In late summer, United Airlines announced a new program where a select number of travel agents would no longer be allowed to use the airline’s merchant account to process ticket purchases. This maneuver was an obvious attempt to save the three to four percent credit card processing fees. The Consumer Travel Alliance saw a more ominous outcome — the possible loss of important consumer protections.
{ 2 comments }
The Consumer Travel Alliance polled almost 100,000 readers of various travel newsletters over the past week concerning consumers’ opinions about tarmac delays. The fact that 87.2 percent of the respondents felt Congress should pass a rule mandating three or four hours as the maximum time a plane is kept waiting on the runway after leaving the gate was no surprise. But the fact that 50 percent of those passengers only want to go back to the gate if they can still get to their destination that day was a little unexpected.
{ 9 comments }
Here are the Top 10 issues as ranked as “most important” by this Consumer Alliance poll of newsletter readers. Delayed/canceled flights and hidden fees/surcharges topped the list of issues.
{ 0 comments }
The airlines industry spent $31 million lobbying Congress last year. The hotel industry plunked down $8 million and the cruise industry dropped more than $6 million on lobbying. How much did travelers spend to get their voices heard in Washington? Nothing. That’s about to change.
{ 4 comments }
From the Forums