Refund for delayed bags
Under new air-travel rules announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation last month, if your checked bag is "substantially delayed," you get a refund of the bag charge you paid to an airline. "Substantially delayed" means more than 12 hours after a domestic flight and more than 18 hours after an international flight. This expands on the current rule that you get a refund if the airline permanently loses your bag. The proposed rule won't take effect until after a comment period. Airlines say they already have similar baggage policies, but this would be a common rule industry-wide.
Detroit Free Press
PreCheck expansion on hold
The Transportation Security Administration has set a goal of registering 25 million Americans for its PreCheck program, which lets fliers who submit to a government background check use an expedited screening line at U.S. airports. But the TSA has enrolled only 4 million travelers into PreCheck, and now it has halted plans to employ new private vendors to help register passengers for the program. TSA said it was halting the expansion "in light of the increased and evolving cybersecurity risks over the past year."
Los Angeles Times
New luxury travel sites
Two new search engines are looking to attract consumers seeking luxury getaways. With Skylark.com, part of the luxury travel network Virtuoso, users pay an annual $400 fee to get favorable rates on 700 upscale hotels, discounted high-end packages and phone, e-mail and live-chat access to a team of about 20 travel agents. Lola, a free chat-based iPhone membership app, is also a Virtuoso member, with around 1,100 of the app's 250,000 bookable hotels being Virtuoso properties where clients receive extra benefits. Old-school travel sites such as Booking.com and Expedia.com are also getting into the luxury game.
New York Times
Chicago candy Christmas
This holiday season, book the Dylan's Candy Bar Suite or Standard Package at Palomar Hotel Chicago for a tasty change of pace. You and your family will enjoy a personalized tour and sampling spree in the famed Dylan's candy store on Michigan Avenue, where you'll have a storewide discount and your own customized chocolate bar wrapper. Back at the hotel, Dylan's Candy cocktail and mocktails will be available on Fridays through the end of the year. Also on Fridays, the hotel will have a Dylan's Candy-inspired elevator car decked out for the holidays in true Candyland style. Santa will also be on board to spread seasonal cheer (hotelpalomar-chicago.com).
Dallas Morning News
