There are signs that the auto industry’s troubles are spilling over into the car rental business. At this hour, several Advantage Rent A Car locations have reportedly run out of vehicles, leaving travelers without wheels. And this may be just the beginning.
2008
When Larry Chan returns his Hertz rental car late, he doesn’t expect the $66 charge that he finds two weeks later on his credit card bill. But there it is: an extra day’s rental charge. What now? Should he appeal the decision? And what about the reason he was late in the first place — is that relevant at all?
Next time you catch a cold on a long flight, think about Standard 161-2007. It’s a proposed minimum rule for air quality aboard commercial airlines. A rule the airline industry, which reflexively opposes any kind of regulation, is no doubt fighting with every lobbyist it can afford.
Lessons learned from past holiday meltdowns, unsung heroes, bait-and-switch hotels, and more.
This might be one reason why Austrian Airlines is in so much trouble. Then again, it might be why the beleaguered carrier hasn’t folded any sooner. A passenger who bit into a brownie and broke a cap on her tooth on a flight from Washington to Vienna, has been reimbursed by the airline to the tune of $1,462.
Here’s an inspiring story about a ticket agent going far above and beyond the call of duty to help American soldiers in need. It came to me by way of Sgt. Ron Hutchins, who was traveling to Germany with nine other servicemembers from the 912th Adjutant General Postal Company in Tallahassee, Fla.
Here’s another story from the bait-and-switch files. Stacey Blakemore booked a $29 room at the Days Inn and Suites in Auburn, Ala., through Travelocity. But she ended up being charged $180 a night. Find out what happened next.
The long weekend he spent at the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino was a distant memory to David Burford, who checked into the Las Vegas resort with his family back in 2004. But not to a Boca Raton, Fla., company called First Class Travel Wise, which contacted him out of the blue recently and ordered him to pay an extra $433 for his vacation.
Andy Daniel thought he had found a terrific airfare from San Francisco to Miami for Christmas. Instead, he found a terrific disappointment. When Daniel tried to book a $400 ticket advertised on Expedia, the price suddenly more than doubled.
Virgin Atlantic promises Jerry Levine it will send him a paper ticket for his flight from San Francisco to Johannesburg. But when it doesn’t, the airline is less than helpful in tracking it down. Is his lost ticket a lost cause? And what should he do now?
If you’re an American Airlines frequent flier, you might want to check your last mileage statement. There’s evidence the airline is shortchanging its passengers by a mile or two per flight — a potential savings of tens of millions of points a year to the company.
Airlines almost never tell their customers the truth. But from time to time, they tell their own employees — more or less. Here’s a memo sent out to US Airways employees a few days ago, for example.
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Looks like Sigmund Freud is inspiring the marketing folks at Delta Air Lines who have the unenviable task of telling us what else we will have to pay for when we fly. The airline’s latest letter to its customers would probably make the good doctor proud.
What will the airlines start charging us for next? After you read this, you’ll be sorry you asked. Nigel Appleby’s daughter recently got a survey from WestJet which offers some clues about the Canadian carrier’s next move. It’s troubling, to say the least.
What’s so fair about flying? If you said “nothing,” you’re right. Air travel has become so Balkanized in the last few months that flying is — and I want to be careful not to overstate this — almost un-American.
Before Sophia Mei books a cruise online through Travelocity, her screen goes blank and she loses her reservation. Or so she thinks. A phone agent helps here complete her booking, but soon it’s clear that she has two reservations for the same cruise. And before long, a collections agency is after her to pay for both tickets. What should she do?
The European Union’s new regulation on airline ticket transparency, which requires airlines to quote a fare including all taxes, fees and surcharges, went into effect Nov. 1. How will the new rules affect air travelers here and in Europe? I asked Meglena Kuneva, the EU commissioner for consumer affairs.
Brandy Hamill knows the importance of reviewing her credit card statement after booking a trip. If she hadn’t taken a look at hers, she might have missed the strange surcharge when she booked a flight on Travelocity.
What is it with airlines redefining a year? Seems that after I wrote about this bizarre reshuffling of the calendar, more air carriers have joined the fun.
