Archive for the 'Angry Traveler' Category
The LAX list: 10 airport improvements I’d like to see [updated]
October 19, 2009 12:53pm
So the commissioners who run Los Angeles International Airport look as if they’re about to spend a billion dollars to make the airport a better place, especially for international travelers. They’ll get no complaints from me about that. In fact, I’m here to help.
Here are 10 improvements I’d like to see throughout LAX:
1. Fainting couches: For infrequent travelers to fall upon as they realize how much they’ll be paying for their luggage; their headphones; a meal; a phone conversation with a live sales agent; or (this one’s for you, JetBlue and US Airways) a pillow and a blanket.
2. An intelligible sound system: Because right now, the publnc adrsses sn sd weoibchcn sod0ewnxfon, you know?
3. An escalator that leads down to a subway stop: San Francisco’s subway connects with its airport. So do a bunch of others. [Corrected at 4:50 p.m. Oct. 20: An earlier version of this post said Boston's Logan airport had a subway station. The Boston transit system's Blue Line does have an Airport Station, but from there, travelers still have to catch a shuttle bus to reach the air terminal.] So why does our subway/light rail stop a mile away?
Managing your carry-on luggage
August 22, 2009 1:05pm
On The Spot by L.A. Times Travel editor Catharine Hamm
Question: We have always checked our bags, but now that there are fees, we are considering using carry-ons. Do airlines really believe that older travelers can hoist their bags into the overhead bins? And now that the bins fill up so quickly, what happens to bags that don’t fit? Do they go with checked luggage, and is the passenger charged for this?
– Bob and Madeleine Spear, Mission Viejo
Answer: I think the late comedian George Carlin had the right idea on taking “stuff”: “Sometimes you go on vacation and you gotta bring some of your stuff with you. You can’t bring all your stuff. Just the stuff you really like, the stuff that fits you well — that month.”
Which really cuts down on things, at least in my suitcase.
United makes nice, but guitarist’s YouTube songs will go on
July 8, 2009 7:00pm
Dave Carroll, the songwriter whose bouncy tale of damaged six-string baggage has been lighting up YouTube and tweaking United Airlines for the last two days, is declaring victory. And astonishment.
He doesn’t want any money from United, the 41-year-old Nova Scotia singer-songwriter says, even though he wound up paying $1,200 to repair damages suffered by his guitar on a spring 2008 series of flights from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Omaha, Neb. And he’s still trying to fathom the web-media explosion that brought his case to the world’s attention.
“Any day you’re on Wolf Blitzer’s screen in ‘The Situation Room,’ it’s a big day,” said Carroll late Wednesday, winding down after a medley of interviews.
Guitarist and United dickering, video viewers snickering [Updated]
July 8, 2009 12:24pm
This just in on the case of United Airlines, a busted guitar and a wicked YouTube song: While Dave Carroll, aggrieved customer and wicked songwriter, was playing a gig Tuesday night in Picou, Nova Scotia, his July 6 video, “United Breaks Guitars,” was passing 100,000 views and United airlines was laying plans to make nice. But there’s no happy ending just yet.
“They have made contact with him,” said Carroll’s wife, Jill, on Wednesday morning. “We’re expecting to receive further details by the end of business today.” By 11 a.m. Pacific time, the video had racked up more than 137,000 YouTube views and prompted 1,265 comments, few of which are likely to end up in the airline’s next report to stockholders.
Dave Carroll, buried in interview requests, was unavailable, but Jill Carroll described the conversation with United as “amicable” yet inconclusive. As for the public response to her husband’s video, “we’re speechless.”
Smashed guitar, YouTube song — United is listening now
July 7, 2009 7:02pm
Here, without rhythm, harmony or rhyme, is Dave Carroll’s problem: Last year, while he was flying from Nova Scotia to Nebraska on United Airlines, somebody broke his $3,500 guitar.
Big deal, you’re thinking. Who has time to keep track of all the things United breaks? (See bottom of story for some statistics, which suggest that several other airlines are worse.)
But Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell, have told their tale with rhythm, harmony, rhyme, not to mention some wicked humor, and their four-minute, 37-second complaint, “United Breaks Guitars,” above, is racking up views on YouTube.
Fliers like Alaska and JetBlue, but airline customer satisfaction falls
June 30, 2009 8:01am
Baggage and other fees frustrate us, and pricey tickets make us petulant. In fact, the flying public is so annoyed that satisfaction with airlines fell for the third year in a row, hitting a four-year nadir, a new survey found.
Blame it on the economy.
“Twenty-nine percent of overall satisfaction is driven by pricing and costing,” said Paula Sonkin, vice president for travel and real estate industries for J.D. Power and Associates, the company in Westlake Village that released the report today. “Given the economy and the fact that 29% is the cost and all the fees… it’s not surprising that satisfaction went down again.”
But there are bright spots. Based on a 1,000-point scale, among traditional carriers, Alaska has become a flier favorite, scoring 671, followed by Continental (669). And JetBlue (750) continues to be the low-cost darling, with Southwest and WestJet close behind (both at 736).
Customers found much to love about these carriers, including the flight crew (Alaska), in-flight services (Continental), the aircraft (JetBlue) and costs and fees (Southwest).
The Titanic Awards reveal the world’s worst in travel
May 19, 2009 5:01pm
Who do you think has the world’s worst national cuisine? I said Lithuania, but Doug Lansky, author of ”The Titanic Awards,” to be published by Peigree/Penguin and released in spring 2010, said consensus revealed that travelers disliked their meals from the U.K. the most. On the Web, Lansky, who has written several books, including the “Signspotting” series for Lonely Planet, has already started taking nominees for the world’s worst in travel.
Take the survey: Who has the world’s rudest flight attendants, dirtiest beaches, most dangerous country roads, even the worst architecture? Speak your mind by taking this quick and easy survey. Sure, the long list of obscure countries might make a person who takes an international trip every year still feel a bit under-experienced - but Lansky says that skipping questions (there’s a blank space at the top of the list) is totally natural.
In a nutshell, the Titanic Awards are the Darwin Awards for travel — only nobody dies.
Finding recourse for broken promises
April 16, 2009 9:05am
On the Spot by L.A. Times Travel editor Catharine Hamm
Question: In June 2006, my family and I went on a cruise to Alaska. When we were in Anchorage, we bought several pieces of artwork at a local gallery. One of the pieces needed some work, and it was supposed to be shipped to me in six months. After six months, I called the gallery and was told that it was not ready. It’s now been more than three years, and I’m still waiting for the artwork. I don’t want to sue. I just want my money back or some artwork worth $6,500, which is how much I paid for it.
– Narcisa Kiner, Santa Clarita
Airline code-sharing results in unforeseen baggage fees
January 1, 2009 6:00am
On the Spot by L.A. Times Travel editor Catharine Hamm
Question: I booked my family of four on an Alaska Airlines flight operated by American Airlines. Alaska does not charge for checking the first bag, but American did charge me ($120 total). Alaska has washed its hands of these charges. Can you help?
–John Volo, Huntington Beach
On the Spot: Does a family deserve a ticket refund when a child dies?
December 26, 2008 11:50am
On the Spot by L.A. Times Travel Editor Catharine Hamm
[Read On the Spot in 2008: A year of your travel questions answered]
Question: In the spring I booked two sets of flights: One on United Airlines to Europe for my husband, 11-year-old daughter and me and a second trip on AirTran from LAX to Atlanta for the three of us and for my 27-year-old daughter (who was traveling from Denver on the same dates and times to meet us in Atlanta). Both sets of tickets were nonrefundable.
My older daughter became ill in May and died eight weeks later. Obviously, losing a child is devastating, and we had and have no desire to travel anywhere.
When I contacted United, even though my deceased daughter was not on our itinerary, within two weeks, I received a complete refund. AirTran, on the other hand, refunded my deceased daughter’s airfare but not ours. I was told I had one year to use the tickets and they would not, under any circumstances, give me a refund. Can you help?
–Maggie Jacobs, West Hills
