TRAVEL |
By Andrea J. Kennedy
The dramatic upheavals in our economy are bringing changes to every aspect of our lives. We see it in our mortgage options, our personal spending budgets and of course our travel plans. Last issue we discussed making the most of your buck, taking one-tank trips, trains or cruises in lieu of paying higher airline prices.
Many frequent travelers have begun cutting down their options for travel during the upcoming holidays for fear of increasing gas prices and airline costs. But as we enter fall and draw closer to winter and peak travel season, it seems the airlines are just as worried about their economy as we are about ours. Instead of increasing their ticket prices as originally announced earlier this year, they are being good about keeping their prices low and even offering last minute deals. Because of the early announcements on airfare increases however, travelers began snatching up tickets like hotcakes, and although prices haven’t increased, availability over the holidays is slipping away quickly in most markets.
Even still, tickets are not that hard to come by. For instance, my husband Craig and I recently had a death in the family and had to fly out last minute from Colorado to New York. Being used to seeing last-minute ticket prices at sky-high prices-close to $1000 often-we were skeptical that we would be able to make the trip. Fortunately, we were surprised to find three airlines offering tickets for $400 for 3 days out, and we booked our tickets in an instant. This is something I’d never seen in my many years as a travel agent. We were always calling in favors to get bereavement fares lowered, but the prices were still outrageous.
Now I’m getting e-mails from Travelocity.com and Orbitz.com showing flights from Denver to Los Angeles for under $200. It’s obvious the airlines are desperately trying to encourage travelers to fly.
To cover rising fuel costs this year, airlines have made many changes over the past months to cut their costs so they can continue to offer reasonable prices. As of October, every airline except for Southwest now charges for checked baggage. They’ve removed many magazines and onboard amenities such as the personal DVD players and air phones in first class that just added extra weight, and as we’ve seen since 9-11, they’ve dramatically reduced food costs and weight by eliminating meal services on most flights. What seem like changes at the expense of the traveler are actually to your benefit. They’re keeping the ticket costs down by doing all these things because they know that if we don’t travel, they don’t make money.
As for travelers with disabilities, many airlines have begun marketing to and better caring for this specific niche in order to help boost their sales. All of the major US airlines have a designated disability customer service department for special requests, complaints, or suggestions. All US airports have a CRO, Complaints Resolution Officer, a position that is still widely unknown but is there for any kind of complaint and is an excellent resource for travelers with disabilities. Should you have any problem with your rights or your treatment by the airline, asking for a CRO gets problems resolved immediately.
Travelers with disabilities are protected by the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), an extensive law that covers everything from aircraft accessibility to service dogs to oxygen and other assistive devices. A specified section of this Act titled 14 CFR Part 382 has recently been revised, and further additions to the aircrafts and accessibility in general (such as close captioned announcements and videos for the hearing impaired) will be implemented starting in May 2009. (Download a free PDF of United Spinal Association’s Accessible Air Travel here.)
Knowing your rights makes air travel easier, but much of the airline industry is changing for the better for people with disabilities and the agencies are beginning to take training, complaint resolution, and care of adaptive equipment to a new level for the benefit of all.
In a changing time when the future of airline companies is uncertain and industry merges and takeovers are inevitable, it is important to watch the market carefully. Keep tabs on your frequent flier accounts and transfer your points if necessary. Many airlines offer interchangeable point systems among their alliances, but knowing who is working with whom is vital. For instance the upcoming merger between Delta and Northwest will negate the alliance between Northwest and Continental, for only two US airlines are allowed to ally together due to the US regulations. So where you used to earn Continental miles on Northwest, and in fact they used to share routes under the each other’s name, will no longer be the case.
But above all, continue to travel. Be it by plane, train or automobile, budget yourselves wisely and continue not only to support the industry, but to hold on to your freedoms and enjoy that great world out there!
Andrea and her husband Craig are co-owners of Access Anything, travel consultants and writers specializing in marketing and education for all aspects of disability travel including recreation, adventure, eco travel, ADA rights and interpretation. Access Anything’s guidebook series, travel products, published articles and more can be found at www.accessanything.net.
