...constantly searching to find the best travel deals and places to visit. A never-ending quest for adventure!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

semester winding down

Happy Easter, everyone!

I must apologize for the lack of recent posts - I've been slaving away the past few weeks on a literature review for one of my classes, and JUST finished it up this weekend. I still have edits to do, so there's still work to be done, but the main body of it is complete. I don't think I realized all that had to go into such a thing, and now that I'm almost done with it I feel like I'll be plenty prepared once dissertation times comes around.

In some ways, I feel like I need to update some travel-related items, since that's what I've tried to focus on in this blog. Here goes the first.

Recently, the DOT updated its list of consumer protections for flying. The document is way too big to post, but here are some highlights, courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle (they go into effect in September):

1) TARMAC DELAYS. Current rules that impose heavy fines on US airlines for tarmac delays will be extended to cover international flights and non-US carriers operating in the United States. For domestic US flights, the tarmac delay limit is three hours. For international flights, the limit will be four hours. Carriers will be required to provide trapped passengers with status updates at least every 30 minutes, plus food and water every two hours.

2) NOTIFICATION OF IRREGULARITIES. All airlines must offer passengers a flight status update service (i.e., email or text) to which they can subscribe. They must also notify passengers within 30 minutes of becoming aware of a situation that will delay, divert or cancel a flight.

3) 24-HOUR GRACE PERIOD. Airlines will have to hold all reservations for at least 24 hours at the quoted fare, without payment. If a payment is made at the time of reservation, it must be refunded if a passenger cancels the purchase within 24 hours. (Many airlines already do this; the new rules force all of them to do so, uniformly.)

4) FEE REFUNDS FOR LOST (NOT DELAYED) BAGS. Airlines are now required to refund checked baggage fees (which generally run from $20 to $35 each way) in addition to compensating passengers when bags are lost or destroyed. However, new rules do not force airlines to refund fees if bags are simply delayed and eventually delivered to owners.

5) FEE DISCLOSURE. Airlines must clearly disclose all potential fees via prominent links on their homepages. The DOT says these fees and charges include checked, carry-on, oversized or overweight bags, meals, on-board entertainment, Internet access, pillows, blankets, premium coach seating, phone reservations, early boarding, ticket changes or cancellations, unaccompanied minors and pets.

6) FULL-PRICE DISPLAYS. When airlines quote, display or advertise fares, they must always include all government taxes and fees, which in some cases can make up as much as half of the total price of a ticket. (This should make comparing apples to apples much easier when fare shopping.)

7) BUMPING. Compensation for involuntarily bumped passengers will double to a maximum of $650 if the replacement flight results in a delay of less than two hours or $1,300 if the delay is more than two hours. This applies to both purchased and frequent flyer award tickets. (Note: US passengers are not entitled to any compensation for flight delays - these rules only apply if a passenger is involuntarily bumped.)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

so far

Here's hoping that today is a better day...

Now if only my sinuses wouldn't hurt so much.

Ack...another air traffic controller in trouble. Here it is.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Word

The word from my morning meeting: ubiquitous

I'm not even sure I've spelled that right.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

wednesday

Overwhelmed.

That is what I am.

I'm wishing I wasn't.

I know what will help me not be overwhelmed.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

tues

Big thanks to Karlito for an entire week's worth of fun - really enjoyed hanging out and plenty of games abounded. Now sadly it's back to the grindstone...

Sunday, April 3, 2011