SOUTHWEST Update - Working through cancellations

Southwest Airlines is experiencing relatively few flight delays and cancellations while they are proactively inspecting some Boeing 737s.  For more information about these inspections.

If your flight is delayed or canceled and you would like to reschedule your trip in accordance with Southwest accommodation guidelines Online Rebook

For Customers who did not purchase their ticket via southwest.com, please call 1-800-435-9792 to rebook your travel plans without paying any additional charge.  Also, Customers holding reservations for a canceled flight may request a refund for an unused ticket/travel itinerary.

Link to ehow article on Southwest Cancellation policy.

AIRLINES FEES - Cool visual chart on fees

Vacation Tip: Lost Luggage

Even though lost luggage claims are down over 20% this year, it still hurts if it is your bags that are the ones lost.  If your bags are lost, you may qualify for up to $3,300 in compensation on domestic USA flights and up to $1,700 for international flights.  Check with your airline for policies.




The best advice to is to prepare so your bags are not lost.  Here are some things you can do to get control:

BEFORE LEAVING:
*  Book a non stop flight.  Minimize the chance of a failed transfer.
*  Choose an airline with a good baggage record.  Compare here.
*  Pack your carry-on wisely so that you can live comfortably for a few days - medications and clothes - in case you have to.
*  Remove old luggage tags to avoid confusion.
*  Label your suitcase well - also tuck a business card inside - Lack of ID tags is why luggage ends up in the lost luggage clearing house and is resold.

AT THE AIRPORT:
*  Check in on time, if not your bags may not make the flight.
*  Make sure the desk agent places the correct destination tags on your bags.
* Hang onto your baggage claim ticket.  Often, it is attached to your boarding pass and is frequently left behind on the plane.

AFTER LANDING:
* Be at the carousel when bags are off-loaded.
*  If your bags are lost or delayed, file a report immediately at the airport and get a copy.
*  Ask the lost-luggage counter for the airline's contract of carriage, this will spell out your rights.
*  The Department of Transportation recommends following up with a certified letter to the airline's customer service department restating the details of the incident.

LESSON LEARNED:
Do your best to pack lightly and travel with carry-on only.  With what you save in time, aggravation and baggage fees, you could purchase what you don't pack at your destination.

Cool web site about travel by American Express:  www.TravelAndLeisure.com

BookingBuddy.com - Travel App Review

BookingBuddy (http://www.bookingbuddy.com/) is a service of Smarter Travel Media LLC. It is a free service designed to help travelers search all their favorite travel websites with fewer clicks and in less time.

"BookingBuddy.com attempts to take the hassle out of searching multiple travel sites to find the best rates and deals. Simply fill out your travel details in the box marked Step 1, and then click one of the popular search sites from the Step 2 box at the right. BookingBuddy checks Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, Hotwire.com, Priceline.com, Travelocity.com, as well as numerous other hotel, air, car-rental, cruise, and vacation sites."

Negatives on BookingBuddy.com are:  some find it to be slow and labor intensive.  Especially around the  way it is designed.  Plugging in the information for what you are looking for and then choose which search engine to use. This process can be slow and requires you to select each search engine separately. Some might be able to search the other sites quicker on their own.  The fact that it's owned by Expedia, there is a perceived bias in guiding the user towards Expedia.com

Others have found that BookingBuddy is useful.  Especially when needing to quickly compare several  ticketing sites and various travel dates.  The service they give is completely free, and it has been designed to help travelers search through all the travel websites. The site will also save all your recent searches so you don't have to retype all the information again. Also you can compare prices not only from flights companies but also from hotels, cruises, vacations, travel deals and cars.

“As travelers feel more comfortable shopping on-line, they're also looking for the lowest prices available.”, says president Daniel Saul.

Now known as Smarter Travel Media, the company was acquired in 2007 by TripAdvisor and Expedia.

Get your Travel Complaint Resolved

Here are some reasons your complaints maybe ignored by whoever ruined your vacation.  Remember, what ever happened has already happened, now you want to get what you can get.

Frivolous grievances

So the hot water in your hotel room ran lukewarm? Sorry, but you're not entitled to a free week in a suite. Did a flight attendant get a little short with you on your last trip? Your request for a first-class seat anywhere the airline flies is unlikely to be met. Complaints are sent to the proverbial circular file almost immediately when they're not legitimate, and that's almost certainly where yours will end up. How do you determine if your complaint is for real? I recommend checking out the company's terms and conditions (for example, the airline's contract of carriage or the cruise line's cruise contract, both of which are available from the company's Web site). If your problem is addressed there, it's probably the real deal. For the rest, use common sense.

Calling instead of writing

Even though a phone offers an instant way of communicating with a travel company, you shouldn't expect too much from it. A representative may or may not respond to your oral request (in my experience, usually not) and since phone calls disappear into the digital ether once you hang up, there's no surefire way of holding a company to its word. Besides, how can you be certain they understood a word you said? Unfortunately, more travelers are running into a formidable language barrier when dealing with overseas call centers. The agents often don't get it.  I've lost count of the number of times I get e-mails from disgruntled passengers who say they've spent "hours" on the phone and have gotten nowhere. But when they put their complaint in writing and send an e-mail to the company, the case is often solved quickly. Note: for some odd reason, Southwest Airlines still prefers real paper letters. It's not the greenest practice, but the airline is typically very responsive.

Making a laundry list

Let's face it; a long list of complaints makes you look like a whiner. And no one takes a whiner seriously. Laundry lists are most common to cruise passengers. The air conditioning in my berth didn't work right, we didn't get the dinner seating we wanted, our shore excursion left without us -- and we want a full refund. No can do. I usually stop reading after the third bullet point and send my form letter. I'm not sure if the customer service agents even get that far. Did I mention no one likes a whiner?

Wasting their time

Couldn't get an aisle seat on your flight because the airline had to change planes? Did you specify a beach view room but only saw part of the shore? These time-wasting complaints automatically are met with form letters.

Writing long

For some reason, lots of travelers want to compose the great American novel when they complain. Who knows why? The essentials of a long -- and likely to be ignored -- letter include the following: first, it must be incomprehensibly verbose. I've read letters that run more than eight pages, single-spaced. Instead of clear, simple language they use big, empty words.   Another telltale sign of a long and ineffective letter is a timeline. "Saturday morning, 9 a.m., tried to board flight; Saturday late morning, 11:45 a.m., flight delayed; Saturday afternoon, 2 p.m. flight FINALLY boarded." No one needs this information. In fact, these specifics probably are standing between you and the compensation you deserve. Why? Because customer service agents will take a quick look at it and then send -- you guessed it -- a form response. Save the details for court.

Not offering a solution

Most travelers with a solid case do a fine job of explaining their problems. But not everyone offers a solution. This makes the travel company's job exceptionally difficult. Now their customer service agents must guess what it would take to make you happy. Is a letter of apology enough? A voucher? A couple thousand frequent flier miles? Or are we talking real money? Here's the problem: The customer service agent will almost always err on the low side, offering a highly restricted certificate instead of a refund, or just sending you a cleverly-worded apology and hoping it will be enough. It hardly ever is.

Being impolite

I shouldn't have to tell you that yelling on the phone or online by typing in ALL UPPERCASE is a terrible idea. You will get hung up on. Your letter will be taken to the dumpster. Remember, the customer-service department is staffed with real people. How would you feel if you got an e-mail that said: "This is the WORST HOTEL IN THE WORLD and you should all be ashamed of yourselves." Doesn't make you want to do something nice for that person does it?

Threatening

If you've ever wanted to end a complaint letter -- or phone call, for that matter -- with the words "I'LL NEVER FLY YOUR AIRLINE AGAIN!" or "I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT!" then let me offer a little advice. Don't. Threats won't just guarantee your failure. You could also end up on a company's blacklist (oh yes, they have them) or if your threat is serious enough -- say, you threaten the president of the company with bodily harm -- then you find yourself on the wrong side of the law. Interestingly, when I see one of these letters in my "in" box, it's attached to a note sheepishly asking me why the traveler hasn't heard anything from the airline or hotel. Hmm, let's see. Maybe it's because you threatened to boycott the airline.

As long as you remember to complain only when you have a good reason, put it in writing, tell them what you want and mind your manners, you'll get what you deserve.