On Memorial Day, let’s rededicate ourselves to the American ideal at home and abroad. Today is Memorial Day. It’s the day America set aside to honor those who sacrificed themselves for the American ideal. They sacrificed their lives for the nation’s...
When passenger fines for being drunk are higher than airline fines for fleecing thousands of passengers, something is wrong Something is rotten in the Department of Transportation (DOT). This last year, the airlines registered about 100,000 complaints about refunds...
COVID still affects travel. Don’t fool with the coronavirus. Respect it. As a travel agent and someone who loves to travel, it’s been great to see COVID restrictions loosening on travel worldwide. But COVID still affects travel even if the virus is weaker....
Some air travelers think it’s alright to fly while contagious with COVID. They are wrong! I know of several people who recently flew while infectious with COVID. I’ve heard from angry readers who also know people who have flown while contagious with COVID....
Spirit: JetBlue appeals to my short-term pocketbook. Frontier may be the better long-range play. One of the big decisions in airline mergers is being made these days. The Spirit Airlines merger battle is in full swing. Both JetBlue and Frontier have made offers for...
Preparing for travel to Italy — COVID testing plus typical travel hassles May 2022 is here. It seems like forever since May 2020, when I reserved the house of anyone’s dreams in Tuscany between Penza and Montepulciano. Planning my travel to Italy, I spent weeks...
No matter how good your hotel safety, your security remains almost entirely in your hands. I’ve written about hotel safety and security in the past. Each time I travel, I continue to be amazed by too many hotel guests not taking personal responsibility to ensure...
Why are Americans shaking in their boots and fighting each other while there is an international push to normalcy again? I just returned from a month in Italy. Other friends of mine live in France and Spain. Yet other international travel analysts traveled from the...
Airline passenger service rules need better enforcement. Airline passenger service rules need more strength and enforcement rather than less. The public needs help from DOT to keep the current program of regulations effective. Plus, we need some new rules. This is the...
Finding COVID tests in Europe is real work. I’ve been in Venice for the past three weeks. I have been asked repeatedly about how Americans returning home can get their COVID test before flying. At first, I said it was easy, just like the CDC. Then I learned that...
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.
– Removal of restaurant fees from DC area eateries — this is an ongoing project
– Creation of DOT Dashboard to outline consumer rights after cancellation of a flight
– Bi-partisan bill to eliminate hotel resort fees introduced into House of Representatives
– 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 $3,800
– 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.
