When Virgin Atlantic Airways cancels James Simon’s flight from New York to London — and rebooks him on a British Airways flight — he’s downgraded from premium economy to economy class. But his requests for a fare refund go unanswered. Is he entitled to any money back?
From the monthly archives:
February 2009
It’s not every day that I republish a complaint letter in its entirety. Then again, it’s not every day that an airline does the right thing without yours truly getting involved. Maybe it was the letter. Or maybe it was the fact that the airline in question was Southwest.
When David Ennis checked in for a recent Spirit Airlines flight from Detroit to Fort Myers, Fla., an agent told him the flight was oversold. When he tried to fly the next day, Spirit told him he was a “no show” for his flight and was holding a worthless ticket. Here we go again.
I’m kicking off my semi-annual fundraiser by giving away 10 copies of Joan Heilman’s “Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That you Absolutely Can’t Get Unless You’re Over 50.”
Kay Schroll says she lost $6,820 — the price of two cruises — when she bought travel insurance through Legendary Journeys, but then had to cancel her vacations for health reasons. Her case is just one of many that have landed on my desk since the bankruptcy of Prime Travel Protection, the Colorado company that offered these unlicensed policies.
US Airways plans to announce tomorrow that it will bring complimentary sodas, juices, tea, water and coffee to its flights starting next month. Charging for soft drinks — particularly bottled water — was highly unpopular with its passengers.
It’s been almost a year since American Airlines started charging passengers for their first checked bag, a move that every other legacy airline quickly followed. It’s taken almost that long for the luggage industry to catch up to that new reality.
Kay Pratt’s rental car gets a ticket when she stays in a San Francisco hotel. Problem is, the car was under the care of the property’s valet services. Now she wants the $85 ticket refunded, but the hotel is stringing her along. Is she stuck with the ticket.?
Florida’s Department of Financial Services has confirmed it is investigating travel agencies that sold insurance underwritten by Prime Travel Protection, a Colorado company that filed for bankruptcy protection last month and left thousands of travelers uninsured.
Vivian Polzin didn’t have a choice. A Delta Air Lines employee forced her to check a bag that contained a camera with priceless vacation snapshots. But when the carrier lost her camera, it had a choice — and it decided to hide behind its contract of carriage, which says it isn’t liable for electronic equipment in checked luggage.
When Gary Moll disembarked from a recent cruise in Santo Domingo, he encountered a fishy fee he’d never seen: Uniformed agents offered a $10 “Tourist Card” to passengers coming ashore. Are these cards for real? Moll doubts it.
Everyone claims to be offering a deal, but how can you tell?
Can an airline charge you for a ticket it canceled? If you said “not in America” you’re right.
Had a problem with your last trip? Fire up your PC and post something online. Go on. You just might change the travel industry like Carl Larson did.
Sign up for my 
