Articles

Jason Cochran

Article / Miscellaneous

Delta and United Get Sued for Selling Windowless 'Window Seats'

U.S. airlines have turned seat assignments into a profit center. It didn't used to be this way, but that's where we are now. We pay for what we used to get for free.Passengers…

Article / Miscellaneous

The TSA Has Banned These Hair Care Products from Checked Luggage

This year, the Transportation Security Administration has made a few important tweaks to security rules at the airport.In February, the TSA clarified that portable chargers and power…

Article / Car, Bus, Rail

Europe's Newest Overnight Bus Service: Lie-Flat Seats, Wi-Fi & No Kids

The long-planned luxury Twiliner is now taking reservations for its bus service in Europe, and there are major expansion plans in place.Europe may have some of the best passenger rail…

Article / Air Travel

Find Cheap Flights with These Airfare Deal Accounts on Bluesky

Around the year 2000, most airlines ran regular email campaigns to tell travelers about the latest airfare sales. Each airline claimed its own day of the week to spit out an eagerly…

Article / Air Travel

Spirit Airlines Warns Passengers That It May Soon Go Kaput

The message from Spirit Airlines, delivered this week in an official financial filing, couldn't be more stark."Management has concluded there is substantial doubt as to the Company’s…

Article / Local Experiences

In Britain, Follow the Royal Warrants to Shop in King Charles' and Queen Camilla's Favorite Stores

When you’re shopping in London, keep an eye out for one or two crests posted in front of shops. That insignia, when paired with the the phrase "by appointment to...", represents an…

Article / Hotels

Did La Quinta Hotel Really Make Guests Check in by Video Conference?

We know that American business owners are contending with a sudden reduction in low-paid workers, particularly in the hospitality industry, which is being impacted by the ripple…

Article / Timing Your Trip

Summer Heat Stops Travel Cold in Europe: Should We Go in Other Seasons Now?

On July 29, passengers waiting to fly to the United States on Delta Air Lines Flight 297 from Athens, Greece, were told the plane couldn't take off as scheduled. As temperatures closed…

Article / Air Travel

Frontier Airlines Sells You Passenger Rights That Europeans Get for Free

On Wednesday, no-frills carrier Frontier Airlines unveiled its latest optional fee, dubbed Disruption Assistance for Any Reason. If customers buy the add-on at the time of ticketing,…

Article / Miscellaneous

Men Accused of Surveilling Cruise Ships in Mediterranean for Suspicious Reasons

On June 22, a 26-year-old man was arrested near a NATO base in Souda Bay on the popular vacation island of Crete, Greece. He had booked a hotel room overlooking the port and paid in…

Article / Air Travel

Southwest Airlines Announces Date Open Seating Ends—So There'll Be No Special Reason to Fly It

We know you've heard this greatest hit from an American corporation many times before: A product is being made much worse because you allegedly demanded it.Southwest Airlines, which…

Article / Car, Bus, Rail

More European Cities Are Throwing in Free Public Transit for Visitors: Here's Where

Here's a lesson that some destinations we could name might stand to learn.When you make tourists feel welcome, everybody wins.Guided by that principle, the city of Salzburg, Austria,…

Article / Air Travel

In Parts of Europe, They're Letting You Fly with Up to 2 Liters of Liquid Now

On July 8, at the moment U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was throwing a fancy press event for the cameras to announce the end of the Transportation Security…

Article / Air Travel

Warning: Priority Pass Airport Lounge Access via Credit Cards Is Increasingly Futile

Access at more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide is granted through the Priority Pass program for people with some of the most popular credit cards in travel. Those cards include…

Article / Miscellaneous

New Executive Order Demands National Park Price Hikes for International Tourists

On the day before Independence Day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to make international visitors pay more to visit America's national parks. In a confusing new…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Rise in Measles Prompts Popular Caribbean Destination to Require Vaccination to Visit

There has been an update to this story. See the bottom of this post. The United States has logged at least 1,200 measles cases so far in 2025. Although the U.S. had declared the…

Article / Cruise

Mexico's Tax on Cruisers, Soon to Be $21, Has Taken Effect: Is It Really a Big Deal?

Late last year, incoming U.S. President Donald Trump wasn't even in the White House yet when he threatened Mexico with a new 25% tariff. When he did that, Mexico slapped back fast. The…

Article / Car, Bus, Rail

Hertz Is Using AI Scanners to Charge for Rental Car Damage That Human Eyes Miss

Hertz is not a company known for mastering technology. After all, it was just a few years ago that dozens of former customers accused the car rental agency of ordering them to be…

Article / Hotels

As Las Vegas Tourism Craters, Resort Fees Are Waived at Some Hotels

Las Vegas is hurting. Tourism numbers are nosediving, and the operators of casino-hotels are scrambling. In April, the city reported a drop of 180,000 visitors compared to the same…

Article / Local Experiences

It’s Time to Re-enact the French Revolution—Using a Free Walking Tour App by Paris!

The French have always been exceptionally talented at anticipating global appetites. They set the trends in high fashion and in wine. They were the first to send help to the North…

Article / Miscellaneous

U.S. Senate to Force Sale of Millions of Acres of Publicly Owned Vacationland

There is an update to this story at the bottom of the post.The U.S. Senate is marking public lands to be pillaged, and preservation groups are sounding the alarm to call fans of…

Article / Miscellaneous

New Federal Junk Fee Rules Are in Effect: What to Look for, How to Report Violations

All right, savvy shoppers. It's been a month since the new federal rules about fee disclosures have kicked in. Are you seeing a difference in your online shopping?It's not often that…

Article / Air Travel

Your Personal Airline Data Is Secretly Being Sold to U.S. Homeland Security

Perhaps it surprises nobody that in this age of meaningless digital privacy protections, the U.S. government has been secretly buying up data about airline passengers.But that's what…

Article / Theme Park

Disney's Iconic Riverboat and Island Will Be Removed Forever As of July 7

Castle in the middle. Railroad traipsing around. Man-made "mountains" concealing family rides. A meandering waterway through an American frontier landscape. The periodic hoot of a…

Article / Air Travel

U.S. Airlines Caught Charging Solo Passengers More

There are lots of ways that the travel industry punishes you for traveling solo, including higher cruise fares and higher group tour prices. But those upcharges are usually based on…