Let’s fast-forward to Aug. 1, when US Airways begins to charge for soft drinks on its flights, including bottled water. How’s that going to go over? Not very well.
From the monthly archives:
June 2008
You’ve probably heard of hotels overcharging you for what you eat or drink. You know, $10 for a bottle of water. Six bucks for a candy bar. Here’s the latest twist on that scam — a hotel that charges you for what you don’t consume.
Kari, Aren, Erysse, Chris and Iden at Star Wars Weekend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They had a moment before Darth Maul took center stage on the backlot.
Talk about adding insult to injury. When a natural disaster strikes — like the recent earthquake in China or Myanmar’s devastating cyclone — travel companies like to play the God card. Unless everyone is looking.
It’s been two years since Niel Bratteli bought a roundtrip plane ticket from Dallas to Boston for his son. The airline, ATA, stopped flying from Boston to Dallas and his online travel agency, Travelocity, promised Bratteli a refund. But countless calls and e-mails later, there’s no sign of the money. What’s wrong?
Bob Crandall is right. The latest airline crisis, which has unleashed an avalanche of new fees and surcharges on passengers, has nothing to do with high fuel prices. It’s about bad management.
Here’s an interesting postscript to US Airways’ “me-too” move this afternoon, which adopted American Airlines’ controversial $15 fee for the first checked bag. Just hours before, United Airlines had done the same.
It was just a matter of time. United Airlines said this morning it will start charging a “service fee” of $15 for the first checked bag, following American Airlines’ misguided lead.
The airline industry may be in a tailspin, but you can find people in the business who still care about their customers. Delta Air Lines’ Lee Macenczak is one of those people.
Spirit Airlines’ customer department may have all but shut down, but its employees still got spirit. Airline insiders, upset that their employer has more or less shuttered its call center, have taken it upon themselves to send me the names, numbers and e-mail addresses of the Spirit employees who can help you.
Like life, travel is full of ups and downs. It can be funny, like last week’s “debut” of the fake airline Derrie-Air. And it can be tragic, like when you come home from assignment to find that a dear friend has died. This week, I share some of both with you.
Sometimes, companies do listen to their customers. Case-in-point: Hertz. For the better part of the last week, I’ve been corresponding with the car rental company about its poorly-disclosed and questionable refueling policy.
Here’s a warning for anyone who pays for their gas with a credit card: Read the terms of your sale very closely. More gas stations are tacking on a surcharge for anyone who pays with plastic.
What’s the fastest way to board a plane? A free-for-all, like Southwest Airlines? Boarding by window, middle seat or aisle, like United Airlines? Or by zone, like AirTran Airways?
Sandra Ferguson makes a reservation at a San Jose, Calif., hotel through ParkSleepFly.com. But when she tries to check in, the hotel has never heard of her. Does ParkSleepFly.com owe her a refund for the $180 she has to spend for long-term parking?
Sign up for my 
