Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with travel and airline

Bait-and-Switch or ineptitude?... WTF Travelocity!?

blueberry — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:27:45 -0800

Buying a ticket to Bangkok—is there a dependable online ticket-searching service that is all about getting the truly cheapest fare? Skinflint-In-Coach.com? Argh!, I spent over an hour today working on the Travelocity site, trying to find a low-priced ticket from Portland to Bangkok. After noodling around with my Portland/Bangkok departure dates I finally found a reasonably priced ticket that I could afford. However when I clicked to order it Travelocity said Sorry, that ticket's not available, please go pick another one—all of the other tickets being at least $500 more. (And annoyingly, when I went back to look at the other tickets, that cheaper un-buyable ticket was still listed as being available)

So, I tried Kayak.com and found that while it searches across four different ticket sites, each site finds fares that differ from each other by thousands of dollars. That is, each site is saying "This is the absolute cheapest flight out there" but actually the ticket prices vary from $1900 to $4000. To my mind, there should be only one "cheapest flight"—you know, hence the "-est" suffix.

So tell me hive mind, is there one ticket-finding site that
A: doesn't advertise tickets that it doesn't have (Travelocity), and
B: searches all flights all through one interface—so you don't have to dig through several different sites and windows wasting time with their laughable ideas of what they call "the cheapest flight"?

[For reference, I'm looking to leave PDX on Dec 9th, and leave BKK on any of the days between Dec 31 and Jan 3]

Dear Mystery Site: Where can I fly for $300?

tinamonster — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:41:39 -0800

I am looking for a Website I once used that allowed you to enter in a departure city and a date and then gave you all possible worldwide flight destinations sorted by cost. What was that site?

I know the names don't match, but it's really me! I swear!

arianell — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:22:48 -0800

Someone purchased an airline ticket for me, but booked it under my nickname instead of my legal name. I don't have any photo ID with my nickname on it. Will I be able to fly? (I know there have been previous questions asked about this kind of thing, but none since these new TSA guidelines were implemented.)

Everyone calls me by a nickname that is very different from my "actual" first name. Say my name is Josephine, but I go by Scarlett because of my hair color.

Anyhow, my boyfriend booked a trip for us, and he forgot to reserve my ticket as Josephine instead of Scarlett. We called the airline, and they can't/won't change the name on the ticket. Instead, they kindly offered to let us purchase a replacement ticket for the low low price of $600, which neither one of us can afford.

I know that, until recently, you didn't actually have to show ID to procure your boarding pass or get through security, although the agents at the security checkpoint would flag you for an extra screening. How much has this policy changed? Does it seem likely that I'll be able to board my flight? If not, do I have any other options?

Whats the best way to buy a flight for a vacation without getting screwed?

schindyguy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:33:42 -0800

Whats the best way to buy a flight for a vacation that you know you are going on (greater than 3 months in the future)? I am tired of getting screwed for being prepared. I know I need two tickets from Los Angeles (LAX) to Maui (OGG) departing December 12 and returning December 19.

So I thought I would give bing.com's future price utility a try with the flight. I just got a "Bing Travel Alert" that suggests its a good time to buy...http://www.bing.com/travel/flight/flightSearch?o=LAX&d1=12%2F12%2F2009&p=2&src=fct&r1=12%2F19%2F2009&cid=10713&viewMode=list&e=OGG

Since when has the market for tickets been dictated like this? I thought the earlier you book, the better rate you should get. I guess this isn't the case as I learned from my previous purchase of 2 round trip flights from cheaptickets.com. I booked the reservation to Los Cabos 4 months in advance and if I would have waited 1 week before the trip, I would have saved $125 per ticket. Is that insane? In what situation would preparedness not be beneficial? I guess with flights.

How can I guarantee I wont set myself up for another Los Cabos irritation? What can someone do to protect themselves from these market fluctuations?

Get me stranded in London, please.

AthenaPolias — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:12:14 -0800

As a way to visit a friend during my travels in Europe this summer, I'm looking to obtain a days-long layover - ideally at least 2-3 days, but the longer the better. I have no idea how to go about getting such a thing, but I'm relatively sure the possibility exists. What are my best options for getting a layover like this, while still keeping my overall flight cost low? More detail: I'm traveling to Italy as part of a long business trip. I have a limit on my flight budget, so doing a flight to the friend's country (England), then short hop to Italy, then back again etc makes the money add up quickly, and isn't an ideal option. Also, I need to make these arrangements asap (I've been delayed doing so for various reasons and am now in need of my tickets almost immediately). I've thought of calling travel agents, but being as this is a holiday weekend in the States, I won't be able to do so until Tuesday.

Is a travel agent my best (only?) bet for specifying something this particular? Are there ways to get online search engines to produce something like this? And am I really limited to carriers that have hubs in England, or might I be able to swing this on other airlines, thus increasing my chances of getting a low-cost flight?

(Also, if anyone has any ideas of how to finagle Rome - London - not-big-city States airport with little hassle and less money, I'm open. I've done the Easy Jet/Ryan Air route a bunch of times, but find that the hassle of switching from major to secondary or tertiary airports along the way is really inconvenient, and would like to avoid it if possible.)

Help me get my cat home.

scrute — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:57:09 -0800

I'm moving home to Toronto after 2 years in Egypt, and I need to take my cat. I know about the immunizations and paperwork, but I am not in control of booking my flight and need to know what to do if I end up with a long layover or a non-pet friendly airline. How does moving half-way around the world work with a cat, exactly? I've finished my contract with the company I've been working for in Egypt, and as part of the contract, they fly me home from Cairo to Toronto. Because of this, I don't have control over the airline or the flight connections. I have told them I would pay extra for something that is more convenient for kitty.

The first flight they came up with (and the cheapest for them) was flying through Athens, with an overnight there (normally an exciting prospect!). I've asked if there is an alternative, but this might be the one I end up with.

Is it possible to board a cat at an airport (I don't want to take her into Greece - seems like an awful headache for one night)? Will airlines take responsibility for pets overnight? Even if I can get another flight, it's still a long way - do the airlines feed the animals? Or is there another way altogether that I could get her home that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg?

She's also quite small so I might be able to take her in the cabin, but then what do I do with her in the airport while waiting for my connection? (and is crammed under the seat really any better?)

I know this is a lot of questions, but I'm new to travelling with a pet and I'm a bit nervous for her sake and mine.

Any online videos to teach a kid about air travel?

Overzealous — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:41:43 -0800

Are there any movies/online videos to show a toddler what to expect from air travel? We're heading out on our first airplane ride (about 2 hours) with our 2-and-a-half year old and want to give him some idea of what to expect on the flight before we head out.

I found this "I'm a Good Little Traveler!" DVD but was looking for something...well...free. Any good links out there? Or DVDs that are recommended to purchase?

I'm always serious. And don't call me Shirley

Jon_Evil — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:29:05 -0800

Can I book a round-trip flight with different passengers on the initial and return flights? Five of us are going to Ohio, but live in New York. One wants to fly out with us, but stay longer and drive back to New York later. Another will already be in Ohio, but needs to fly back to New York with us. Am I allowed to only buy four tickets and have the two people share a round trip flight? If I'm not allowed, is there a way to do it anyway?

and will either give me free Guinness?!

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:32:12 -0800

Should I book a flight with Aer Lingus or American Airlines? The price is the same (~$380). The flight is one way, transatlantic Dublin-Chicago. Probably no checked baggage (though a very slight possibility).

I don't have any experience with Aer Lingus and haven't flow on AA in a loooong time so I don't know which one would be better as far as comfort/food/etc.

Airline Christmas Gift

Mroz — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:16:52 -0800

How do I give an airline ticket as a Christmas gift? I (in NJ) would like to give my friend (in AZ) an airline ticket to visit her best friend (in Ga) as a Christmas present. I don't want to send cash. I don't want to purchase it and get locked in because I don't know her schedule. Are gift certificates reliable? Who would I buy one from?

Is there another method that I'm not thinking of?

Is Alitalia Dead?

brandman — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:26:08 -0800

What's the latest news on Alitalia? I know they've been struggling badly over the past few years, and there appears to be some new developments in the past day or two. My interest in this is that my parents are currently in Italy, flying back to the US next week. One of their flight segments is on Alitalia, so I'm wondering what the likelihood is that the airline will cease operations (or at least ground some flights). Any thoughts?

american airlines ate my summer vacation

thinkingwoman — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:12:20 -0800

american airlines delivered us 41 hours late to our destination. i sent an executive email carpet bomb today, but with the emergency landing in LAX today, i'm not sure anyone is going to respond to me. what else can i do? should i call? re-send the letter? how long should i wait for a response? click through for the letter... To whom it may concern:

I am writing to express my dismay and frustration over my experience with American Airlines on my recent trip to the Virgin Islands. I am an AAdvantage member, have an AAdvantage Mastercard, and have flown American almost exclusively over the past 10 years. I have always had good experiences with American. But due to weather, personnel, and technical delays, my boyfriend and I were 41 hours late to our destination and incurred nearly $500 in additional hotel, meal, and taxi expenses.

While we cannot get the time back, we feel it is only fair to ask you to address directly the additional expense and inconvenience we incurred. I know that you are not legally or contractually obliged to compensate us for what happened, but I think our complaint is justified and hope you can do what you can to rectify our good will toward American Airlines.

Below is a detailed account of what transpired. I believe you will agree that our experience falls far short of the goals you set for customer service.

On Tuesday, July 29, my boyfriend and I had tickets to travel from Nashville, TN, to St. Thomas, USVI, via Miami. We made it to Miami with no problems, but around 4 pm on Tuesday the 29th, we learned that our 5:15 pm (AA 795) flight had been canceled due to volcanic ash from Montserrat temporarily drifting over St. Thomas.

I immediately connected with customer service and was informed that the soonest we could get to St. Thomas was via a 9:45 pm flight to JFK on Wednesday, July 30 (AA 1908), connecting to an 8 am (AA 655) flight to St. Thomas on Thursday morning. As this put us more than 36 hours behind schedule, I asked if we would be given hotel or food vouchers and was told no, because it was due to weather. I asked if we could just go back to Nashville and reschedule our trip for another time and was told no, we could go back but it would use up our ticket value and we would not be able to apply the unused portion to future travel. (We had used my AAdvantage miles for the tickets.)

So I went ahead and confirmed the MIA-JFK-STT itinerary for peace of mind, but called back frequently to try to reschedule for something more reasonable.

It was like pulling teeth to get any information about standby possibilities or connections on other airlines. At one point we had almost nailed down a route through San Juan when the customer service agent began questioning us about how we wanted to pay for the change to our ticket. By the time I was able to get her to understand we were trying to reschedule after a flight cancellation instead of making a voluntary change, those seats were gone. The agent then blamed me for not mentioning the situation sooner.

It was during this time that I learned that my American Airlines online password apparently had been reset or deleted--I never discovered what happened, only that it no longer worked.

Being unable to make better arrangements or find standby space, we took the 9:45 flight to JFK (AA 1908) on July 30th. It was delayed for 2 hours because the flight’s first officer had not arrived.

During our wait, we discovered we had been issued flight coupons for our rescheduled flights instead of boarding passes when we noticed our travel documents did not include a boarding group number. Had I not happened to ask the gate agent about it, we never would have checked in and our seats would have been given to standby passengers from an earlier canceled flight to JFK.

We arrived at JFK at 2:15 am on July 31st, approximately 4 hours before we had to return to the airport for our connecting flight. This made the hotel reservations we’d made at the JFK Best Western earlier in the day pretty worthless, but because we were not informed of the delay until after the hotel’s cancellation deadline, we could not get our money back for the hotel.

After that, our 8 am flight to St. Thomas (AA 655) was delayed for almost 90 minutes due to a technical problem connecting with the satellite system.

We incurred approximately $70 in parking fees because we had planned to meet family in St. Thomas who were returning to Nashville shortly after our arrival, and they were going to get our car out of the airport garage. Due to our excessive delays, they had left before we arrived and were unable to get the keys from us, although our trips were originally supposed to overlap by more than a day.

Finally, when I returned from St. Thomas on August 4, I was erroneously charged the $25 checked-bag fee for a box of duty-free liquor. When I mentioned this to the baggage agent, she said, “You should have said something to me before you paid. I can’t do anything about it now.”

My boyfriend was recently given a $275 travel voucher from AA for getting off an overbooked flight from Chicago to Nashville and waiting a few hours for a less crowded flight. Surely if a few hours of voluntary delay is worth $275, we deserve comparable compensation for our expenses, delays, and poor customer service.

I appreciate your patience for reading through this long and complicated story, and would be very grateful for your prompt attention to this matter.

How much worse is the carry-on baggage situation getting?

Kat Allison — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:39:01 -0800

Question for frequent flyers: have airlines' new pay-to-check-a-bag policies significantly affected how much baggage passengers are trying to carry on board? To the point where it's gone from just aggravating to completely !%@#!*#@ impossible? I have to fly in a couple of weeks (SEA-ORD), and I'm booked on American, which now charges $15 for every checked bag.

In the past I've always travelled very light and packed everything in a modest-sized carry-on. However, my expectation is that the new baggage fee will lead people to act even more egregiously than before with regard to carry-ons, and that I would be competing with teeming hordes trying to jam steamer trunks into the overhead bins. Hence, I'd been thinking, "Oh, the hell with it, I'll just pay the fee, check the bag, and reduce my aggravation" (which is, of course, making the large assumption that the airline doesn't lose it).

But I was wondering if there's actually been a significant, discernable increase in the amount of carry-on luggage on those airlines that charge the checking fee. Those of you who fly often -- have you seen a change? Do you think ponying up the $15 and checking the bag would lead to any appreciable decrease in hassle?

How does my iMac join me on holiday?

Turtles all the way down — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:56:54 -0800

How do I take my 20" iMac with me on holiday? I'm not touring Europe, but rather going the historic family cottage in Quebec, so I'd love to continue working on my PHP projects in between sunbathing and dips in the lake. My current plan is to go to the local Apple store, ask them for some packaging, and put it in a suitcase. Naive? I also considered shipping separately, but the cottage is in a remote location, and I can't really interrupt the trip to the cottage with a detour in Montreal.

Your bag is in [insert location here]

yellowcandy — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:46:56 -0800

Delta lost my bag and ruined an important business trip to Ukraine and Russia. Need advice for how to be appropriately compensated. When I flew Delta--business class, if that makes a difference--from JFK to Ukraine two Sundays ago, Delta left my bag in NYC (apparently). What followed was a bumbling series of incompetent events that saw my bag not leave JFK, get stuck in Paris, then arrive in Kiev long after I'd left for Moscow, and then never make it to me, even after I returned to New York. I still don't have the bag, and I've been back for four days. Delta alternately claims they have it and that they don't.

The upshot for my trip is that I: (1) had to wear my traveling clothes in Ukraine and Russia, including a pair of brown casual slacks that wound up rather ripe, (2) had to purchase a new dress shirt and jacket in Ukraine ($500), (3) had none of my toiletries (including some prescribed skin cream that couldn't go into a carry-on), and (4) **the most important one to me** looked grimy and wasn't able to be at my best (or even adequate) for the clients I met up with in Kiev and Moscow. This is embarrassing to me, my group, and my entire company.

So I'd like to hear from people with some experience here about what approach works best in dealing with Delta in order to get them to compensate me adequately for this tragedy of a business trip. And yes, I'd still like my bag.

How/where can I sell an airline/airplane/flight ticket?

harwons — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:58:20 -0800

I bought a plane ticket, I subsequently had to cancel the flight, and now I'm stuck with a Delta voucher. I want to sell it and buy a ticket on another airline, which happens to have a much better flight to my destination. But where can I sell my ticket? I tried eBay and Points.com already.

One fine city to another fine city.

buxtonbluecat — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:36:12 -0800

What's a reasonable price for a round-trip ticket from BWI (or maybe DC, either Dulles or National) to Glasgow, UK, in September of this year? I'm looking to buy a round trip airline ticket from BWI (or Dulles or National) to Glasgow, UK. Timeframe: Late September. The current best prices I'm finding are ~$887, including taxes and fees etc. (~$700 without taxes and fees.) It's a long time since I've made this journey, and I'm not really in touch with what's a reasonable price and what isn't. Are the prices likely to drop significantly if I wait to buy a ticket?

I don't expect anyone to go to any special effort to find better deals; answers along the lines of "yeah, that's not a bad price" or "wait until closer the time, the price should drop significantly" are fine.

I got on the wrong plane and wound up in the wrong country. Am I owed anything by the airline?

Challahtronix — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:39:38 -0800

I got on the wrong plane and wound up in the wrong country. Am I owed anything by the airline? Back in September 2007 I was supposed to fly from Amsterdam to Barcelona on ClickAir/Iberia Air; the short version is that due to some confusion* over a gate change and a very-delayed charter flight, I wound up getting on the wrong plane (TransAvia, but my Iberia ticket says " AviaPartner" so it didn't raise any flags) and wound up in Faro, Portugal instead. The gate attendant didn't take my ticket and whomever did the headcount botched it. The flight crew was apologetic but unhelpful as they were going to be staying there through the weekend, and it was after midnight so nothing in the airport was open. I had to take an overnight bus to Lisbon and fly to Barcelona the next day at my own expense (~$150). I was traveling throughout Europe for the next two weeks and did not have my luggage; Iberia botched the delivery instructions for Europe and finally delivered one of my bags to me in October after I returned to the US, and the other one in late December. All belongings were intact.

Iberia said that they will reimburse me for expenses incurred from traveling without luggage- clothes, toiletries, etc... purchased along the way as long as I have receipts, which I do for most stuff. Transavia on the other hand has been terrible- I sent them a (non-angry) e-mail explaining what happened and asked them to follow-up, they responded with a reference# and asked for scanned copies of documents, which I provided. I've heard nothing from them since, they don't respond to e-mails, and they have no way to easily call from the US. I've e-mailed them politely three times asking for an update and gotten nothing.

I guess my questions are:
-Does Transavia owe me anything? Reimbursement for my return flight, bus trip, lost night (pre-paid for the pension) in Barcelona?
-If Transavia doesn't respond to my e-mails what are my other options? Is there a higher authority to report them to? Legal action?

If it makes any difference I'm a US citizen and may be going back to Europe later this year.

*_{not high.}

Will Intentionally Miss Leg of Flight Make Return Difficult?

gerg — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:01:55 -0800

I am scheduled to fly into Rochester, MN with a connection in Minneapolis on NWA tomorrow evening. I would like to intentionally miss the connection to Rochester and spend the evening in the Twin Cities with friends and take a bus down to Rochester on Saturday. I would, however, like to board my plane on Monday from Rochester as scheduled. Will NWA put up a fuss that I never made my connecting flight and prevent me from boarding Monday?

I want to be a flight attendant but need information

its just me — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:03:16 -0800

How important on a long-term basis is choosing an airline to work for? I want to work as a flight attendant for a larger international airline. I live outside of Philadelphia and have easy access to any hirings that may be going on in the city, and am willing to relocate if I need to, but I don't know how important it is to wait to try and be hired by my ideal airline.

I want to work on international flights, and I'm willing to take on a tough schedule (I'm a 20 year old female with lots of energy and gumption to travel), and I'd like to get started in this field soon, but I also don't want to take the first job offer that comes along just because I'm anxious to get started.

Does anyone have any advice? I really want to get into this career, but I don't want to regret choosing the wrong airline, and I need to know how important being particular in making this choice is. Also, are there specific things I need to know about where I am most likely to get hired? I have had two years of college, and I know that I fit the physical requirements and at the very least, the minimal desired communications/customer service criteria.

Need to know about airline security now

nax — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 09:29:24 -0800

Do I need a ticket to go through airport security? My daughter is leaving on an extended tour tomorrow. We can't find info on several travel questions at the airline site. For instance, her final destination is out of the country, but the first leg of the flight takes her to a US hub. The airline says for an international flight, check in 3 hours ahead. So is the first leg considered international (because that's where the baggage is going) or US (because that's where she is going).

Second, can we get all the way to the gate with her, or will we have to drop her at the security checkpoint?

Finally, is there anything else I can obsess/worry about that I haven't thought of?

allergic to flying

starvinron — Tue, 22 May 2007 23:40:02 -0800

Can i bring an epipen on plane with me? I am flying to vegas on American airlines. Anyone have experience with this thnx

Looking for information on cheapest airline travel routes

nitsuj — Sun, 06 May 2007 17:21:45 -0800

If I wanted to fly from one mainland to another -- North America to Asia, for instance -- but I'm willing to fly out of any city in North America to any city in Asia, how can I find out the cheapest route? Is there a website that says, for instance, that LAX->HND (Tokyo) is the cheapest US-->Asia flight, and it is cheapest from April-June? Is there a chart somewhere? Help!

Is one hour enough to make connectons at O'Hare and LAX?

generichuman — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:43:05 -0800

Flying from Toronto to Melbourne, via Chicago and LAX. The "via" is worryingly short! I'm flying from Toronto to Melbourne, Australia via Chicago and LAX. My changeovers at Chicago and LAX are both just slightly over an hour each, and I'm wondering about the potential for an "oh crap, your plane was late, you're screwed" type of moment.

Is one hour at each airport enough time to actually make a connecting flight?

(I think my flights are United, all the way, if that makes a difference.)

I've flown internationally before, but always, always directly. Oddly, I've never actually flown into the United States.

I assume I'll go through the US customs office at Pearson before departure, rather than in Chicago or LAX. I also assume that my checked bags will be cleared all the way through to Melbourne. But, I'm having trouble getting a straight answer out of anybody.

I'm mildly worried that one hour at Chicago and LAX wont be enough to make my connecting flights - especially if I have to check and uncheck baggage, switch terminals or go through security/customs again.

Am I worrying over nothing, Hive Mind? I don't want to worry about anything other than the surely wretched jet lag that will ensue.

Carry-On Pets - how strict are airlines?

nancoix — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:18:25 -0800

Bringing Pets in Airplane Cabin: I know that each airline has its limits on the dimensions of the under-the-seat carrier and combined weight, but how strict are they? Do airlines actually measure your carrier and weigh the pet plus carrier? Or just eyeball it? I'm wondering particularly about Northwest and American Airlines. Any horror stories or warnings appreciated.