Travel

How to resolve travel disputes a world away
The Travel Troubleshooter

How to resolve travel disputes a world away

December 5, 2015

She had paid the airline Iberia $176 for an “extra legroom” seat on a flight from Chicago to Madrid, but the airline rescheduled her flight, dropping her upgraded economy-class seat.…

Ticket-buying ethics: To save or not to save
The Travel Troubleshooter

Ticket-buying ethics: To save or not to save

November 28, 2015

Turns out he didn’t. One day, he noticed a discrepancy between fares based on the currency used to pay. And then another. For example, when he was in Santiago, Chile,…

Comfort hacks for flights in economy class
The Travel Troubleshooter

Comfort hacks for flights in economy class

November 21, 2015

I hear often from readers such as Sue McDonough, who contacted me after flying from Calgary to Washington on United Airlines recently. “After changing planes in Chicago, we boarded a…

Hertz scrubs bills of derided  cleaning charge
The Travel Troubleshooter

Hertz scrubs bills of derided cleaning charge

November 14, 2015

“Although we appreciate when a vehicle is returned in clean condition, we do not charge a cleaning fee to vehicles reflecting normal wear and tear,” Hertz spokeswoman Beth Davis told…

When mistakes happen, keep cool, be polite
The Travel Troubleshooter

When mistakes happen, keep cool, be polite

November 7, 2015

She’d made the Atlanta Marriott Marquis reservation for a busy holiday weekend almost a year in advance. But when Wallick, a programmer from Trabuco Canyon, California, phoned the hotel to…

You can revel in Tucson’s revitalized downtown
Travel

You can revel in Tucson’s revitalized downtown

October 31, 2015

“Downtown has gotten so much better,” said Gallego from behind the counter of his gift and craft shop, Tolteca Tlacuilo. “We’re revitalizing.” Tolteca Tlacuilo is located at Old Town Artisans,…

Travelers lose affection for affinity cards
The Travel Troubleshooter

Travelers lose affection for affinity cards

October 31, 2015

Bankrate, an aggregator of financial rate information, reports that its Money Pulse survey found that cardholders “express little enthusiasm for accumulating extra rewards.” In fact, half the respondents said they…

If reservations vanish, what should you do?
The Travel Troubleshooter

If reservations vanish, what should you do?

October 24, 2015

But when Smith clicked on American Airlines’ website to check on his in-flight meal, he discovered he was going nowhere. Despite the sophisticated technology used in today’s reservation systems –…

How you can gauge sincerity of an apology
The Travel Troubleshooter

How you can gauge sincerity of an apology

October 17, 2015

“It shook and rattled literally from start to finish of the cruise,” he says. When he complained about the noise in Cabin 7243, he says a cruise line representative offered…