Passenger rights tips

With the rise of basic economy and budget airline models that charge extra for seat selection, it’s become a lot harder for groups, but especially families with kids, to secure seats next to each other. And that’s a sore spot for many parents who travel: Once a child is above two years old, they’re typically no longer considered a lap-seat infant. And of course, small children want to be with their parents—so should you have to pay more just because you’re a family if not enough free, consecutive seats are left? Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but the problem has apparently become so widespread that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is addressing it, though not guaranteeing you won’t have to pay for it.

With rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft taking over, you might be wondering where in the world it’s still possible to take a cheap taxi. Cabs aren’t dead, yet: These countries still heavily rely on them.

In a win for travelers, a new European Union Court of Justice decision is extending E.U. flight delay compensation requirements to connecting flights on the same reservation, even when the second airline is a different, non-E.U. airline (read: one not subject to E.U. rules). The precedent means that E.U. airlines can be required to pay travelers for extensive air travel delays on other, non-European airlines.

In a big win for Britain’s consumers, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has told big online travel agencies that they must include any mandatory charges like hotel “resort” fees (which are often applied by non-resort hotels in big cities, as well) in the up-front listed price. It’s ok, says CMA, for hotels to break the full price into a base charge plus a mandatory fee, but all mandatory fees must be included in the initially displayed cost.

Sometimes a red-eye flight can be the perfect solution to your long-haul trip. It can offer a place to sleep (so you don’t have to pay for an additional night of lodging); plus, a morning arrival means you can hit the ground running when you arrive. But depending on the airline, choosing evening—or even afternoon—travel can be a grave mistake that could throw your trip into a spiral.

National Security Advisor Bolton recently announced that the current administration will tighten rules on travel to Cuba to close tourism loopholes, limiting Cuba travel to mainly family visits. But that’s all that Bolton said. The Department of the Treasury is responsible for issuing specific sanctions, so many expected the Treasury to officially announce new rules the following week. But so far, it hasn’t announced anything at all. The result for now is uncertainty—despite some reports that the specific details are indeed coming.

The Department of Transportation announced this summer that it will issue new guidelines governing service animals on planes. The agency published a list of enforcement priorities, which offer insight into how it will structure rules around this growing issue.

The complete shutdown of Primera Air and now WOW Air are examples of the reality that an airline can abruptly fail. Without notice, even a large airline can shutter, leaving some passengers stranded away from home and others responsible for out-of-pocket costs for worthless tickets.

The first real action to prevent hotels from posting false low-ball prices on initial rate searches, also known as hidden “resort fees,” is finally underway. The Attorney General of the District of Columbia asked the D.C. Superior Court for injunctive relief against Marriott (the world’s largest hotel chain) for violations of the District’s consumer protections against deceptive advertising. And it could mean a lot for the future of hotel pricing.

Last week, I wrote about my upcoming round-the-world trip, which I had been planning for several months (here’s the story). My friends and family were concerned about me going to Asia amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Of course, I had some concerns, too. After asking for answers to the question “Should I cancel my trip to Asia?” on both my website and my Facebook page, I was shocked by how many people said that I should cancel. Some of the comments were coming from big-time travelers, including executives of Asian airlines.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended for one year the deadline after which TSA will accept only drivers licenses or state ID cards with REAL ID as valid to fly domestically. The former October 2020 deadline is now October 1, 2021.

Nearly a year has passed since the Boeing 737-MAX last flew in early 2019. The fate of the beleaguered aircraft remains very much in doubt, with no true sense of when the airline might return to the skies.

When you purchase travel from an airline or another operator, you enter into a contract for a service or goods. And if some unforeseen calamity prevents the seller from delivering the promised goods or services, the seller can claim “force majeure” as a basis for terminating the contract without incurring any liability for breach of contract.

Update: After a few iterations of policy changes in one week, United’s current policy on schedule changes is that if it can’t get you to your original destination within six hours of the original schedule, it will refund your fare—but with a catch. The refund is limited to a credit voucher good for a year rather than cash, and you can get cash only if you don’t use that voucher within a full year. The blogosphere is speculating that refusing a cash refund for a full year is illegal, but nobody has any great suggestions about how to avoid the problem.

This post originally appeared on JohnnyJet.com. Sign up for the Johnny Jet Daily Travel Tip newsletter here for more.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has barred residents of New York State from enrolling in or renewing membership in several “trusted traveler” programs including Global Entry. Specifically, the order covers four programs that expedite the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) entry process:

The Department of Transportation (DOT) just reminded everyone that travelers are entitled to a refund (not airline credits) for canceled flights. Why? Because some airlines have recently parted from longstanding U.S. regulations that require those refunds.

The 2020 coronavirus, or COVID-19 pandemic, has been a moving target when it comes to travel. Nobody knows how long it will continue, whether and which areas it might hit next, when and where it will plateau and start to ease off, or when the travel world might return to something like normal. The time frame for cases to begin diminishing is unknown. And even once a decrease occurs, it’s worth considering that the virus could return.

For decades, airlines just about everywhere have been resisting government-mandated passenger rights regulations. Despite the fact that the airlines brought on themselves many of the regulations they hate; they’ve had a remarkably deaf ear for customer pain points. That struggle has been ongoing for years both in the U.S. and abroad.

I sometimes get so used to bashing travel suppliers—especially airlines—for the many ways they abuse travelers’ rights, that I often overlook the good they do. Especially during this global pandemic, travel suppliers are doing a lot of good.