Elliott: Five ‘Ridiculous’ Travel Rules That Should Be Abolished

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  08.15.07 | 1:00 PM ET

imagePhoto by dannysullivan via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Consumer travel columnist Christopher Elliott has identified five travel rules that he says “make no sense whatsoever” and should be done away with. For starters, he thinks airlines should stop barring travelers from changing the name on an airline ticket they purchased, so they can transfer that ticket to someone else if, say, a relationship goes south before a trip. “Well, air carriers disingenuously claim that they prohibit name changes because they’re worried about security and potential fraud,” he writes. “But what they won’t tell you is they’re also worried about their earnings.”

He’d also like to see:

* the Transportation Security Administration lift the ban on liquids on airplanes. (“I haven’t seen any conclusive evidence that the liquid and gel ban is protecting us from the bad guys.”)

* airlines drop the rule that passengers have to use “every segment of their ticket” or be penalized.

* rental car agencies stop charging more when travelers return cars early.

* hotels drop “resort fees” they don’t quote with the price of the room.

Elliott’s arguments make sense to me. But I’m not holding my breath that any of these rules will be dropped soon.

Tags: Air Travel, Airworld, Hotels, Tourism, News and Briefs


1 Comment for Elliott: Five ‘Ridiculous’ Travel Rules That Should Be Abolished

Larry 08.15.07 | 2:24 PM ET

I completely agree with Christopher Elliot’s thoughts about not being able to transfer a ticket to someone else’s name.  I have a good friend who is a travel agent and he has always thought a zealous lawyer (and probably one with deep pockets) could make a strong case for a class-action lawsuit. Someone needs to challenge the airlines on this subject.

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