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LATEST STORIES
Sunday musings: Europe mandates full hotel room rates, Scents on planes, Kiwi.com seeks airfare changes
Today we look a major change in European rules about advertising full hotel room rates — truth in hotel advertising. Starting in September 2019, hotel and online travel agency sites will be required to display the "headline price," which will include all mandatory...
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Great travel memories — pressed between the pages of my mind
Many people ask, “What are your best travel memories?” Some stand out, but all add magic to my life — skiing in Chile, hiking in Spain’s Val d’Aran, twisting over torturous Alpine mountain passes, circling Ireland after a winter snowstorm, sunny Bali, drunken Pamplona, singing in Moscow, early-morning Venice.
read morePOLICY
Stop costly missed connections caused by brazen airlines
While airlines in their contracts of carriage assume no responsibility for arrival and departure on schedule, their delayed flights have big financial consequences for passengers who face change fees and cancellation fees in addition to extra airfare for missed airline connections must deal with through no fault of their own.
TRAVEL
Great travel memories — pressed between the pages of my mind
Many people ask, “What are your best travel memories?” Some stand out, but all add magic to my life — skiing in Chile, hiking in Spain’s Val d’Aran, twisting over torturous Alpine mountain passes, circling Ireland after a winter snowstorm, sunny Bali, drunken Pamplona, singing in Moscow, early-morning Venice.
Why the joint Boeing and FAA focus on safety failed
The FAA's delegation of airplane certification has gone too far Boeing's 737 MAX 8 crashed because of design flaws with the aircraft and not because of only pilot errors. After defending the FAA safety system on radio interviews and TV and in print, I have concluded...
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Airlines are common carriers — they should follow the rules
Common carriers laws let consumers know the full cost of flying The largest consumer groups in the United States came together to speak about the need for regulation of the airlines. Part of that discussion concerns the enforcement of common carriers law. This...
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Mandatory hotel fees — are they a good election issue?
Might mandatory hotel fees be a real bipartisan issue in Washington, DC? When it comes to fees, travelers are heading to a worse situation with mandatory hotel resort fees than they already face with airlines. Travelers these days have become accustomed to fees. Hard...
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Don’t forget this on your next trip
More than 8 in 10 travelers forgot something while they were on vacation. The most commonly overlooked item? Toothbrushes, followed by clothing and shoes, toothpaste, toiletries, socks, hair appliances and chargers. The good news is that these can, normally, all be purchased wherever you travel.
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New data show big changes in No. 1 airline by state
UpgradedPoints.com, a site developed to maximize airline rewards crunched the numbers for the top domestic airlines from January 2018 through October 2018 in an attempt to figure out which US airlines dominate the country and states in terms of passengers carried. The easy part was getting the full US data. The state-by-state data took more work and was very interesting.
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How to master history and tourism in Oahu
There are two sides to Hawaii — the lush tourism and history. We have all heard about Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head, but how many of us have been to Bishop Museum and the Iolani Palace? These sights exemplify the stark differences between tourist Hawaii and natural Hawaii.
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TRAVEL SAFETY
Beware, selfies can be hazardous to your health
More and more travelers are victims of deadly selfies Since March 26, three tourists visiting the Grand Canyon have died in the famous national park. The identities of two of the dead are unknown, as are the full circumstances of their deaths. We know that one fell to...
TRAVEL TIPS
Why a customer service weakest link haunts every business
Suppliers in the travel industry, airlines, hotels, rental cars, etc all care very much about their brands. Every major organization suffers from a customer service weakest link. As a travel agent, I find most clients have, for example, at least one airline they won’t fly and one car rental company they won’t use.
Hotel safety is still primarily on the shoulders of guests
Hotel security and hotel safety have been in the news lately. Both Hilton and Disney changed their “Do Not Disturb” policy. While the new policy will help make hotel guests safer, it’s still incumbent on guests to take personal responsibility for their own safety.
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Boeing 737 Max fleet grounded in U.S.
US Boeing 737 MAX planes grounded. President Trump issues executive order President Trump issued an executive order this afternoon that declared all Boeing 737 MAX planes grounded. His executive order reversed an earlier decision by the FAA. This followed the...
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15 ways to prevent travel identity theft
My travel to-do list always includes steps to prevent travel identity theft while I’m away from home. Thieves use both tried and true methods to steal your identity and twenty-first century schemes too. It takes planning to say ahead of them.
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5 ways to avoid flight delays
America’s flying public have no protection from airline issues with late arrivals and departures. If a traveler is flying on a single ticket on the same airline alliance, there are some protections. However, if a passenger has booked his ticket on separate airlines and with separate tickets, that traveler is at the mercy of the airlines.
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How to protect yourself from airlines going “belly-up”
How to avoid the financial pain of airline bankruptcies. Flybe, FlyBMI, Joon, Alitalia, Air Berlin, Monarch Airlines and now WOW Air have been or are being purchased or absorbed by other airlines, declared bankruptcy or have just gone out of business in recent years,...
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Don’t make the minimum connection time mistake
If you have a tight flight connection — but one that adheres to the published minimum connection time — will your airline take care of you if you still miss your flight? For Stephanie Mendenhall, the answer was “no.”
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Accomplishments
These accomplishments have been achieved by working closely with our members, national media, the travel industry, the Department of Transportation (DOT), Congress and many other agencies.
- Creation of the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections
- Advertised airfares now include airfare plus, mandatory taxes and fees
- Lost/damaged/delayed luggage compensation limit increased to $3,500
- Passengers have 24 hours to change or cancel their nonrefundable tickets without penalty
- Once an airfare is purchased, that airfare and ancillary fees cannot be increased
- Families flying together act passed by Congress that requires family members 13 years of age and younger to sit with other family members at no additional cost.
