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The problem with artificial intelligence is simple: When travelers need it the most, it is the least helpful.
On Travel is a weekly consumer travel column that offers information and advice for people planning a business or leisure trip. The feature started in USA Today in 2013 and is now nationally syndicated.
The problem with artificial intelligence is simple: When travelers need it the most, it is the least helpful.
Of all the annoying things couples do when they travel, the coerced seat swap may be the worst.
Kirstyn Allen saw it on a recent flight from Atlanta to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Two newlyweds boarded the plane after her and pressured another passenger to surrender her assigned seat so they could be together.
To get an idea of how forgetful travelers have become lately, consider what happened to Ally Murphy and her husband on a recent flight from London to Atlanta.
Ignore the usual year-end predictions—the hot destinations, the airfare trends, the hidden travel fees. The only thing you need to know about travel in 2026 is this: Agentic AI will touch every trip you take.
One of the newest mistakes travelers make is also one of the oldest: forgetting their paperwork.
I’m still wondering how I ended up in seat 18E — a middle seat — on a Hong Kong Express flight from Phuket, Thailand, to Hong Kong. But it was an extreme inconvenience.
It’s not fear driving Harry Wenkert to make a “must-have” travel purchase for 2026. It’s peace of mind, he says.
Some travel disasters start small. It’s a wobbly wheel you hardly notice until you’re double-timing it through the terminal and your carry-on suddenly feels like you’re dragging an anchor.
It was supposed to be his first real vacation in years — a hiking trip to the Canadian Rockies. And then Erwin Gutenkunst got a call from the office.
Have you started arriving at the airport gate early? Like, way early? Mary Vogel has. For her upcoming flight from Chicago to Paris, she’ll get to the terminal more than three hours before her scheduled departure.