Remember when the TSA accidentally published its passenger screening manual online a few years ago? Well, in light of this week’s events, which call into question the agency’s basic operating procedures, I’m not waiting around for it to do that again (although it probably will).
When Jessica Kamzik’s father was diagnosed with stomach cancer last summer, there was no question about what she had to do. Dad’s prognosis was “grave” — the doctors said he probably wouldn’t make it to the holidays — and, “as any loving daughter would do, I immediately cancelled our vacation to stay closer to him,” she says.
he tragic sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship last week is leaving a line of worried passengers in its wake. Betty Westbrook is among them. The retiree from Allen, Tex., called me hours after the ship sank off the Italian coast, hoping that I could help her. “What are my chances for a refund?” she asked.
Mita Upadhyay has a “Catch-22” problem with a visa, but British Airways wants $500 to fix it. Is that good customer service — or a hard lesson learned about having the right paperwork?
Bayard Allmond is told his rental car won’t come with an extra driver fee for his wife, but when he gets his bill, he finds the surcharge, anyway. Is there any way to get his car rental company to make good on its promise?
If airfares confuse you as much as they confuse me, then I have some good news: Several new rules are going to make it easier to calculate the total cost of a ticket.
Andrew Besterman’s eight-day cruise to the Bahamas on the Carnival Miracle was something short of divine. For the duration of the journey, he was annoyed by the odor of cigarette smoke which seeped into his mini-suite from the cabin next door.
Patricia Sweeney says she suffered multiple bug bites on a recent Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to New York. “The bites were most likely bed bugs or fleas,” she says. “I had a severe reaction to them and developed an infection.”
It’s not your imagination. Congress seems to be paying closer attention to travelers’ welfare.
“I’m hoping you can help my son with a situation,” Brad Lessem wrote to me a few days ago.
