Bumped? What your airline ticket says about you

There are a few bits of information to pay close attention to on an airline ticket: the flight number, gate number and boarding time. Fare basis code? Not a common concern. But the single-letter code can make a big difference in some parts of the travel experience, even though most passengers don’t pay any attention. [...]

Airline fees test travelers’ limits

After a United flight hit severe turbulence over Kansas on July 20, injuring dozens of people on board, Jay Leno joked that flight attendants administered first aid only to passengers who paid a $7.50 “triage fee.” It was a bit of morbid humor reflecting the view that airline fees are out of control. Even the [...]

Airline fees make it hard to shop for best deal

Finding the best deal on a flight has become a lot more difficult, thanks to hefty baggage and service fees that consumers often don’t know about until they show up at the airline counter, congressional investigators say. Those fees are not part of the ticket price, meaning they can easily go unseen until it’s too [...]

Airfares not yet back at pre-crisis levels

Average airline fares have risen significantly but have not yet reached levels seen before the global downturn, despite more travelers and greater volumes of freight, industry body IATA said on Wednesday. In its latest financial snapshot, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday that fares still remained 10-15 percent below their pre-recession peak. [...]

Travel deals from Gulf spill spread wider than oil

As more oil from the Gulf of Mexico washes up on surrounding beaches, tourism in many Southeastern states is fading — even in areas far away from the gooey mess. But hotels from Texas to Florida and some airlines like Spirit are eager to drum up business driven away by oil fears — which means [...]

Airlines aim sales at impulsive, Twitter types

Fly to the Bahamas today for $10. Take a trip to Los Angeles tomorrow for $20. While airfares generally are higher these days, last-minute sales that ask you to fly at a moment’s notice are popping up everywhere. Why do airlines launch a sale that asks people to travel the next day or fly on [...]

8 ways to save on a summer vacation

For families planning (or not planning) summer vacations this year, it’s still the economy, stupid. According to a TripAdvisor family travel survey released in March, more than two-thirds of respondents anticipated spending the same or less on family trips than they did last year. Almost a third—30 percent of respondents—said they’d spend between $1,000 and [...]