They didn’t leave the light on for me
Ellie Pope is offered a free room-night certificate as compensation for a bad stay at a Motel 6. But when she tries to redeem it, she’s told it’s no good. How do you get the hotel to keep its promise?
A translation of the airlines’ “open letter” to customers
The airlines need you. In an open letter to customers published late yesterday, the chief executives of 12 domestic airlines urged customers to help them stop the oil speculation and bring fuel prices under control. Here’s a translation.
Maybe May wasn’t such a good month for the airlines after all
Was May a good-news month for the airline industry? You might be forgiven for thinking so, based on the glowing coverage of yesterday’s government announcement that airline on-time performance had improved.
Help, my leg is missing
When Karen Kernohan discovers part of her flight from Calgary to Rome is missing, British Airways claims “extraordinary circumstances” are to blame and refuses to compensate her. Is she really out of luck?
Don’t be duped by all-in-one airline fee guides
With a barrage of new airline fees coming at us this summer, it was just a matter of time before visitor-starved sites introduced their comprehensive, look-nowhere-else guides to surcharges. But if these references aren’t deeply flawed yet, they soon will be.
Los Angeles airport employees plan march to protest bad service
Airline passengers complaining about bad service? Yawn. But when airport employees plan a march on a major airport to protest bad service — well, that kind of thing doesn’t happen every day.
No reservation in Las Vegas
Mary Jane Prough reserves a room in Las Vegas through Hotwire.com. But the resort she’s supposed to stay at has never heard of her, and she’s sent to a different hotel that’s out in the boondocks. What is Prough owed for the reservations snafu?
Another worthless passenger bill of rights heads to the runway
Another worthless airline passengers’ bill of rights has been introduced in Congress. The bill, called the Air Service Improvement Act of 2008 would require airlines to file contingency plans with the government on how to handle delays and cancellations.
Maid on a mission: 6 secrets for avoiding housekeeping hell
If you’ve had a run-in with an aggressive hotel maid recently, you’re not alone. As managers try to squeeze more work from their employees, cleaning staff is becoming more fixated on servicing your room as fast as possible. Here’s how to avoid housekeeping hell.
For cruisers, winter vomiting virus makes a rare summer appearance
Looks like the winter vomiting virus is making a rare summer appearance. A suspected norovirus infection is said to have afflicted 112 passengers on a Holland America Alaska cruise last week. It’s one of three off-season outbreaks that have plagued the cruise industry.