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ADM1
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 05:37 pm | 1st Post |
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20080903/ap_tr_ge/travel_know_how_flight_cancellations;_ylt=AorW9epcR0rk47d6jtjL9mY8sM0F
Q: In light of how the airlines are cutting back their schedules this fall, what can I do — and what recourse do I have — if my flight is canceled?
A: As airlines look to cut capacity, a lot are rescheduling passengers on other flights — but some aren't advising passengers of the changes ahead of time, according to Anne Banas, executive editor of http://www.SmarterTravel.com]
But before you even get to the airport, there are several things you can do to prevent a potentially messy experience.
Banas recommends signing up for alerts through your airline or a booking Web site (such as Orbitz]http://www.orbitz.com/]Orbitz ]http://www.travelocity.com/]
http://www.expedia.com/ to keep you informed about your flight and any changes. These alerts, which can be directed to an e-mail address, cell phone, or PDA, are especially important as your flight time approaches, Banas said.
If your flight is canceled completely for a reason within the airline's control (read: not weather), Banas suggests being prepared with some information that can get you on another flight as soon as possible.
First, take a look at flights leaving around the time of your departed flight. It'll save you time and effort at the airport if your flight gets canceled, and will give you a leg up when negotiating for a change to your ticket.
She also recommends printing out the airlines' "Contract of Carriage" before you arrive at the airport. This contract will spell out what your rights are in the event of a canceled flight.
Although each airline has a slightly different contract of carriage, most airlines will rebook you on a flight within four hours of the original flight. If the airline can't rebook you within that time, you can ask for a hotel voucher. Food vouchers are also negotiable.
When you get word of that canceled flight, Banas recommends calling the airline right away. Standing in the customer service line with hundreds of other passengers will likely cause you more headaches and might not get you the speedy change you would like. Instead, Banas suggests doing both: Dial the airline on your cell phone while you're standing in the customer service line.
While it is in the airline's best interest to book you on another flight with them, as opposed to a competing carrier, you still can ask to be redirected on another carrier. Having the flight number, destination and time of similar flights will come in handy.
For a weather-related cancellation, the same procedure applies, with a little less flexibility in some cases.
Banas noted that recent cancelations because of Hurricane Gustav "set a precedent" that airlines are willing to rebook a flight for free if there is a weather-related delay. While most ticket change fees will be waived if travelers choose to take another flight, Banas said changes in destinations (flying into a neighboring city, for example) will likely result in a charge.
Also, changes to a ticket can only be made once in most cases, so be sure of your itinerary before making the switch to avoid extra fees.
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Catnip
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 06:46 pm | 2nd Post |
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ADM1 wrote:
First, take a look at flights leaving around the time of your departed flight.
She also recommends printing out the airlines' "Contract of Carriage" before you arrive at the airport. This contract will spell out what your rights are in the event of a canceled flight.
I had never thought of printing out the Contract, but that is a good idea and I hope I will remember to do it!
I gnerally try and remember to print out alternative flights, so I'll have that info, in case my flight is cancelled or delayed.
I also write down my FF number and airline phone numbers on my ticket itinerary.
Airline travel is only going to get worse..........
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33 previous cruises..
Next up: Celebrity Solstice 1-09/Jewel of the Seas 3-09/ QM 2 11-09/ Queen Victoria 1/10
**Triangles Are For Losers!**
When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state"
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gurlwithbaggage
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 06:50 pm | 3rd Post |
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I never thought about the contract either but that is something to think about.
Anymore, I hate the hassles of flying. I hate the lines, the TSA, and being crowded in like some sardines. I would rather drive than fly anyday.
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Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans~~John Lennon
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Catnip
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 06:52 pm | 4th Post |
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gurlwithbaggage wrote:
Anymore, I hate the hassles of flying. I hate the lines, the TSA, and being crowded in like some sardines. I would rather drive than fly anyday.
I'm getting to hate it, too. But I hate driving for long distances, too! I wish I was like "Bewitched" and could just twitch my nose!!!!!!! 
____________________
33 previous cruises..
Next up: Celebrity Solstice 1-09/Jewel of the Seas 3-09/ QM 2 11-09/ Queen Victoria 1/10
**Triangles Are For Losers!**
When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state"
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JenDalessan
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 07:11 pm | 5th Post |
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my TSA idiot experience:
The new liquid rules had just come into play. I heard about those so I made sure I had nothing over 4 ounces in my carry on. I had to go to Chicago for a board meeting. I would be gone exactly 24 hours so all I needed was the carry on bag.
The TSA agent decided to open my bag after it went through the x-ray machine. She held up the line behind me while she did this. She pulled out several things from my makeup bag. She held out a tube of mascara, some concealer, lipstick and a few other things. She asked me "Where is your clear zip loc bag?" I had not heard about the zip loc requirement so I asked her what she meant. She said that all my liquids needed to be in a zip loc bag. I was puzzled and she yelled "I NEED TO BE ABLE TO PULL OUT THE BAG AND SEE YOUR LIQUIDS"....ummm....she was holding my liquids in her HAND. Could she just LOOK AT HER HAND?
She then told me i had two choices. She could either throw it all away or I had to walk to a coffee place nearby and purchase a zip loc bag. She continued to hold up the line while she did this. The guy behind me asked if he could go ahead and she yelled at him for "interfering with a government inspection"
I ran to the coffee place and purchased a 39 cent bag and ran back to get my stuff. It was more than $50 worth of make up, I couldn't let her throw it out. After she zipped it into a the bag she said "this is for YOUR safety"....
Yes, I felt like the country was much safer with my mascara in a zip loc bag.
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seawitches
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 07:37 pm | 6th Post |
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| Before the onboard ban got really heavy... and in the days of carrying all my good and paste jewelry I was flying home from Miami... I had a whole squadron of different cultural women gathered around my carry on. All having a good look at my junk. What sparked it off, was the Ivana watch Pearl had given me one year..... that did it. They called all the girlfriends over, and we had to go thru piece by piece. DH thought I had been busted, lines were being held up. I could've had a 50 ton bomb in there, but no it was Ivana's precious paste that did it. They stuck to the jewelry, never looked at anything else. Asked me what stones were what, one woman came close to trying on a piece. Those were the days, I wouldn't say a word...... now I'd be screaming for their boss.... and then having an "exam".
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gurlwithbaggage
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 08:13 pm | 7th Post |
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JenDalessan wrote: my TSA idiot experience:
The new liquid rules had just come into play. I heard about those so I made sure I had nothing over 4 ounces in my carry on. I had to go to Chicago for a board meeting. I would be gone exactly 24 hours so all I needed was the carry on bag.
The TSA agent decided to open my bag after it went through the x-ray machine. She held up the line behind me while she did this. She pulled out several things from my makeup bag. She held out a tube of mascara, some concealer, lipstick and a few other things. She asked me "Where is your clear zip loc bag?" I had not heard about the zip loc requirement so I asked her what she meant. She said that all my liquids needed to be in a zip loc bag. I was puzzled and she yelled "I NEED TO BE ABLE TO PULL OUT THE BAG AND SEE YOUR LIQUIDS"....ummm....she was holding my liquids in her HAND. Could she just LOOK AT HER HAND?
She then told me i had two choices. She could either throw it all away or I had to walk to a coffee place nearby and purchase a zip loc bag. She continued to hold up the line while she did this. The guy behind me asked if he could go ahead and she yelled at him for "interfering with a government inspection"
I ran to the coffee place and purchased a 39 cent bag and ran back to get my stuff. It was more than $50 worth of make up, I couldn't let her throw it out. After she zipped it into a the bag she said "this is for YOUR safety"....
Yes, I felt like the country was much safer with my mascara in a zip loc bag.
Yeah, I can really see someone getting killed by a mascara wand
My poor mother won't fly again because of an experience with TSA. She didn't realize that they would make you take your shoes off for inspection after 911. She was wearing tennis shoes and has foot problems. They told her to take her shoes off and she was having a hard time doing so because she had nothing to balance against. She asked them for a chair and they refused to give her one. So I had to help her take her shoes off while they were impatiently waiting for her to finish. Then when they inspected her shoes they gave them back to her....along with a chair to sit in to put them back on. WTF???
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Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans~~John Lennon
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JenDalessan
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 08:56 pm | 8th Post |
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gurlwithbaggage wrote: JenDalessan wrote: my TSA idiot experience:
The new liquid rules had just come into play. I heard about those so I made sure I had nothing over 4 ounces in my carry on. I had to go to Chicago for a board meeting. I would be gone exactly 24 hours so all I needed was the carry on bag.
The TSA agent decided to open my bag after it went through the x-ray machine. She held up the line behind me while she did this. She pulled out several things from my makeup bag. She held out a tube of mascara, some concealer, lipstick and a few other things. She asked me "Where is your clear zip loc bag?" I had not heard about the zip loc requirement so I asked her what she meant. She said that all my liquids needed to be in a zip loc bag. I was puzzled and she yelled "I NEED TO BE ABLE TO PULL OUT THE BAG AND SEE YOUR LIQUIDS"....ummm....she was holding my liquids in her HAND. Could she just LOOK AT HER HAND?
She then told me i had two choices. She could either throw it all away or I had to walk to a coffee place nearby and purchase a zip loc bag. She continued to hold up the line while she did this. The guy behind me asked if he could go ahead and she yelled at him for "interfering with a government inspection"
I ran to the coffee place and purchased a 39 cent bag and ran back to get my stuff. It was more than $50 worth of make up, I couldn't let her throw it out. After she zipped it into a the bag she said "this is for YOUR safety"....
Yes, I felt like the country was much safer with my mascara in a zip loc bag.
Yeah, I can really see someone getting killed by a mascara wand
My poor mother won't fly again because of an experience with TSA. She didn't realize that they would make you take your shoes off for inspection after 911. She was wearing tennis shoes and has foot problems. They told her to take her shoes off and she was having a hard time doing so because she had nothing to balance against. She asked them for a chair and they refused to give her one. So I had to help her take her shoes off while they were impatiently waiting for her to finish. Then when they inspected her shoes they gave them back to her....along with a chair to sit in to put them back on. WTF???
I saw some TSA freaks making a frail elderly lady get our of her wheelchair so they could wave a wand over her. I was very angry at their attitudes. I have a soft place in my heart for seniors. DH had to hold me back from going over there to tell them off.
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Catnip
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 09:08 pm | 9th Post |
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JenDalessan wrote: .
Yes, I felt like the country was much safer with my mascara in a zip loc bag.
That's why the whole TSA system is such a farce. Each airport has their own "rules", so you don't know when you are traveling thru different cities, what is allowed and not allowed. The agents are, more often than not, rude-asses on a power & ego trip.
Instead of taking away my lipstick, or wanding a crippled senior citizen, why not forget the ACLU and start profiling? 
____________________
33 previous cruises..
Next up: Celebrity Solstice 1-09/Jewel of the Seas 3-09/ QM 2 11-09/ Queen Victoria 1/10
**Triangles Are For Losers!**
When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state"
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JenDalessan
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Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 09:19 pm | 10th Post |
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Catnip wrote: JenDalessan wrote: .
Yes, I felt like the country was much safer with my mascara in a zip loc bag.
That's why the whole TSA system is such a farce. Each airport has their own "rules", so you don't know when you are traveling thru different cities, what is allowed and not allowed. The agents are, more often than not, rude-asses on a power & ego trip.
Instead of taking away my lipstick, or wanding a crippled senior citizen, why not forget the ACLU and start profiling?
Soon after 9/11 we took a trip to Disney. On the way back the computer red-flagged ELIJAH. He was 3. They took him aside (we had to stand back) while they waved the wand over him and then they went through his little Thomas the Train carry-on bag. It was full of toys. Idiots.
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luvmytbear
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Posted: Sun Sep 14th, 2008 07:01 pm | 11th Post |
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*snort* They'll never get their crap in one bag. This is my first post 9/11 flight experience.
We left for our cruise last January from Iowa. Well, I didn't want to haul my winter coat into the Caribbean, so I wore a hooded sweatshirt instead. I went through MLI, ORD, SJU,...cruised and headed back to SJU again with no problems at all. Now I'm back to ORD.
When I get to ORD, I go through security with no problem. After waiting an hour and a half, I decided I needed to smoke. There are no 'lounges' at ORD so out through security I go again.
Coming back in the SECOND TIME, the rather RUDE ASSHOLISH "agent" demands I take off my sweatshirt. I explained to him that I couldn't, because I had nothing on underneath except a bra. He growls "Well, it's a COAT and you need to take it off" and gives me that "I'm a big bad ass because I have a wand and plastic badge" look which just right pissed me off.
So...I did what he asked. I started taking my shirt off despite the fact I had nothing on underneath. After getting the shirt almost off (I was just doing what I was told!  ), he yanks my arm and puts me in a 'checkpoint' so a female can pat me down. Took that butch about 30 minutes to find her way over to me. Smacks me up and says "Next time wear something lighter." Sure....in the sub zero Midwest winter weather...no problem. Must be something in the water in Chicago or something that makes people act like total assholes.
It's was OK the first time but not the second time? I won't even pretend to get it.
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Lora
Carnival Destiny (Wedding Cruise) 12/30/07
Next up:
Carnival Inspiration 1/12/09
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
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JenDalessan
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Posted: Sun Sep 14th, 2008 07:13 pm | 12th Post |
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luvmytbear wrote: *snort* They'll never get their crap in one bag. This is my first post 9/11 flight experience.
We left for our cruise last January from Iowa. Well, I didn't want to haul my winter coat into the Caribbean, so I wore a hooded sweatshirt instead. I went through MLI, ORD, SJU,...cruised and headed back to SJU again with no problems at all. Now I'm back to ORD.
When I get to ORD, I go through security with no problem. After waiting an hour and a half, I decided I needed to smoke. There are no 'lounges' at ORD so out through security I go again.
Coming back in the SECOND TIME, the rather RUDE ASSHOLISH "agent" demands I take off my sweatshirt. I explained to him that I couldn't, because I had nothing on underneath except a bra. He growls "Well, it's a COAT and you need to take it off" and gives me that "I'm a big bad ass because I have a wand and plastic badge" look which just right pissed me off.
So...I did what he asked. I started taking my shirt off despite the fact I had nothing on underneath. After getting the shirt almost off (I was just doing what I was told! ), he yanks my arm and puts me in a 'checkpoint' so a female can pat me down. Took that butch about 30 minutes to find her way over to me. Smacks me up and says "Next time wear something lighter." Sure....in the sub zero Midwest winter weather...no problem. Must be something in the water in Chicago or something that makes people act like total assholes.
It's was OK the first time but not the second time? I won't even pretend to get it.
I have witnessed many clear abuses of power in the TSA line. I wish 20/20 would do some of thier hidden camera expose' work on them. I also wish there was a clear way to report this people for their behavior. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't we pay their salaries?
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Catnip
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Posted: Sun Sep 14th, 2008 09:02 pm | 13th Post |
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JenDalessan wrote: I also wish there was a clear way to report this people for their behavior. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't we pay their salaries?
You are most correct and that stuff makes me ballistic, too! Too many of them are on a power trip and know they have the general public by the *****, and they can get away with anything. Bastards.
____________________
33 previous cruises..
Next up: Celebrity Solstice 1-09/Jewel of the Seas 3-09/ QM 2 11-09/ Queen Victoria 1/10
**Triangles Are For Losers!**
When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state"
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shoreguy
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Posted: Sun Sep 14th, 2008 10:03 pm | 14th Post |
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JenDalessan wrote: I wish 20/20 would do some of thier hidden camera expose' work on them.
They can't it is illegal to take pictures in the security area.
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JenDalessan
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Posted: Sun Sep 14th, 2008 11:15 pm | 15th Post |
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shoreguy wrote: JenDalessan wrote: I wish 20/20 would do some of thier hidden camera expose' work on them.
They can't it is illegal to take pictures in the security area.
oh dang, you are right.
I have found some message board for people to report TSA abuses but I doubt they do any good. I also found an article that said TSA agents make $12-$14 per hour and are not required to have a highschool diploma. It seems as though they are not doing thorough background checks either. Low paid workers who might get some kind of pleasure out of having power over people with higher incomes. The article said that you should not wear nice clothes to minimize the chances of being hassled.
Not sure if I agree with all that but it was an interesting read.
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luvmytbear
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Posted: Mon Sep 15th, 2008 06:03 am | 16th Post |
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To think that they put people like THIS in charge of our security. Almost makes you ask what is the point? It's like using a screen to hold out the rain.
Just to balance out the conversation a bit, I have had nothing but pleasant, friendly agents at the Moline airport. On our last trip, two older male agents helped me fold my wedding dress over to get it through the scanner without damage and the girls were telling me about my dress while it was in there! lol
Perhaps because Moline has no where near the traffic as O'Hare or San Juan! :)
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Lora
Carnival Destiny (Wedding Cruise) 12/30/07
Next up:
Carnival Inspiration 1/12/09
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
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