Why does Consumer Report (s) warn travelers to beware of deals offered?
Travelers booked for Mexico, the epicenter of the current swine flu outbreak, are getting some unusually lenient treatment from several airlines and tour operators: reduced or waived penalties for changes in travel plans. That seems to signal the seriousness of the epidemic in Mexico, as well as the poor health of the travel industry, which can ill afford to anger consumers as the recession wears on and traffic slumps. American, JetBlue, United and other big U.S. airlines will let travelers going to, from, or through Mexico change their destinations or travel dates without penalty or increased fares for the same type of discount ticket. At least two big tour package operators—MLP, which operates tours for Continental, Delta, and Northwest, and Apple Vacations—are allowing their customers do the same. Contact your airline or travel agent for specific limitations. In general, that preserves the value of the travel that was purchased, but you won’t get a cash refund. Nevertheless, this is
bargained for. Here is a bit of the Consumer Reports article about it: For the past decade, competition from low-cost carriers and Web sites that offer cheap seats have combined to keep a lid on airline-ticket prices, but that may be changing. Leisure fares spiked 15 percent this year, thanks in large part to rising fuel costs, says Bob Harrell, president of Harrell Associates, an airline-consulting company. I cannot access the full article as it requires log-in information, which I don’t have. You can try to view it yourself, though, at the link below: Sources: http://www.accessmylibrary.
Although Consumer Report (Reports) notes that there are many real deals out there, they urge customers to read the fine print. “For instance, to collect on the price guarantee with Expedia, you have to file your claim within 24 hours of booking. With American (Airlines), it’s midnight the same day,” said Greg Daugherty, of Consumer Reports. “So, even if the price drops a couple of days later–you’re out of luck.” In other cases, refunds might be dependent upon having someone else grab the deal after you’ve put in for a refund, meaning there are no guarantees. Consumer Reports “recommends web sites like airfarewatchdog.com and kayak.com for the best prices. Hotwire.com and Yapta.com track prices and alert people if the hotel or fare they’re looking at goes down.”. Sources:
