Archive for the ‘Airlines and Air Travel’ Category

Volcano eruption in Iceland leaves travellers out of luck

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Many people making their way to Europe have been impacted by the ash cloud from the eruption of a volcano in Iceland.  It started with London Heathrow (LHR) and now flights to and within Europe have been cancelled. 

What should you do if you booked your flight, caror hotel through Priceline or Hotwire and can’t make your reservation?  Both websites have a no refund policy.  This issue will impact thousands of people, yet I couldn’t find an official policy on Priceline or Hotwire’s website. 

I suspect that for those with cancelled flights, airlines will do their best to rebook passengers on different flights.  One forum member told me that she decided to cancel her entire trip to Europe and received a refund from the airline, hotel and car rental.  (These reservations were not made on Hotwire or Priceline.) 

Say you have a hotel reservation in Europe but you can’t get to your destination.  Does anyone know how Hotwire or Priceline will handle this?

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2009 Hillarious Travel Incidents

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

I saw a great article in the newspaper today about odd mishaps that have happened to people while traveling during 2009. Here are some gems:

  • An American border guard who questioned Desidrio Fortunato, a BC man who was about to drive into the U.S. “Turn off the car,” the guard commanded. The Canadian man asked him to be polite and say please. As a thank you for the manners lesson, the guard pepper-sprayed Fortunato in the face, pulled him from the car and threw him onto the ground. He was handcuffed and questioned for 3 hours.
  • Davor Ivanovic had to spend his birthday all alone on a business trip to Croatia – or so he led his wife to believe. As a surprise, the wife arranged a live call to his hotel room from his favorite radio station. The phone was answered by a woman. Listeners heard the wife scream. The husband’s replay, braodcast live: “Why have you done this to me? We have kids.”
  • German sweethearts Mika and Anna-Lena planned to elope and get married in Africa. They set out in the early hours of New Year’s Day, accompanied by Anna-Lena’s sister, Anna-Bell. Their suitcases were stuffed with summer clothes and swim suites. But police foiled their plans after spotting them waiting for an airport train in Hanover, Germany. They were returned to their parents, who had no idea what they were up to. Mika was 6, Anna-Lena 5, and Anna-Bell 7.
  • It was bad enough when United Airlines baggage handlers smashed the custom-made $3,500 guitar of Halifax musician Dave Carroll. Only when Carroll composed a song called United Breaks Guitars and posted it on YouTube – where it became a viral hit – did United promise to do better. It failed. Just over 3 months later Carroll flew United again. He arrived safely but his bad did not.

Here’s to happy travels in 2010.

Posted in Airlines and Air Travel, Hotels, Thoughts and Opinions | 1 Comment »

FAA Computer Outage Now Fixed

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Thursday, November 21, 2009: An FAA computer outage that resulted in widespread flight delays and cancellations. This outage has been traced to a telecommunications system in Nevada. Problems began at about 5 a.m. EST and lasted for roughly four hours.

During the outage, air-traffic controllers managed flight plans manually and safely according to FAA contingency plans, the agency said.

UPDATE: The outage is now over. The system is up and running and the FAA, airlines, and passengers hope to get things back to normal in the next few hours.

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Airline Checked Bag Fees

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

It seems that all the airlines are charging money for checked bags these days. Well, not quite all airlines. In fact there are 2 domestic carriers that don’t charge for the first checked bag. Way to go JetBlue and Southwest.

Below is a list of the cost of checked bags for the various airlines:

  • Alaska: $15 first bag, $25 second bag.
  • American: $20 first bag, 30 second bag.
  • Continental: $20 ($15 online) first bag, 30 ($25 online) second bag.
  • Delta: $20 ($15 online) first bag, $30 ($25 online) second bag.
  • Frontier: $15 first bag, $25 second bag.
  • JetBlue: $0 first bag, $20 second bag.
  • Northwest: $20 ($15 online) first bag, 30 ($25 online) second bag.
  • Frontier: $15 first bag, $25 second bag.
  • Southwest: $0 first bag, $0 second bag.
  • United: $20 ($15 online) first bag, $30 ($25 online) second bag.
  • US Airways: $20 ($15 online) first bag, $30 ($25 online) second bag.

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Posted in Airlines and Air Travel, Thoughts and Opinions, Travel Tips | 10 Comments »