Sometimes even elite status doesn't save a traveler from having bad experiences with a travel company's web site. As a Hilton Diamond member, I have access to a nifty phone number that is usually answered in seconds. Stay dozens of nights a year in the same hotel chain, and you can get that too.
But what I don't understand is why Hilton's online reservations and comment systems have been broken for months. Yes, Hilton corporate staff knows about the issue.
Today was the epitome of poor customer service.
After receiving an email asking me to comment on my stay at $439/night in New York for 4 nights, I clicked on the appropriate button. Imagine my surprise, when I had to fill out a complaint form. Having designed enough customer service systems over two decades, I was not pleased with this development, but I dutifully completed the information and then wrote my comment.
Their system reported an error twice when I clicked the submit button. I scanned the email only to find the expected "Do not reply to this email" message. Seems I wasn't so important despite the opening paragraph. So I went to the main Hilton site and clicked the contact button.
Yep, another crash.
The web is working fine on the two computers on my desk. Hilton, however, has been up and down for a year to the point where Diamond call center employees have had to give me special URLs to check my reservation.
Seems like Paris isn't the only dysfunctional Hilton.
As struggling U.S. air carriers try to reach profitability by scaling back services, consumers will soon be missing another staple -- the paper ticket.
The association most of the world's airlines belong to has reached consensus that its members will stop issuing paper tickets for travel as of June 1, 2008. Checking in for a flight from a PC, mobile phone or airport kiosk has become the norm for many frequent travelers, but this is no longer simply an option for frequent, tech-savvy travelers.
Consumer Help Web receives many complaints from travelers who don't often travel for business and might only take several flights in their entire lives. The familiar processes frequent travelers grumble about are unknown to those consumers.
Many start standing in line the moment they reach the airport, unaware of luggage weight limits, how to operate check-in kiosks or security checkpoint procedures. If a consumer flies once every few years, the rules constantly change, and they often miss a connection, are forced to abandon a keepsake at security or waste time standing in at least one too many lines.
Airlines are like many physicians in such cases. Accustomed to seeing a crush of humanity and horrible situations, the average consumer's frustration seems minimal and not worthy of effort. When Consumer Help Web contacts airlines (or cruise ships or even bus lines), even our team is sometimes greeted with a perfunctory offer of extra frequent-flier miles for our customer or a coupon for a future trip. Since neither are very valuable for consumers who don't travel by very often, we have learned to excel at guiding our consumer customers to an appropriate resolution they want to receive.
Meanwhile, we love technology, but we're not sure there was enough time to phase-in the "no paper ticket" rule. Tell us what you think below.
Forget the number of carry-on pieces and the long lines. Air travel is about to get more interesting as US Airways joins United in charging extra for a second piece of luggage.
Consumers quickly (and too easily) rolled over for weight limits on buggage that continued shrinking. Two major US carriers are now saying that they will charge extra for a second piece of luggage, even on international flights.
While I've taken plenty of one or two day international flights for business, I can't imagine that carrying a second piece of luggage if I travel to Europe or the islands is going to cost me more.
But it is. The new rules go in effect May 5, coincidentally just in time for peak travel season.
Older readers may remember O.J. Simpson's famous Hertz commercials back when he was a football player and actor. The spots showed the star running back racing through an airport and hurtling over chairs, suitcase and other obstacles.
According to the latest government data, travelers can stroll more leisurely than Simpson.
The nation's airlines, despite rising fuel prices and terrorism concerns, posted some of the worst flight delay statistics in recent memory during June. The national average for timeliness was 68.1%, down almost a full percent from last June. More astonishing was the 100% delay experienced by eight different flights last month. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that 6 of the 8 flights originated from New York's JFK Airport or from Atlanta's Hartsfield. One of the other flights was a departure from Tennessee to Atlanta, and for some inexplicable reason, Northwest's flight 656 from its hub in Detroit to Newark, New Jersey joined the group at 100%.
But late arrivals were not the only issue facing travelers in June. Three airlines canceled more than 5% of their flights in June: Mesa, American Eagle and Northwest.
When flights did take off, there was a good chance that the luggage was also delayed or even lost. The government agency said that "mishandled baggage" complaints rose 25% for a 6 month period ending in June. There were 7.34 reports of mishandled baggage for each 1,000 passengers during the period. Put in perspective, a small regional jet holds nearly 50 passengers while larger jets can hold more than 100, sometimes much more. Another way of expressing the rate the government reported is that 1 out of every 136 passengers reported a baggage problem, and many passengers continue to only bring carry-on luggage.
Keep your cool during the waning days of summer, and you just may want to consider carry-on luggage for shorter trips. At least you won't bump into O.J. Chances are his flight is late too.
The Transportation Security Administration is about to make moms and smokers happy again.
This week, the government agency charged with protecting the nation's air travel, lifts its two year old ban on carrying cigarette lighters aboard flights. Breast milk, long a contentious issue because mothers were limited to 3.4 ounces, can now also be carried aboard even if a child is not present.
In addition to the public complaints against the breast milk prohibition, the TSA reports that it was confiscating about a half million cigarette lighters each month. The agency had banned lighters from flights, which are non-smoking, because of an attempted terrorist attack in 2001. What remains unclear is why TSA took more than three years to implement the short-lived ban.
All other carry-on restrictions, including the infamous 3 ounces of liquids or gels, remain in effect when the rules change August 4.
Fur, empty peanut bags and soda cans have been flying around airline cabins after a group of American Airline passengers reportedly formed a special interest group to lobby for airline passenger rights after being stranded on the airline. Commercial aviation groups have fought back, and the rhetoric has been heated on both sides.
As the U.S. Independence Day holiday approaches on July 4, here is the important data you need to know if you're flying:
* Expect security to be heightened after terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow. * Don't worry about getting back in to the United States given the well-publicized passport delays if you are going to Canada, Mexico or the islands. Do worry if the country to which you are traveling requires a passport. The State Department made an announcement about this weeks ago. * The biggie has to do with liquids. Everyone will be in line. Everyone will be tired and/or excited. Don't hold the security line up. Here is the definitive word on liquids and other carry-on items:
The following rules apply to all liquids, gels, and aerosols carried through security checkpoints.
1. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller. 2. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. 3. Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items.
There are exceptions for baby formula, breast milk, and other essential liquids, gels, and aerosols, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
TSA calls this policy 3-1-1, and they don't mean Nick Hexum. Check out the rest of the rules before you leave for the airport.
If you're driving, you may be familiar with AAA's famous gas price survey. The auto club now has an even better tool -- a database of 85,000 filling stations that lets you find the least expensive fuel options. Use it, and put the extra scratch in your pocket for a sparkler.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expanding an air traffic program that reduces flight delays during the peak summer season. The Airspace Flow Program, as it is known, gives airlines the option of either accepting delays for flights scheduled to fly through storms or flying longer routes to safely maneuver around them.
The agency successfully launched the program last year at seven locations in the Northeast. On bad weather days at major airports in the region, delays fell by 9 percent compared to the year before. Cost savings for the airlines and the flying public from the program are estimated to be $100 million annually.
“This is a much better way to handle summer traffic,” said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. “If your flight isn’t scheduled to fly through bad weather you don’t have to sit on the tarmac. If it is, your airline has the choice of taking a delay shared evenly by all the affected flights or flying around the storm.”
Before last year, severe storms often forced the FAA to ground flights at affected airports, penalizing flights not scheduled to fly through them. This program allows the FAA to manage traffic fairly and efficiently by identifying only those flights scheduled to fly through storms and giving them estimated departure times. In turn, the airlines have greater flexibility in planning schedules with less disruption for passengers.
This summer, the number of Airspace Flow Program locations — chosen for their combination of heavy traffic and frequent bad weather — will be expanded from seven to 18. The additional locations will ease delays for passengers flying through the South and Midwest, as well as those on transcontinental flights.
“Dynamic” programs will be introduced in other areas to target storms with surgical precision as they develop and move. Airspace Flow Programs will also be used in conditions not related to weather, such as severe congestion near major cities.
Airspace Flow Programs were conceived by the FAA two years ago and developed in close coordination with the airline industry. On bad weather days, agency and airline officials collaborate to decide where and when the programs should be put in place.
The nation’s largest airlines recorded a rate of on-time flights this past March that was higher than in February but down from the rate posted in March 2006, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The 20 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 73.3 percent in March, down from March 2006’s 76.1 but an improvement over February 2007’s 67.3 percent.
Special jeers for U.S. Airways. According to the government agency, the airline had by far the lowest on-time rate at 55.5% (JetBlue was next with 63% -- that's a huge difference). Even more astonishing was the performance of several US Airways flight. The survey found that one flight between Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport to New York -- a flight with direct competition from Delta's "shuttle" was late 100% of the time. That's right, every single flight. Here are the worst five flights and the top 3 overall performing airlines:
Most Frequently Delayed Flights
1. US Airways flight 2188 from Washington Reagan National to New York LaGuardia – late 100 percent of the time 2. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2575 from Newark, NJ to Pittsburgh – late 96.15 percent of the time 3. Comair flight 5274 from Boston to New York JFK – late 96.00 percent of the time 4. US Airways flight 836 from Boston to Philadelphia – late 95.00 percent of the time 5. US Airways flight 834 Charlotte, NC to Buffalo, NY – late 92.86 percent of the time
Sometimes even elite status doesn't save a traveler from having bad experiences with a travel company's web site. As a Hilton Diamond member, I have access to a nifty phone number that is usually answered in seconds. Stay dozens of nights a year in the same hotel chain, and you can get that too.
