Should the TSA pat down kids?
This is six-year-old Anna Drexel getting a pat-down in New Orleans earlier this month. The TSA is taking a lot of heat.
Christopher Elliott
Insurance claim denied after bike accident
John Frow pays for his airline tickets with $601 in credit. But then he has a bike accident and cancels his trip. When he makes an insurance claim, Access America turns him down, believing he didn’t suffer any financial loss. Now what?
Case dismissed? Travel insurance won’t cover my canceled tour
Catherine Markland was looking forward to her Ecuador trip with Friendly Planet this month. She had a litte extra peace of mind because she’d purchased an insurance policy for her flights through Access America.
No credit for your nonrefundable hotel room
True, Jorge Sanchez-Salazar booked a nonrefundable room at the Hampton Inn & Suites Reagan National Airport through Orbitz. And it’s true, too, that he canceled the trip, and that under the rules, the hotel could keep his money — all of it.
Is this enough compensation? A $10 voucher for a filthy hotel room
Days Inn doesn’t exactly have a reputation for sparkling clean rooms and five-star customer service. Then again, Alyssa Erikson didn’t choose the hotel — Priceline did when she booked it through the site’s popular “Name Your Own Price” service.
Can this trip be saved? Slipped and fell at a luxury resort — how about a refund?
The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is billed as a five-diamond “iconic landmark hotel” at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. You can’t get a room next weekend for less than $200 a night.
Bunny Lady vs. TSA, Deep Throat gets choked up, and a comment about comments
I won’t bury the lede, as they say in journalism: After yesterday’s poll that asked if asking I should continue using polls on this site, I feel as if I have a mandate.
Is the travel industry thinking small or just being small-minded?
True story: US Airways, which has been in the news this week for announcing it will add first class service to its smallest planes, sent frequent flier Margery Wilson the following apology late yesterday.
The Travel Troubleshooter: Is a ‘natural cause’ a pre-existing condition?
When Cheryl Ellis’ mother dies unexpectedly before her vacation, she’s told by her insurance company to cancel her trip and that the claim will be taken care of. But it isn’t — instead, it’s denied because of a pre-existing condition. But her mother died of natural causes. What now?
