Other countries are adding passenger rights. Americans are still waiting in line. (Illustration by Dustin Elliott)
🌎 Going the wrong way? — If you think the rules of flying favor the airline, you’re right. Other countries spent this year adding protections for air travelers. Washington spent it taking them away. Here’s what happened — and what you can do about it.
On Backchannel, Dallas Parker says Airbnb pulled a honeymoon review over WhatsApp messages Parker never sent.
For Members Only: People keep writing to us about locked Microsoft, Amazon, Snapchat and Meta accounts. One reader has a $402 gift card balance he can’t touch. Today’s PRO story walks through eight steps that give you the best shot at getting back in, or at least getting your photos and files out. Read it here. — Christopher Elliott
FEATURED ARTICLE
The rest of the world is protecting air travelers. Why isn’t the U.S.?
The European Parliament approved its air passenger rights overhaul by a vote of 646 to 12. Britain wants to end fees for seating children next to their parents. The Transportation Department hasn’t fined a single airline for a consumer violation this year. So what can you do about it?
FORBES EXCLUSIVE
How Bavaria is reshaping sustainable travel one bite at a time
From Legau’s organic pilgrimage to an Alpine cheese hut with no electricity, the Allgäu region is turning sustainable food into a reason to visit. Here’s what you’ll find.
OUR UNDERWRITER
Medjet is the top-rated air-medical transport, travel security and crisis response membership program for travelers. The medical evacuation benefits of most travel insurance only get you to the “nearest adequate” hospital. A Medjet membership gets you to a hospital AT HOME. Add 24/7 security and crisis response benefits for the ultimate peace of mind. Elliott.org readers enjoy discounted rates. Travel safer with Medjet.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
The rest of the world is protecting air travelers. Why isn’t the U.S.?
The European Parliament voted 646 to 12 this summer for tougher air passenger rules. Back home, the Transportation Department has forgiven nearly $28 million in airline fines since December. What’s going on?
No, your pet doesn’t want to go on vacation with you
I’ve never heard a pet ask to go on vacation, and unless you’ve been taking hallucinogenic drugs, neither have you.
Is your hotel room safe? The mistake you’re making right now
Nala Fox left a balcony door cracked at a five-star resort in Negril, Jamaica, and woke from a nap to find her carry-on and passport gone, with the security desk telling her this sometimes happens. Hotel security consultants call the condition resort security amnesia, and it shows up in cloned key cards, key sleeves with the room number printed on them and balconies an intruder can cross at night.
Holland America canceled my cruise because of a pricing error. Can it do that?
Cindy Woodring booked a 10-day Zuiderdam sailing at $479 a person, applied a $200 credit and paid the $758 balance in full. Three days later Holland America called the fare a pricing error and billed her $1,530 more, then offered a complimentary stateroom upgrade to anyone willing to pay it.
Hells bells! How did these AC/DC tickets go from front stage to the worst seats in the house?
Jerry Auer paid $506 for AC/DC tickets at Notre Dame Stadium after StubHub’s seating chart showed Section 121 beside the stage, and the official venue map put those seats behind it. StubHub fixed the flipped map the day after he reported it, then used the corrected version to tell him he had bought precisely what he ordered.
Triple-stacking and high-low tracking: New strategies for preventing luggage loss
Virgin Australia scanned my son’s purple Peak Design rollaboard in Queenstown and again in Melbourne, then lost track of it for almost 48 hours. Travel experts now recommend stacking trackers on separate networks, adding a battery-free QR tag and photographing the 10-digit barcode on your bag tag at check-in.
Resort fees have been “dead” for a year. Did anyone notice?
The FTC’s fee rule has required hotels and booking sites to put the full price in the first number an American traveler sees, with taxes and optional add-ons the only things allowed to appear later. It stops at the border, so a room booked on a non-U.S. site sits outside the whole system.
OUR UNDERWRITER
Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. We are committed to providing our employees with a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth.
💬 What you’re saying on Backchannel
Not a good honeymoon.
Dallas Parker’s honeymoon in Istanbul ended on a living room mattress, the only escape from festival noise at an Airbnb whose listing promised a quiet residential area. After Parker reviewed the stay, Airbnb removed the review for “coercion,” citing WhatsApp messages Parker says were never sent. Can Parker get the review back? Here’s our team’s advice on Backchannel.
OUR UNDERWRITER
Surf Air Mobility is a California-based air mobility platform. With its AI-enabled SurfOS software and electrification programs, Surf Air Mobility provides technology designed to support the modernization of air operations and the adoption of next-generation aircraft. Surf Air Mobility currently operates one of the largest commuter airlines in the United States by scheduled departures, which provides operational scale and real-world operating data to validate and deploy its software.
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