Neither should you. And while there are more than enough scams that await travelers when booking their trips — covered in excruciating detail on this site — the’s also danger on the ground.

Ask Steve Berger, who just returned from Paris.

We were approached by women who claimed that they just found a gold ring and had no need for it. Would we be willing to buy it for a few euros?

The rings looked like a man’s gold wedding band, with “18K” stamped on the inside. The ring looked very authentic, but was most assuredly a fake.

She was willing to take 10 euros for the ring. I refused.

[click to continue…]

30 comments

It looked like smooth sailing for the DellaPenna family’s Alaska cruise. The airline tickets were booked and the seats confirmed. But just a day before they were to leave, United Airlines almost scuttled their vacation.

A printout of their flight itinerary revealed several members of the party was now scheduled to return from Seattle to Washington before the cruise ended.

What now?
[click to continue…]

25 comments

Is the government letting airlines off easy? Let’s do the math

The Transportation Department’s latest high-profile fine goes against Comair for violating denied-boarding rules. It’s a big ticket: $275,000, which, while significantly less than the record fine against Spirit Airlines late last year, could be the largest enforcement action for bad bumping practices.

Read the full article →

New on Elliott: Travel’s new normal, pre-checking your site, when to appeal your case – Sponsored by Internationalflights.com

Travel’s new normal, pre-checking your site, when to appeal your case.

Read the full article →

Unauthorized “babies” can’t board Delta flight — now what?

Here’s what happens when an airline can’t get its story straight. It ends up with a passenger like John Campagna, who nearly forced to abandon his “babies” in Honolulu.

Read the full article →

Truthsquadding the Southwest Airlines “Act of God” controversy: “Ultimately this is a reporting error run amok”

During the last week, several news outlets and bloggers — including most recently, the Arizona Daily Star — have breathlessly reported that Southwest Airlines quietly revised its contract to define mechanical delays as an “Act of God.”

Read the full article →

Ticket? Check. Bag? Check. Insurance? Pre-check.

Seconds before Terri Widder booked a recent flight from Chicago to Tulsa, she hesitated. Something felt wrong.

Read the full article →

How to squeeze a ‘yes’ out of your travel company

This isn’t a political column, but when I heard the next president of the United States, Sarah Palin, announce she belongs to the party of “no” — actually, make that the party of “hell no” — I thought for a moment she was talking about the travel industry.

Read the full article →

A car rental conundrum: What would you do with this case?

Amy and Kevin Roeder are stuck with a $1,600 bill from Thrifty Car Rental for damage they say they didn’t do. Thrifty insists they’re responsible, and isn’t backing down. And now I’m stuck, too. What do I do next?

Read the full article →

New on Elliott: A car rental conundrum, Washington power trip and a conversion quandary – Sponsored by Internationalflights.com

A car rental conundrum, Washington power trip and a conversion quandary.

Read the full article →

“They have declined to honor the discounted rate”

Hilton offers Joy Valentine a $199 a night rate at its New York property, but it can’t find the price in its system, so it charges her $239 instead. The rate is nonrefundable, so when Valentine asks it to fix the mistake, Hilton refuses. Is there anything she can do to persuade the hotel to honor its original price?

Read the full article →

Did the airline industry fund controversial tarmac delay study?

A new study by a team of aviation consultants which claims the government’s new tarmac delay rule will cost the flying public $3.9 billion during the next two decades, is making waves in the aviation industry and beyond.

Read the full article →

Name change stops Marriott point conversion — can it be reversed?

All Leslie McCormick wanted was to convert her Marriott points to American Airlines miles. But what should have been a simple transaction was complicated by a little red tape and a severed corporate relationship, and now McCormick’s points are going nowhere.

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Read the full article →