The Travel Critic
7 essential survival skills for summer travelers
There’s got to be a better way to handle all of the negativity of summer travel than voodoo dolls, recreational drugs and firearms. So I asked a few experts to tell me how they’d cope with the travelin’ blues.
Elliott Videocast
Aren goes into space
It’s Aren Elliott’s sixth birthday, and his brother Iden wants to send him into outer space. What better place to try than at Kennedy Space Center? Here’s their adventure.
The Troubleshooter
Help, my ticket fell through the cracks
Susan Null books two business-class tickets on British Airways using her Alaska Airlines frequent flier miles. But when she checks her reservation, she finds nothing. Alaska Airlines says her booking has “slipped through the cracks.” Can they retrieve it in time for her trip?
Recent columns
Elliott blog
“A prime example of bureaucratic nonsense and inefficiency”
Why can’t airlines make money? No, it’s not high fuel prices (otherwise, most of Europe’s airlines would have gone belly-up long ago). Bad management? Maybe. Then again, it could just be a lack of common sense.
Airfare increases? What airfare increases?
Time for a little reality check. Everyone is screaming about the unprecedented rise in airfares. Well, everyone is wrong.
Missed your flight to Chicago? That’ll be another $2,350, please
Philip Gibicar missed his flight to from Bakersfield, Calif., to Phoenix. He thought US Airways might put him on the next flight or, at worst, charge him a modest change fee. Instead, it demanded an additional $2,350.
Airport payphones are ripping off travelers
Payphones may be an endangered species, but they are not unprofitable. Not if they’re in places frequented by travelers.
Northwest’s pesky call center fee is refundable — if you know who to contact
Contrary to what your airline might tell you, those highly annoying “call center fees” it charges for buying your tickets by phone aren’t necessarily nonrefundable. Not if you know who to contact.
Watch out — Spirit is socking passengers with surprise fees!
You’ve probably heard about Spirit Airlines’ crackpot seat reservation fee. But there appears to be more — much more — awaiting the unsuspecting passenger.
10 best clothing-optional resorts in the world exposed
Clothing-optional tourism is a $400 million industry, according to the American Association for Nude Recreation. And while several myths about nude tourism linger, the growth of this segment is undeniable.