amy Villa did when she rented a car from Alamo in Columbus, Ohio, recently, and she ended up paying twice as much as she expected. Villa’s flight from San Jose, Calif., was delayed, so she phoned Alamo to let the company know about the hold-up. A representative assured Villa, who works for San Jose State University, that her reservation and rate would be honored, “because I would be arriving within 24 hours of my original reservation,” she says.
Frank Gilbuena and his wife check in to a Comfort Inn, but find that they’re less than comfortable with their accommodations. The upholstery is stained, the room isn’t vacuumed and the bathroom is a mess. He gives the hotel staff a day to clean things up, but they don’t. Now he wants his money back, and the hotel is ignoring his letters. What else can he do?
Aren rode his bike for the first time without training wheels today. No worries. We’re only a few miles from a hospital.
It’s been an open secret in Washington that the government will unveil its plans to end aviation congestion just in time for the busy Thanksgiving holiday. That announcement could come as soon as today. But don’t expect much. At least one of the airline industry’s apologists, the misleadingly-named Air Travelers Association, is cheering the plan — which means the airlines are pleased as punch with the idea.
Looks as if the underperforming U.S. airline industry has some company. Blaming “mounting frustrations” in a year fraught with a record number of flight delays, our friends at J.D. Power and Associates determined that customer satisfaction with rental cars has “declined considerably.”
No one likes surprises on their bill. But if you cruise or fly, you’re in for more than your fair share of “oh nos” in the next few days. This week’s newsletter details some of those shockers, including those mysterious fuel surcharges. Also, if you’re stressed out about what to buy for the holidays, I’ve got a few great luggage gift ideas for you. Plus, read words of wisdom from our traveling veterans. Find it in this week’s issue.
If Skybus, the no-frills, surcharge-happy startup airline bothered responding to its customers with anything other than a boilerplate e-mail message, I wouldn’t do this. If I didn’t get the number of complaints that I do about Skybus, I wouldn’t do this. If it told the truth about its phones, I wouldn’t do this. But here are the facts: there is considerable evidence that Skybus is not reading customer e-mails. My “in” box is filled with Skybus complaints. And there is overwhelming evidence that it does have phones, despite its insistence to the contrary.
If all else fails in a dispute with an air carrier, you can always take your complaint to small claims court — and win. That’s more than theoretical advice dispensed by this travel columnist. It really works, as Linda Sesa recently learned after having a difference of opinion with US Airways. Sesa, a nurse practitioner from Yardley, Pa., had some trouble when she tried to board a flight from St. Lucia to Charlotte. A problem that US Airways didn’t think was much of a problem. Until a court of law got involved.
When it comes to airline ticket rules, the devil isn’t in the details. The devil is the details. You’ll find Old Nick in something called the ticket tariff, which is a massive, rambling and often incomprehensible document that passengers rarely see in its entirety.
His mother is scheduled to fly to Hawaii with his aunt and cousin, where they plan to board a cruise. But hours before they leave, Lawrence Dean Parrish finds out that the flight schedules have been changed. Now his mother, who is 74 and suffers from glaucoma, is flying solo and his aunt and cousin are on another flight. Neither the travel agency nor the cruise line will help. Is the vacation sunk?
Despite having the sniffles, Iden enjoys a ride on the carousel at Universal Studios. Show me the Cat in the Hat, baby!
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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