Author - The Durango Herald

What’s enough time to make a flight connection?

When Mike Conrad bought an airline ticket from Washington, D.C., to Berlin, the last thing he considered was his connection in Frankfurt, Germany. But the flight, booked through U...

DATE: Nov 30, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

What’s that airline credit really worth?

It happened to Louise Andrew twice last month. She made reservations on the United Airlines website, tried to cancel them within 24 hours for a full refund and was told that the airline woul...

DATE: Nov 16, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Those deliberate flight no-shows have their reasons

Even though he couldn’t use his airline ticket, Eric Smith refused to cancel his reservation on a United Airlines flight from Omaha, Neb., to Baltimore. The reason? Smith, a techn...

DATE: Nov 2, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Pre-Check plan raises major privacy concerns

When the Transportation Security Administration’s Pre-Check formally launches sometime this fall, its trusted-traveler program already will have the enthusiastic endorsement of frequent trav...

DATE: Oct 19, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Don’t let travel insurance stick you with a bill

CSA Travel Protection’s website promises that its policyholders can “travel with confidence,” so when Norma Tarrow’s flight from New York to San Francisco was canceled after the recent Asian...

DATE: Oct 5, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

What to do when river cruise becomes bus tour

It was supposed to be the vacation of a lifetime for Pat and James Frost – a river cruise in France on the Viking Europe, from Avignon to Chalon-sur-Saone. The retired couple from Concord, O...

DATE: Sep 28, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Merger to slow online booking competition

Depending on whom you talk to, Travelocity’s unexpected announcement last month that it has reached a strategic marketing agreement with longtime rival Expedia will either create a dominant ...

DATE: Sep 14, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

‘Act of God’ excuses can be challenged

It’s the time of year when the travel industry likes to play the weather card. Couldn’t check into your hotel? Blame it on that distant tornado. Flight canceled? It’s the hurricane’s fault, ...

DATE: Aug 31, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Now is the time to get real about real-time airfares

Sue Marcus was looking for a flight from Washington, D.C., to Tulsa, Okla. Instead, she found trouble. Every time the American Airlines website asked her to select a re...

DATE: Aug 17, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Don’t tempt fate: Confirm your hotel reservation

A two-night stay at the Driftwood Inn in Chestertown, Md., was supposed to cost Bruce Romano $138 through a website called HotelPlus Destination Portal, as long as he prepaid for his accommo...

DATE: Aug 3, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Are ‘custom’ airfares good for travelers?

Should your airline be allowed to offer you a customized ticket? That’s the intriguing and somewhat thorny question being raised by the worldwide airline industry through a little...

DATE: Jul 20, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Privacy? There’s no such thing while on the road

Recent revelations of the National Security Agency’s sweeping domestic surveillance programs may have angered many Americans, but for most travelers, it was nothing new. Surrender...

DATE: Jun 29, 2013 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter