A few declined card charges in Costa Rica. Within 48 hours, pilot Rafael Guimaraes had lost his 25-year Amazon account, his Prime membership and two decades of Kindle books. Amazon.com blamed Amazon.de. Amazon.de blamed Amazon.com. Nobody would explain exactly why.
Boarding a plane has become a contact sport, and so has getting off. With holiday flights packed and bag fees up, the scrum may get worse. A growing number of seasoned travelers opted out. They board last and deplane last.
Congress ordered the FAA to set a minimum airline seat size in 2018, then pushed again in 2024. This summer, in a report almost nobody noticed, the agency said its evacuation study found no problem at all. Case closed, apparently.
When Hilary Azzaretti found a deal on a Croatian hotel’s website, she did what any smart traveler would do. She double-checked the price on Expedia.
The lamps in the lobby of the Capella Sydney breathe, pulsing like a human respiratory cycle. They are the first clue that this restored 1915 government building is chasing a deeper idea of luxury than swapping plastic straws for paper.
William Hunt paid $365 for a Samsung projector that died after eight months, still under warranty. The repair center confirmed it was defective but said parts were unavailable. Samsung then shipped it back unrepaired and marked the service ticket completed.
American Airlines bumped Nicholle Acciarri from an oversold flight to Cleveland, and a gate agent promised her $650. She rented a car and drove home. Then the airline offered just a $250 credit and called it an equipment downgrade instead.
Linda Takvorian paid $377 to have two ceramic flowerpots packed, insured and shipped from a UPS Store in Massachusetts. One arrived shattered. An employee promised a full refund. Then the employee was fired, and the promise apparently left with him.
On a 14-hour flight to Manila, Phil Lockwood tracked every piece of waste his family of five left behind: 17 plastic cups, five half-eaten sandwiches, five amenity kits. Every untouched item, he says, is a cost baked into the fare.
In one week, a reader sent a consumer advocate more than 100 help requests, aimed at Apple, Chase, Equifax and Uber. Nearly every one asked for $8.4 million. Some grievances are real. Some are not. What does an advocate owe?
