Last May my husband and I sat on a United flight at the gate for about two hours in San Francisco waiting for the food and drink to be brought on board by a new catering company. We were supposed to fly to Frankfurt and then onto Dubrovnik. Because of the delay we missed our connection in Frankfurt and were rerouted through Munich before arriving in Dubrovnik. Of course our luggage was nowhere to be found and we had to file a claim. We had a driver picking us up and taking us to Montenegro which I had to reschedule and the airline rep said that they couldn’t deliver our bags to us once they were found because we were staying in another country. We spent the next three days wearing the same clothes until we returned to Dubrovnik to continue on our trip. It was somewhat exhausting. Lesson learned: always pack one days clothing in your carry on bag. Btw, I sent a note to United executives using Elliot’s contact list and never heard a peep. I didn’t really expect any compensation (because it’s the airline industry!) but an apology for the inconvenience would have been nice. I’m a United member with over 745,000 miles accrued. Thanks for letting me vent
And I failed to mention that on the way back our entire itinerary was changed by United due to bad weather (which I understand ) but we ended up having to spend the night in Denver because our final flight home was canceled and we had to reroute to a nearby city the next day, rented a car and drove home. Suffice it to say our luggage was misplaced again! The next day my luggage made it to our home airport while my husband’s ended up in the other airport an hour and a half from our home (even though the agent said she’d make sure it was sent to the correct destination). Sigh. After a lot of back and forth United agreed to deliver the luggage to our home the next day! Seriously, 😳 this kind of stuff is exhausting and is a deterrent to my wanderlust.
I own a small boutique luxury travel agency. And none of these things happen to our clients , so you are right when you recommend working with a travel advisor.
I have an unusually strong sense of smell, I know it’s a curse. So I spray a scarf with my perfume (no. I don’t over do it) and will wrap it around my neck and push over my nose if there are bad odors .
Another great trick for bad odors: I take a tiny travel jar and put Vicks vapor rub in it. Put a little around my nose when there’s bad odors and voila: it’s like having my own personal spa.
They even make sticks for this purpose now!
And when I know I’m delayed and will need an overnight hotel? I don’t wait for the free voucher from the airline to put me in some crappy place twenty mins away…. I’ll book the airport hotel and then file a claim with my credit card insurance or my trip insurance to pay me back. It’s worked every time.
Capitalism when not regulated results in this kind of thing and nobody seems to realize it or accept it or believe it.
To me it is disgusting. It would be better if the Airlines made it more comfortable so that I like flying and felt better flying and therefore spent more money on flying and also felt healthier after a flight so I could work harder and feel better and be happier and make more money so that I could afford to and be more willing to fly and therefore they would make money on me that way.
But the way they are doing it is brutal and while it is “just business“ and “we get what we paid for” or “then you should just upgrade” or “then you should make more money“ and that blows.
It all comes from the conservative side of thinking. This is the political side of the argument, where people should just work and put down the other guy in order to succeed. And that the only way to succeed is the fact that someone else is not succeeding.
The more liberal’Democratic/equal opportunity version of thinking would’ve resulted in my version which would be better for everyone because then everyone would be happier and richer and healthier and have had a better flight that made them feel better about the nice airline.
But hey, a lot of you voted for this crap. You voted for an administration that the regulates and allows corporations to run rampant. You voted for a system that doesn’t keep them in check and while the other party could have done more, this one definitely is doing less . You voted for a system that is not as friendly to consumers. They took away the CFPB. You voted for a system where it is dog eat dog so this is on you not me.
They say you get what you pay for. The problems start when you don't get what you pay for. Then it's your problem to fix, not the party you paid for what you didn't get.
I vented here about Delta cancelling my 6 a.m. flight on a Sunday morning at 12:50 a.m. the same day. I found out when I got up at 2:30 a.m. to go to the airport. They rebooked me the following day and offered no compensation. I lost a day of work. That was sadly just another day on the tarmac though.
Airlines need regulations and someone to enforce the regs. It’s pretty simple. Consumers shouldn’t give up their rights when they agree to travel by jet. As for the low cost carriers, you/we get what we pay for, and getting older doesn’t make those airlines and their planes any more comfortables.
Yes, if you want the smoothest available experience, you have to pay up.
My wife and I travel internationally 4 to 7 times per year, putting us on the road for 4-6 months. We have used the same highly experienced Travel Agent at a major firm for over 10 years. We always buy travel insurance and fly Business or First Class for any flight over 2 hours. We have high status on American and United and all of that works towards a good travel experience.
Problems do occur, but with our Travel Agent, flight class and airline status, it seems like everybody is working for us rather than ignoring us.
We just had a hotel experience where the minibar refrigerator started smoking and died. Rather than swapping out the smelly fridge for a new one, we were moved from our room to the largest suite in the hotel and our laundry charges were comped.
We travel a lot in Asia and the Pavific and have learned that the biggest, worst and most insurmountable problems usually get worked out, but it’s the tiny “hangnail” problems that are deadly! If you confront the problems with a smile and tell people that you are coming to them for help that only they know how to provide, solutions are much easier to attain.
“If you confront the problems with a smile and tell people that you are coming to them for help that only they know how to provide, solutions are much easier to attain.”
One could apply this to almost anything in life. Thanks for the wise reminder.
Last May my husband and I sat on a United flight at the gate for about two hours in San Francisco waiting for the food and drink to be brought on board by a new catering company. We were supposed to fly to Frankfurt and then onto Dubrovnik. Because of the delay we missed our connection in Frankfurt and were rerouted through Munich before arriving in Dubrovnik. Of course our luggage was nowhere to be found and we had to file a claim. We had a driver picking us up and taking us to Montenegro which I had to reschedule and the airline rep said that they couldn’t deliver our bags to us once they were found because we were staying in another country. We spent the next three days wearing the same clothes until we returned to Dubrovnik to continue on our trip. It was somewhat exhausting. Lesson learned: always pack one days clothing in your carry on bag. Btw, I sent a note to United executives using Elliot’s contact list and never heard a peep. I didn’t really expect any compensation (because it’s the airline industry!) but an apology for the inconvenience would have been nice. I’m a United member with over 745,000 miles accrued. Thanks for letting me vent
And I failed to mention that on the way back our entire itinerary was changed by United due to bad weather (which I understand ) but we ended up having to spend the night in Denver because our final flight home was canceled and we had to reroute to a nearby city the next day, rented a car and drove home. Suffice it to say our luggage was misplaced again! The next day my luggage made it to our home airport while my husband’s ended up in the other airport an hour and a half from our home (even though the agent said she’d make sure it was sent to the correct destination). Sigh. After a lot of back and forth United agreed to deliver the luggage to our home the next day! Seriously, 😳 this kind of stuff is exhausting and is a deterrent to my wanderlust.
I own a small boutique luxury travel agency. And none of these things happen to our clients , so you are right when you recommend working with a travel advisor.
I have an unusually strong sense of smell, I know it’s a curse. So I spray a scarf with my perfume (no. I don’t over do it) and will wrap it around my neck and push over my nose if there are bad odors .
Another great trick for bad odors: I take a tiny travel jar and put Vicks vapor rub in it. Put a little around my nose when there’s bad odors and voila: it’s like having my own personal spa.
They even make sticks for this purpose now!
And when I know I’m delayed and will need an overnight hotel? I don’t wait for the free voucher from the airline to put me in some crappy place twenty mins away…. I’ll book the airport hotel and then file a claim with my credit card insurance or my trip insurance to pay me back. It’s worked every time.
I will always recommend the services of a good travel advisor, now more than ever.
Capitalism when not regulated results in this kind of thing and nobody seems to realize it or accept it or believe it.
To me it is disgusting. It would be better if the Airlines made it more comfortable so that I like flying and felt better flying and therefore spent more money on flying and also felt healthier after a flight so I could work harder and feel better and be happier and make more money so that I could afford to and be more willing to fly and therefore they would make money on me that way.
But the way they are doing it is brutal and while it is “just business“ and “we get what we paid for” or “then you should just upgrade” or “then you should make more money“ and that blows.
It all comes from the conservative side of thinking. This is the political side of the argument, where people should just work and put down the other guy in order to succeed. And that the only way to succeed is the fact that someone else is not succeeding.
The more liberal’Democratic/equal opportunity version of thinking would’ve resulted in my version which would be better for everyone because then everyone would be happier and richer and healthier and have had a better flight that made them feel better about the nice airline.
But hey, a lot of you voted for this crap. You voted for an administration that the regulates and allows corporations to run rampant. You voted for a system that doesn’t keep them in check and while the other party could have done more, this one definitely is doing less . You voted for a system that is not as friendly to consumers. They took away the CFPB. You voted for a system where it is dog eat dog so this is on you not me.
Sadly, there is much truth to what you've said.
They say you get what you pay for. The problems start when you don't get what you pay for. Then it's your problem to fix, not the party you paid for what you didn't get.
That's true, unfortunately.
We have flown business class for years just to avoid all the upsell issues. Business class, however, is the ultimate upsell.
I vented here about Delta cancelling my 6 a.m. flight on a Sunday morning at 12:50 a.m. the same day. I found out when I got up at 2:30 a.m. to go to the airport. They rebooked me the following day and offered no compensation. I lost a day of work. That was sadly just another day on the tarmac though.
Airlines need regulations and someone to enforce the regs. It’s pretty simple. Consumers shouldn’t give up their rights when they agree to travel by jet. As for the low cost carriers, you/we get what we pay for, and getting older doesn’t make those airlines and their planes any more comfortables.
I have something for you in tomorrow's Consumer Alert that might give you hope.
Reading these stories makes me so glad my family is within driving distance for the holidays.
It's certainly gotten much worse since covid.
Yes, if you want the smoothest available experience, you have to pay up.
My wife and I travel internationally 4 to 7 times per year, putting us on the road for 4-6 months. We have used the same highly experienced Travel Agent at a major firm for over 10 years. We always buy travel insurance and fly Business or First Class for any flight over 2 hours. We have high status on American and United and all of that works towards a good travel experience.
Problems do occur, but with our Travel Agent, flight class and airline status, it seems like everybody is working for us rather than ignoring us.
We just had a hotel experience where the minibar refrigerator started smoking and died. Rather than swapping out the smelly fridge for a new one, we were moved from our room to the largest suite in the hotel and our laundry charges were comped.
We travel a lot in Asia and the Pavific and have learned that the biggest, worst and most insurmountable problems usually get worked out, but it’s the tiny “hangnail” problems that are deadly! If you confront the problems with a smile and tell people that you are coming to them for help that only they know how to provide, solutions are much easier to attain.
I really like your comment Martin:
“If you confront the problems with a smile and tell people that you are coming to them for help that only they know how to provide, solutions are much easier to attain.”
One could apply this to almost anything in life. Thanks for the wise reminder.
I am traveling to Finland in February on Finn Air business class and decided to pay the extra fee to select mt seat when I booked my flight.