Durango Wheel Club

The New York Post reports that American Airlines has been cited by the Dept. of Consumer Affairs for using some inaccurate baggage scales at its check-in counters at JFK.

The agency did not say if these wrongly calibrated scales worked in favor of the airlines or passengers — but, if they worked against bag owners, that could be costly.

“If airlines are going to start charging travelers left and right for their luggage, their scales had better be perfect. We’re shutting down any airline luggage scale that doesn’t get it right.” –Jonathan Mintz, Dept. of Consumer Affairs (from the New York Post)

American Airlines responded that, it spends tens of thousands of dollars each year on scale calibration.

According to the Post, if you see a bright red “condemned” sticker on a scale, just be sure it doesn’t show your luggage as “overweight”.

Sometimes, it pays to be a turkey.

Like, the White House Turkey (actually, it’s turkeys — there are always two of them). After the President pardons them — they get to fly to Disneyland on United — in first class.

In fact, the birds and their entourage will take over the entire first class cabin — we should be so lucky.? So what are the birds going to do in Disneyland? Reporter Terry Maxon speculates that “The turkeys will be on display at Disneyland until, I presume, they pass away of excessive weight.”

Congratulations to United — yes, I suppose some honors are more, uh, dignified than others, but you take what you can get.

You know how much flak the heads of Detroit’s automakers got last week when they flew their private jets to Washington — to ask for a bailout.

Now, there is talk that they are going to go to D.C. for round-two – in a caravan of cars — fuel efficient cars.

I want to say to those execs, you know, there is a middle ground: instead of choosing between private luxury aircraft and automobiles — just check with FareCompare.com — for the best deals on the commercial airlines. Unfortunately, they didn?t ask me.

The folks that take the Zagat surveys are all over the map when it comes to airlines — but then I suppose, so are the categories.

These are my personal favorites among categories:

• Best Value for the Money (domestic): Southwest
• Best Value for the Money (international): Continental

Other “bests”?: JetBlue won for best inflight entertainment — domestic. while Virgin Atlantic took the honors for international entertainment. And Midwest was deemed best midsize domestic premium seating.

See all the categories and winners, right here.

Last week, reader Marilyn saw the airline ticket she purchased this summer go down in price, and I suggested some options on how she might still be able to save some money or even make up the difference in the two fares in the form of a voucher.

I want to dive into those options a bit deeper today.

For domestic airline tickets, the prevailing charge to change a ticket is $150; called the “change fee”. This fee is part of the rules of your airfare. However, there is a process, sometimes called a “rollover,” which addresses ticket prices going down on a flight (same flight) that you have already already purchased. In such cases, there are often special rules outside of the “change fee” — allowing you to typically get a voucher for the difference (you have to contact the airline, because they do not do it automatically).

Unfortunately, this “feature” on airlines that have it, is not easy to find on their websites so we did a bit of digging and found the following:

• Alaska Airlines has no fee for same flight price drops (we couldn’t find an online link but spoke with a couple of reps, evidently it is built into their online ticket change tool)
• American Airlines doesn’t have anything special for price drops outside of same day of purchase, the normal change fee applies
• Continental Airlines doesn’t have anything special for price drops outside of same day of purchase, the normal change fee applies
• Delta Air Lines¹ doesn’t have anything special for price drops outside of same day of purchase, the normal change fee applies
• JetBlue has no fee for same flight price drops (we couldn’t find an online link, but spoke with a couple of reps. Use their online change tool, or give them a call)
• Northwest Airlines offers vouchers for flight price drops, and according to reps charges a fee of $50 for the process.
• Southwest Airlines has no fee for same flight price drops (built into their online ticket change tool)
• United Airlines² has no fee for same flight price drops as long as flight meets listed criteria.
• US Airways doesn’t have anything special for price drops outside of same day of purchase, the normal change fee applies

¹Under FAQ — “If I have purchased a ticket and a new fare is introduced, can I obtain a credit?”

²Under customer service FAQ. Go to “Existing Reservations,” then “If I have purchased a ticket and a new, lower fare is introduced, can I obtain a credit?”

FareCompare.com hasn’t gotten an official “seal of approval”, but we have been included in a new book by the editors of Good Housekeeping, and I couldn’t be more delighted.

And I don’t think the timing for this book could be better: it’s called “Good Deals & Smart Steals” and it’s all about a matter close to my heart – saving money.

This is from a review of the book in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch online:

“Here’s another savings for traveling: If you want to keep up with the latest airfares or know when a price drops to a level you’d like, sign up for e-mail alerts. Farecompare.com e-mails prices on flights between any two cities you choose. The alerts are sent up to four hours before fares are published online or to agents.” -Good Housekeeping’s “Good Deals & Smart Steals”

Sounds like this could make a great stocking-stuffer…

The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) in concert with the Ad Council has produced a series of videos called “Why” that attempt to explain why the TSA has the rules that they do (and you can see the videos here).

One video asks: Why do we have to remove our shoes? Answer: because the X-ray machines that scan our carry-on bags can detect bombs hidden in shoes -the implication being that walk-through scanners cannot detect such things – though it’s never stated.

Another video attempts to answer this question: Why we are limited to just 3 ounces of liquid? The response is less satisfying: the TSA “worked with scientists…to develop a formula that made it safe to bring liquids onboard in limited quantities.” Doesn’t tell you a whole, whole lot.

This is a step in the right direction, I think — and I applaud this effort at trying to demystify the security process – but I’d clap a little louder if the TSA could be a bit more transparent.

Something doesn’t quite compute here.

The president of the “new” Delta (new and huge, since its merger with Northwest) says, yes, it will keep all seven of its hubs — Detroit, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York JFK and Salt Lake City.

And the Detroit Free Press goes on to quote Ed Bastian as saying, “We’ve already paid for [the hubs]; they are ours.”

But at the same time, over at the Dallas Morning News, reporter Terry Maxon points out that Delta is still cutting capacity – and may well do more in 2009 than the airline had previously planned.

It will be interesting to see if in fact they can hang on to all those hubs.

Looking further ahead: Delta plans to make 50% of its routes international flights – by the year 2010. In the meantime, there’s still 2009 to get through.

Yes, it probably will be a little less congested in the nation’s airports this year – but face it, a crowd is still a crowd – and Thanksgiving is always the busiest air travel time of the year, so it will be mobbed.

And you have to plan accordingly.

I’ve listed five “do’s and don’ts” that will make your airport experience as smooth as possible. And yes, some of these are golden-oldies – you’ve heard them before – but this time, follow the advice. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

Five DO’S and DON’TS for Thanksgiving Airport SURVIVAL

1. DO – Get to the Airport Early. This is especially important if you’re flying out the Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving – or the Sunday after.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Arrive 2 hours before domestic flights, and 3 hours before international flights during “peak travel times”: 6am to 9 am, 11am to 2pm, and 7pm to 10pm.

2. DON’T – Drive Yourself to the Airport. It’s not about saving gas, it’s about finding a parking space – don’t waste valuable time looking for one in that huge long-term lot.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Take mass transit, carpool, taxi, or bribe a neighbor to drive you.

3. DO – Bring the Fun Stuff. If you arrive in plenty of time or run into delays, you (and especially the kids) will need a diversion; think movies on laptops, electronic games, and best of all – a good book.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Be sure to charge all batteries completely the night before (and that goes for your cell phone battery, too).

4. DON’T – Break the TSA Rules. You know all this – no liquids or gels larger than 3oz - don’t delay yourself and others by forgetting at such a crucial time.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Use the new “family lanes” at security checkpoints if you’re traveling with your tribe.

5. DO – Set Airline Alerts Before You Leave. Go on your airline’s website and sign up for “alerts” so you’ll be notified of any delays. NOTE: Even if you’ve been notified of a 3 hour delay, get to the airport at the scheduled departure time anyway; if the delay only lasts an hour, that plane will take off – with you or without you. And if there is a long delay, at least you’ll be psychologically prepared for it.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Be sure the person picking you up is also signed up for these alerts; no sense having Grandpa waiting around the airport for hours.

As you know, an estimated 4 million people are expected to descend on Washington for the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Now Southwest has announced it’s adding 26 flights in and out of Washington Dulles and Baltimore airports. The new flights will be taking off between Jan.17 and Jan. 23.

According to a Southwest spokesman, their flights were filling up, so they decided to pile a few more on – to satisfy customer demand.

Keep reading for a list of the new flights…