Last week, I was trying to book tickets for travel between Barcelona and Madrid on the relatively-new AVE high-speed rail line. I soon realized that the price quoted on the website of RENFE, Spain’s national railway, depended on the language in which you chose to conduct your searches. When I searched the site earlier that […]
Category: Travel

Five ways to get an edge over other air travelers
Most travelers head to the airport, check in, and let the airline take care of the rest. That’s not good enough. Especially if anything goes wrong — and things DO go wrong. You need be your own advocate, and you need a game plan, backed up with information and technology. Here are five ways to […]

Reader mail: How can I upgrade flights using American Express?
Reader VJ writes: I’ve heard that there is an American Express card that automatically lets you upgrade your flights on a bunch of airlines. Is this true? How do I get such a card, and what does it cost? I couldn’t find anything on the American Express website. Such a card indeed exists, but you […]

Airbus A380 at Chicago O’Hare
I’m back from vacation, tanned, rested, and ready. Thanks to Tyler Colman, a.k.a. Dr. Vino, for minding the store in my absence, and for guest-posting earlier today. (And, as an aside, congrats to him for his James Beard Award nomination!) I returned to Chicago just in time to catch a glimpse of the behemoth Airbus A380 […]

Update: How to support the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights
Reader Lisa writes: I would be interested in supporting a passenger bill of rights, if someone started a “movement.” I don’t fly that often, but worry every time I go that I’ll be subjected to something like the 9 hour wait on the runway. Please let me know if there’s somewhere I could email, or […]