by Christopher Elliott | May 20, 2026
Low-cost carriers are demanding tax relief from the Department of Transportation. Should they get it? The “base” fare you see on a travel site has always been a half-truth, at best. By the time you reach the final payment screen, government taxes and fees have bloated...
by Janice Hough | May 19, 2026
Sometimes an important event is impossible to get to by air. First, due to work, finances, family, or other issues, getting to a really important event early isn’t possible, I get it. But often as a travel agent, I will have clients try to cut it close. Maybe...
by Charlie Leocha | May 14, 2026
Ancillary airline fees must be disclosed during the buying process to make the free market work. This talk was given in November 2013 before IATA’s World Passenger Conference (to which no passengers seem to be invited to attend) held in Dublin, Ireland. The post...
by Christopher Elliott | May 13, 2026
Daniel Oppliger navigated foreign airports, dealt with language barriers, and made it to his hotel in Lushui, China, only to be stumped by the TV remote at the Hilton Garden Inn. “I couldn’t figure out how to work the television,” he says. “I had to ask the concierge...
by Janice Hough | May 12, 2026
Here are three reasons why a weather delay makes schedules @#%*!+$# A client emailed me in a cranky mood. His flight to San Francisco was delayed by weather for 2 hours, and then sat on the tarmac in Newark for over an hour. He was a victim of weather-delay roulette....
by Christopher Elliott | May 6, 2026
Looks like the yellow-tailed bus in the sky is grounded for good. After a $500 million government rescue package collapsed this weekend, Spirit Airlines officially ceased all operations Saturday morning. But the death of Spirit is not an isolated incident. It’s...
