Author - The Durango Herald

Uncertainty surrounds rules for air travelers

These are confusing times for airline passengers. In recent weeks, the government has made two surprising policy changes: First, the Transportation Security Administration announc...

DATE: Feb 6, 2016 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

United Airlines’ service begins to improve

Like a 747 loaded to capacity, United Airlines is rising – slowly, steadily and improbably. “I thought I was imagining it,” says Anne Klein, who works for a marketing agency in Du...

DATE: Jan 29, 2016 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Can you get sued for a bad review? Yes, you can

If he reveals the details of his awful vacation-rental experience, Terry Fedigan is afraid of what might happen. The rental property’s owner could sue – and win. Last summer, he r...

DATE: Jan 22, 2016 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Small gestures can win over weary travelers

In the travel industry, little things can make a big difference. The zipper on your suitcase, for example. Traditionally, airlines have excluded specific parts of checked baggage,...

DATE: Jan 16, 2016 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

TSA changes body-scanner rules for fliers

The Transportation Security Administration’s new rules for screening passengers with its controversial full-body scanners – which were quietly changed just before the busy holiday travel sea...

DATE: Jan 9, 2016 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Flight trouble? This agency can help you

Kendra Thornton is an unlikely candidate for government aid, but when Frontier Airlines recently denied her a seat on a flight from Chicago to Denver, that’s exactly what she got. ...

DATE: Dec 26, 2015 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

The confusing realities of driving rentals

During a recent visit to Atlanta, Sixt Rent a Car upgraded Samuel Ventola to a Jeep Patriot instead of the subcompact he had reserved. Maybe it wasn’t doing him a favor. “It was n...

DATE: Dec 19, 2015 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

How to travel safely in age of terrorism

Jocelyn Holgado knew that her reservation at the Hôtel de Varenne in Paris was nonrefundable. But then the terrorist attacks on Paris happened, and the world suddenly felt more dangerous. Sh...

DATE: Dec 12, 2015 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

How to resolve travel disputes a world away

Kathryn Frieze just wanted her money back. She had paid the airline Iberia $176 for an “extra legroom” seat on a flight from Chicago to Madrid, but the airline rescheduled her fli...

DATE: Dec 5, 2015 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Ticket-buying ethics: To save or not to save

Nikolas Langes thought he knew every trick in the book for saving money on airline tickets. After all, he’s the founder of an online start-up called Tripdelta, which specializes in finding i...

DATE: Nov 28, 2015 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Comfort hacks for flights in economy class

Air travel can be a humiliating, dehumanizing and even torturous experience – at least according to my email inbox. I hear often from readers such as Sue McDonough, who contacted ...

DATE: Nov 21, 2015 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Hertz scrubs bills of derided cleaning charge

Hertz has quietly dropped one of the car rental industry’s most unpopular surcharges: the cleaning fee. “Although we appreciate when a vehicle is returned in clean condition, we d...

DATE: Nov 14, 2015 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter