Travel Trends tips

The recent computer meltdowns at Southwest and Delta, two of the country’s most efficient and financially sound carriers, resulted in thousands of cancelled and delayed flights, disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of travelers. And they were just the latest incidents in what has come to seem like a systemic problem.

Little known fact: With over 8,000 properties, the Wyndham Hotel Group boasts the largest hotel network of any major chain. That’s right, more hotels than Marriott or Hilton or InterContinental.

One of the many irritants of travel-rewards programs is expiring miles. Typically, miles or points expire if there’s no account activity during a two- or three-year period. It’s a policy that’s irrelevant to high-frequency travelers, because they’re constantly on the go, pushing the expiration date forward with every trip. But for the great majority of travelers, who fly infrequently, the danger of allowing hard-earned miles to disappear is clear and present.

There’s an ongoing debate among travel junkies concerning what’s commonly referred to as premium economy. Specifically: When does an airline’s coach product legitimately deserve to be called premium economy? Is a couple of extra inches of legroom enough to qualify for the “premium” designation? An upgraded inflight entertainment system? Better meals? Priority boarding? More frequent-flyer miles?

American Express sent a chill across the travel hacker community this week with a warning that it planned to take steps to curtail credit-card churning, a technique used by travel hackers to snag generous travel rewards at little or no cost.

Earlier this summer, two of the world’s most financially and operationally sound airlines, Delta and Southwest, were forced to delay and cancel thousands of flights due to problems with their respective software systems.

Airline pricing transparency: Who’s for it, and who’s against it?

In his opening remarks before yesterday’s House Transportation Committee “Oversight of U.S. Airline Customer Service” hearing, committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) referred to two recent incidents: United’s forcible removal of a passenger on flight UA3411, and an American Airlines flight attendant’s tussle with a passenger over her child’s stroller.

Delta is all in on Seattle.

In yet another assault on the pocketbooks of visitors to Las Vegas, hotel resort fees continue to rise, with no end in sight.

Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency was predicated largely on two promises: more jobs and stiffer border security. Easier said than done. As it turns out, there are trade-offs that Trump either didn’t foresee or opted not to disclose.

When Kevin Maloney started to plan his trip to Iceland, a friend mentioned a new service called ViaHero. “I knew there was a lot to see in Iceland and I had a short period of time. I didn’t want to spend a lot of personal time doing the research,” Maloney says. “My goal was to have an expert map it out for me.”

New air routes by low-fare airlines promise great deals for budget-minded travelers across the globe this year. Here are the 11 most-exciting air routes low-fare lines are launching in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Soon, you’ll be able to fly from New York to London in about three hours—again. An ambitious group of enthusiasts, engineers, and financiers announced a plan to build a new supersonic transport (SST) aptly named “Boom.” The trade press reports that a half-scale demonstrator and test vehicle, called the XB-1, will fly sometime next year. Presumably, a production version will fly within a few more years, and a lot sooner than the typical timetable for big-plane development at Airbus and Boeing would dictate.

Today, at 11:00 local time, United Airlines’ last in-service B747, tail number 8418, will make its final passenger flight from San Francisco to Honolulu. That particular B747 was added to United’s fleet in 1999. As is the fate of most retired commercial planes, its final resting place will be the so-called airline graveyard in the Mojave Desert.

Are you among the many travelers who believe that overnight red-eye flights in economy class constitute cruel and unusual punishment? On most routes to Europe, you’re largely out of luck in finding any other option—until now.

A number of low-cost European airlines have shown signs of trouble since budget airlines Primera and Cobalt shut down in late 2018. The newest addition to the list of small European airlines to fold is the millennial-focused Joon—Air France’s budget venture.

Political progressives who want to make their hotel stays in Washington, D.C., alongside politically like-minded travelers will soon be able to do just that.

TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) recently released its 2018 Travel Trends Report, naming the most popular travel experiences, tours, and activities booked by its users last year. The data points to a shift toward non-traditional and experiential activities as travelers look to expand their options.

Looking for a lodging option with more than just a comfortable bed? The top hotels for customer service in the U.S., according to the new American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), are Hilton and Marriott. Hilton won overall with a customer satisfaction score of 82, followed closely by Marriott at 81, while Marriott’s sleek AC Hotels had a top score of 84.

What’s the worst airline out there? The Wall Street Journal’s Airline Scorecard just made a surprising claim, ranking JetBlue as the country’s worst airline while Delta ranked first.