On the Saturday, February 3rd, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, most of the news is BAD. Las Vegas hotels are raising resort fees and restaurants are raising their prices for the Super Bowl, Uber's rides continue to cost more, Jet Blue is going to charge you for advance seat selection for more seats on every flight, and the fees on Delta's credit card are going up 50%. Our Smarter Traveler segment talks about an endangered species - customer service. Case in point, American Airlines is cutting hundreds of call center positions that handle travel issues and complaints. And telling us it's going to make American BETTER. Can you say BS? Our Odds and Ends segment features stories about how travel companies are collecting your private information to create pricing, hidden cameras in vacation rentals and why you might need a special class to learn how to negotiate a Disney theme park. Charlie Leocha from Travelers United joins us to talk about the crowd coming in the skies. Charlie says flying cars, drones and other traffic is about to compete with airplanes and it's time to consider some regulations. Crazy? Maybe not.
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On the Saturday, January 27th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Alaska and United have gotten the OK to put 737 Max 9 aircraft back in the sky after inspections starting tomorrow. Meanwhile, Kayak.com reports that more and more travelers are trying to avoid the Max 9. And California joins the list of states with digital licenses (think TSA). Travelers United has put out a list of driving tips for cold weather destinations. If you are headed into the Sierras, or other snowy destinations, or just know someone who lives in one, check out the list. United is selling miles by subscription. Are they a good deal? Find out in our Smarter Traveler segment. We'll also address airlines on time ratings and explain how they are created, and whether or not they are to be trusted. If you are thinking about one of those extended cruises, consider the fate of passengers who thought they were going around the world for three years, and instead are just out a lot of money. Plus, there's a ship now with cabins that open to the ocean. We share the details of the pluses and minuses of this new innovation in cruise ship accommodations.
On the Saturday, January 20th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, our former governor is in hot water over a watch he tried to bring into Germany; and Southwest is starting to add USB plug-ins to their planes. (About fr***ing time!) Our Smarter Traveler segment tells you how to avoid (and fight back against) ride-share overcharges. And Travelers United tells us about a great new resource for people who travel with assistive devices (canes, walkers, etc.). A link to it is available on this page. A former flight attendant offers up a list of 20 items for "Civil Travel" on planes. Some of them are pretty interesting. Which airline has the most room in coach in the US? Jet Blue. But who is second is really a surprise. We run down the leg room list for all US carriers.
On the Saturday, September 2nd, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Hyatt bucks the trend and decided to include all fees, resort and otherwise, in the first screen price. Spirit has a sale, Delta is hiring flight attendants, and Qantas is fined for selling tickets on flights for weeks after they have been canceled. Our Smarter Traveler segment takes on the latest (and not so recent) on-the-street tourist scams and gives you wisdom on how to avoid them. International expert Clayton Whitehead, just back from Scotland, shares highlights of his trip and gives you some wisdom you can use if you are heading outside the country on your next trip. In our final segment, we address a topic Chris Elliott put before us in a Travelers United penning...The government collects fines from airlines. Why do those fines not go (at least in part) to the travelers who were wronged?