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A week in review: Personalized air fares, Miami, Avis’ extra charge, Mileage upgrades, Squeezed on planes
It was talked about back in 2010, and it’s still talked about in 2015: the personalization of airfares. Recently, a group of senators expressed concerns about privacy, discrimination and deception when airlines choose to profile a consumer, then personalize their airfare. They sent this letter to Secretary of Transportation Foxx. Scary, isn’t it? Charlie Leocha explains more in his article Senate rattles the airlines’ personal airfares and privacy.
Reading the fine print in any car rental is daunting. Oftentimes, we rely on employees of rental companies to guide us. We also rely on technology to help us out. So when both fail, and you find an extra charge of $958 on your bill, what do you do? Where do you turn? You turn to consumer advocate, Chris Elliott, to help you out.
Do you feel you have less and less room when flying? You’re right. Seat pitch is the distance from one seat to the same point on the seat in front or behind it. And yes, it’s getting smaller. Are there safety concerns that need to be addressed? Health concerns? Columnist Ned Levi explains more.
Other stories include 8 great places in the city of Miami and mileage upgrades (and why you’ll never get one!).
Travelers United is thankful for your support. We are here to keep you informed and updated on travel policies and problems affecting the travel industry. Plus, we work every day to keep consumer issues in front of Congress, their staff, and stakeholders.
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Already, Travelers United has been responsible for the 24-hour rule that allows consumers to cancel or change reservations within 24 hours of making them. We successfully worked to increase the lost luggage compensation to $3,400 and the denied boarding penalties to $1,300 per passenger when bumped. Now, we are working on protecting privacy from drones, keeping the airlines from squeezing any more passengers into planes and making sure frequent flier programs are fair.
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The latest from Consumer Traveler
Senate rattles the airlines’ personal airfares and privacy plans
Senate leaders have questioned the DOT response to personalized pricing from a privacy point of view. This supports a long-time effort by Travelers United.
8 great places to see Miami like a native
“Miami. See it like a native.” was a fascinating ad campaign in the late 1970s. The most popular ad poster was kinda risqué and I read that it is still not allowed on Facebook.
Forced to return his Avis car to another location — what’s with this extra charge?
An Avis customer was charged an extra $958 just because he dropped the car off at another location? That’s a little bit steep, don’t you think?
You’ll never get that mileage upgrade! Here are six reasons why
When it comes to frequent flier upgrades, advance planning can matter relatively little and status alone doesn’t mean as much as it once did. Not surprisingly, the changes are about money.
Feeling squeezed in your airplane’s economy seating?
Airlines are squeezing more rows into the economy class cabin of their aircraft, reducing seat pitch and legroom. Ned Levi looks at seating challenges for economy passengers.
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Making travel better. For you. With You. Join Travelers United and be a part of a community of travel enthusiasts who want to improve the travel industry, exchange thoughts and ideas with fellow trippers, and make a difference on Capitol Hill. Invite your friends and family. We’re in this together. Click HERE to join.
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Image by Bostonnaps.com.
