PE.com - Tourism Blog

Stuffy head, sore throat, coughing, inability to travel

I'm fending off something of the sick variety today -- symptoms: sore throat, clogged nose, addiction to NyQuil -- and it got me thinking about traveling.

I sure wouldn't want to be sitting next to me on a plane today.

If traveling were in my cards today, would I have had any recourse? Doubtful with the symptoms at hand. "Geetings seatmate! Don't mind me if I cough up a lung on the tray-table. I've got antibacterial hand soap. It cures all ills."

But if I were a bit more seriously out-of-it and a doctor said traveling would not be possible it may pay to ask the customer service agent nicely or to travel in my way-back machine to buy a refundable ticket.

That's what happened when a customer of Hotwire tried to cancel his car reservation.

Granted that's not what immediately happened when a customer of United Airlines tried to get a refund for his extensive European vacation for his 50th wedding anniversary when, sadly, his wife died.

JetBlue recently started offering refundable fares for a higher price. For $50, its nonrefundable tickets can be cancelled and the amount booked for the flight is stowed away for the passenger to use within a year.