Tagged: dot

Warning, U.S. Travelers: Airline Execs Want to Snatch Your Consumer Rights Away

The fight for fair treatment isn't over once a battle is won—especially when powerful interests stand to benefit from keeping things unfair. In the United States, travelers are facing…

Airline Refund Rules: What You’re Owed for a Canceled Flight

With the busy holiday travel season fast approaching, a new Department of Transportation rule designed to protect U.S. airline passengers has gone fully into effect. As of Monday,…

How We Helped to End Family Seating Fees, the Worst Airline Junk Fee Ever

About ten years ago, airline greed reached a new low when every carrier in the nation refused to waive seating fees for families with young children to sit together inflight. I was at…

U.S. Forbids Airlines from Charging Families to Sit Together

There's been another big win for consumers at the U.S. airports. On Thursday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it has proposed a rule that forbids commercial…

Airplanes Don’t Like Extreme Heat: Tips for Avoiding Flight Delays in Summer's Hot Weather

Flying in the summer always presents challenges. But flying this summer promises to be particularly challenging. Airlines are already dealing with tremendous stress, including pent-up…

Can I Cancel a Flight and Get a Refund? Rules for Refunds, Reimbursements, and More

Sorting through the fine print of an airline’s policies can be tedious and confusing, and it doesn’t get any easier when things go awry. From meal and hotel vouchers to refunds,…

Is the U.S. Government’s New Dashboard on Airline Family Seating Actually Useful?

The U.S. Department of Transportation has rolled out an update to its airline customer service dashboard, adding a new section focused on which airlines do and don’t guarantee the…

Airline Passenger Bumping Is Back. Do You Know Your Rights?

Lately, it seems like everything that could go wrong in air travel has done just that, from entire airlines going on the fritz to technical glitches temporarily grounding…

Which U.S. Airline Takes the Best Care of Luggage?

U.S. airlines carried about 224 million checked bags in the second half of 2021—a significant increase from the 159 million bags checked from January through June. Inevitably, the…

Masks Are Coming Off but Not on Public Transportation—with One Exception

Science has spoken! Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that Covid-19 vaccines have been so effective that fully vaccinated Americans can return to…

How to File an FAA or Consumer Complaint Against an Airline: A Guide to Directing Your Government Grievances

Let’s say you have an issue with an airline. The company owes you a refund, for example. Or lost your baggage. Or bumped you from a flight unfairly. Or discriminated against you…

Airline Rules on Checked Bags and Wheelchairs Delayed

If you've ever been separated from your checked luggage—or worse, your checked wheelchair—you might wish the government would do something about the problem.Last year, the…

Study: Tarmac-Delay Rule Has Not Led to More Canceled Flights

It's been six years now since the Department of Transportation introduced a rule that penalizes airlines with hefty fines every time they leave passengers sitting on the tarmac for…

Oslo Travel After the Attacks: Where to Go, What to See

Tourism in Norway was at its height in mid-July when a bomb went off in central Oslo and a gunman opened fire a Labour Party summer camp on nearby Utøya island.The bomb demolished a…

7 Ways to Experience China on the Cheap

Though it's not as strong as it once was against the yuan, the American dollar still has more might in China than it does in many other parts of the world. With that exchange rate…

Prepping for a Hike Along the Appalachian Trail

Stretching from Maine to Georgia through 14 states and over 2,100 miles, the Appalachian Trail (AT) is as historic a trek as any other national park walk east coast or west. Conceived…