Airline Madness is Gadling’s tournament of airline annoyances. You can catch up on all of the previous tournament action here.
Don’t forget to vote in the Final Four of Airline Madness. Voting for this round ends at 11:59PM EDT, so get to it! Beginning tomorrow, voting will open for the championships.
Travelers booking hotel rooms often use a variety of sources while trying to get the best price. Once satisfied that they have found the best price, they book it and forget it. What they don’t realize is that between booking and staying, the price may very well go down. A price drop might happen for a number of reasons and might be a limited-time offer too. Now, a new service tracks hotel pricing and automatically refunds the difference between what a traveler paid and the lower, sale price.
Tingo is the first hotel booking site that automatically rebooks hotel rooms at a lower price if the rate drops, and then automatically refunds the difference to travelers’ credit cards.
“Travelers could have saved millions last year had there been a simple system in place that automatically rebooked their rooms,” said Smarter Travel Media General Manager David Krauter in a release. “And that’s what Tingo does, by taking the gamble out of booking and refunding travelers’ money when rates drop.”
The deal is simple: Book a “Money Back” room and Tingo watches that room’s rate to see if it changes. If the price drops, Tingo rebooks that same room at the lower rate and refunds the difference to the booking credit card.
The process adds up to big numbers too. Using comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Worldwide, January 2012, Tingo estimates that in 2011 alone, Americans could have saved nearly $314 million if they had had access to a site like this.
“It’s a no-brainer,” adds Krauter. “And just to put it in perspective, $314 million would book the $2,000 per night Penthouse at The London NYC, straight through for the next 350 years.”
If this all sounds a bit familiar, it is. Tingo is a sister site of Gadling favorite AirfareWatchdog, a site best known for tracking airline fares and notifying members when point-to-point fares become available that match what the member is willing to pay.
Airline Madness is Gadling’s tournament of airline annoyances. You can catch up on all of the previous tournament action here.
After two weeks of voting – along with intense debate in the comments – we have reached the Final Four of Airline Madness. The second round continued the drama that has become the trademark of this tournament, as #13 seed Obese people who take up two seats pulled off another upset by crushing those crying babies (and their inattentive parents). Meanwhile, when it comes to your money, #6 seed Change fees/no free standby won an upset of its own, proving to be way more annoying than the lack of free food. Annoying passengers and Legroom showed why they’re the top two seeds of the tournament by advancing in dominant fashion. Now it’s time for you to vote on the Final Four to see who advances to the championship. We’re not wasting any time, so read on to cast your votes!
Only one of these on-board menaces can advance to compete for the championship.
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Which classic annoyance will move on to the championship match?
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Final Four voting ends at 11:59PM EDT on Wednesday, March 28.
More Airline Madness:
Second round match-ups:
#1 Annoying Passengers vs. #9 People who get mad at people who recline their seats
#12 Inattentive parents of crying babies vs. #13 Obese people who take up two seats
#6 Change fees/no free standby vs. #3 Lack of free food/prices for food
#7 Rude airline staff vs. #2 Legroom
First round match-ups
#1 Annoying passengers vs. #16 Disgusting bathrooms
#2 Legroom vs. #15 Inefficient boarding procedures
#3 Lack of free food/prices for food vs. #14 Cold cabin/no blankets
#4 Baggage Fees vs. #13 Obese people who take up two seats
#5 Lack of overhead space vs. Inattentive parents of crying babies
#6 Change fees/no free standby vs. #11 Lack of personal entertainment/charging for entertainment
#7 Rude airline staff vs. #10 Having to turn off electronic devices during takeoff & landing
#8 People who recline their seats vs. #9 People who get mad at people who recline their seats
Hotel Madness: Gadling’s tournament of airline annoyances
Catch up on all the Airline Madness here.
Public acceptance of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and its somewhat dubious methodologies has always been tenuous among the American public. Some feel that the technology they use is the only way to keep American travelers safe. Others feel that their power and influence reaches too far. In either case, there’s lots to say, and for once, congress appears to be listening.
On next Monday, the 26th of March, the House Oversight Committee is convening a hearing on the TSA and their recent operations. Led by Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, the meeting plans to investigate “program challenges and failures,” no doubt including recent efforts with Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) — or 3d scanners — and other questionable measures in place.
As part of the initiative, the committee is soliciting stories via its Facebook wall for discussion during the meeting. This is a great opportunity for those with praise or complaints about the agency to voice their opinions. Even if the comments don’t get read, the sheer volume of feedback from users should provide some insight for the group. Check out the Facebook page here and leave a message — your feedback could help shape security in this country for good.
You might be able to sink a putt at your local muni course, but can you do it from 30,000 feet?
In a recent release by the New Zealand Herald passengers aboard the A320 airliner traveling between Auckland and Queenstown will have a chance to compete in an in-flight putting competition from the relative safety of cruising altitude. Part of a marketing arrangement to celebrate the airline’s sponsorship of the New Zealand PGA pro-am, the airline has lauded the contest as a world first for in-flight entertainment.
In order to take part in the contest and to be eligible for prizes (which include, amongst other things, flights and accommodation to the final round of the event and a new set of Callaway RAZR clubs), putters must fill out an entry form in the departure lounge and be randomly selected by Air New Zealand flight staff.
Winners of the contest will be notified by March 27. In the meantime, check out the leaderboard to see who has skillfully sunk the longest putt and perfectly played the lie of the high altitude turbulence.