Search Results for: blog how to deal with air travel complaints

Are Travel Clubs Really Money Savers?

With the price of airfare skyrocketing to new highs it’s no wonder travel clubs are attracting more interest than ever before. Commercials and print ads for travel clubs offering, “super deals and deep discounts” are virtually everywhere. The advertisements promise huge savings on everything from airfare and cruises to rental cars and hotel accommodations. If you are a cash strapped traveler who has always dreamed of taking a Caribbean cruise or a fantasy flight to Paris, then one of these flashy ads or mailings (typically in the form of a postcard) may have caught your attention—-especially the ones that promise … Continue reading →

When Complaints Come

We cannot please everyone all of the time and even the most careful, dilligent home business owner who is known for fabulous customer service is bound to get a complaint now and then. How we handle complaints says as much about our integrity and our businesses as how we avoid them. Sometimes, the complaints are justified–we really have slacked off, or provided poor customer service; or there is an actual problem with the product or service delivery. Taking the time to fix these problems and make apology may be all that is necessary. Other times, the complaints seem completely unjustified–it … Continue reading →

Good News for Obese and Disabled Airline Passengers Flying To and From Canada

Disabled and clinically obese travelers booking flights on Canada-based airlines were just given a break from the government. A few days ago the Canadian Transportation Agency mandated that local airlines offer physically challenged or clinically obese travelers accompanied by an attendant the ability to fly using one ticket, even if they take up two or more seats. That means carriers such as Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet have one year to institute a “one-person, one-fare” policy. The ruling applies to disabled people, including severely obese passengers, who require two seats to accommodate their size. It also applies to … Continue reading →

Teen Flies High Without Parents’ Permission—Is The Airline To Blame?

By now I’m sure you’ve heard the story about the 15-year-old girl who bought a ticket and boarded a plane without ever being asked to show her ID. The teen from Alaska apparently neglected to ask her parents permission to take the flight and now the girl’s mom says the airline is partially to blame for her daughter ending up hundreds of miles from home. In all fairness to the mother, she’s not slapping the airlines with a lawsuit (at least not yet anyway), though she is lobbying to get the carrier to reconsider its current policies. For those of … Continue reading →

“Mini” Money-Saver

A popular amusement park in China is kicking off a mega-sale: Wear a mini skirt, get a huge discount. The Merryland Resort near Guilin is running a “Love Miniskirts” promotion for the next two months which provides discounted admission tickets to female visitors wearing a skirt shorter than 38 centimeters. Let the controversy begin. According to Shanghai Daily, the English-language newspaper, the park has set-up staff to measure arriving guests’ skirts with rulers. Females whose skirts are short enough score a ticket for just 55 yuan or roughly eight American dollars. “The stipulation aims to encourage female visitors to showcase … Continue reading →

Perception is Reality

I am the world’s biggest complainer. Just kidding. Sort of. Ok, not really. Well, maybe… but at least I am not in denial. Actually, I willingly admit to my fault and actively work to eliminate complaints from my conversations. But, it hasn’t always been this way. I’ve been a complainer since I was a teenager, but interestingly, I didn’t realize the extent of my bad habit until I became a parent. How many times have you done this: You and the rest of your clan gear up for a weekend getaway to the beach? Overall, the trip is pretty darn … Continue reading →

Casa de Rodent

A few weeks ago I blogged about my daughter’s mouse sighting on our flight to Hawaii. The thought of a rodent rifling through the bag I placed under the seat in front of me still creeps me out, but it’s nothing compared to what some hotel guests in Washington, D.C. have been dealing with. The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center just opened for business and it’s already been plagued with a nightmarish situation—a rodent invasion. UGH! According to news reports, numerous guests—all of which were the first to stay in the brand-new 2,000-room hotel—say they had run ins with … Continue reading →

The Letter of Complaint

There is probably a good chance that you have written a letter of complaint sometime over the years, but have you ever received on in your home business? What do you do when you are on the receiving end of a well-written (or not so well-written) letter of complaint? Do you take it seriously? Do you take it personally? How can you react reasonably and constructively and make the most of an unpleasant situation? It takes a lot for me to write a letter of complaint, but I have done it a few times. I guess I have found that … Continue reading →

Being Polite At 35,000 Feet (It’s Really NOT That Hard)

Can’t we all just get along? Following the recent incidents involving rude airline passengers and ruder flight attendants, one is left to question whether airplanes are carrying any travelers who are not disgruntled. Which is not to say that most peeved passengers don’t have a right to be, especially when they have to endure record-breaking delays, a less than patient flight crew and countless airline lavatories that simply don’t work. But, as we head into the last long weekend of the summer season, perhaps, we could commence a moratorium on travel-related complaints and practice some common courtesy. For example: · … Continue reading →

So Where Do I Sit?

If you have ever flown Southwest Airlines then you are familiar with its “free-for-all boarding process.” The airline doesn’t assign seats. It never has. But, soon that could all change. Southwest executives recently announced that it has “spent $5 million to enhance its reservation system as part of an internal test to see if it could easily implement assigned seating.” In other words, the airline is “simply exploring” the idea of assigning seats, based on the number of complaints it has received from customers about the current boarding system. That would be me. Whereas, I don’t think the airline should … Continue reading →