Destination Vacations International Reviews Top Five Travel Complaints


DVI Understands There Are No Shortage of Complaints when it Comes to Travel Concerns!
Complaints, Complaints, Complaints...Members Only Travel Club, Destination Vacations International tabulates the top five travel complaints.

1. The number one complaint among all air travelers is the unacceptable size of airline seats. Scientists and health officials report the increasing girth of US citizens yet most airlines continue to offer the same unacceptable seat. Travelers need not be obese to take issue with the size of an airline seat, even healthy weight individuals express dissatisfaction. “I’m petite, yet I can’t get comfortable in the space US airline carriers assign. I feel like I have to keep my arms tight against my body.”

2. Lost luggage landed in the second spot among Destination Vacations International members’ complaints. A vacation can be totally ruined by lost or delayed luggage. One traveler reported: “We were so excited to start our ski trip. We never dreamed of a ‘sick-out’ among baggage handlers would cause our luggage to be left behind in Philadelphia. The luggage was delayed for 2 days. I think the airline offered $100 per traveler, not nearly enough to get boots, hats, gloves and rent ski equipment. We lost two days of our vacation.”

3. Complaints about airport delays and cancelled flights ranked third. Complaints on this issue rated highly among Destination Vacations International members because they often feel helpless when faced with delayed and/or cancelled flights. In some cases travelers are at the mercy of Mother Nature as storms, ice or fog delay the start of their vacation plans. Frustration levels run high when air carriers cancel flights forcing hundreds to the understaffed customer service desk to make other plans.
4. Destination Vacations International members reported unanticipated seat assignment changes as their fourth biggest travel complaint. As airlines make equipment changes on routes, previously assigned seats can be automatically reassigned when a new class of aircraft is used. This affects vacationers traveling with small children the most as they are often no longer sitting together. Unfortunately, busy stewards/stewardesses distance themselves from the very problem they created. One angry customer explains: “I presented my confirmation which clearly showed my family seat assignments next to one another. The stewardess said there was nothing she could do but that I should try to trade seats with other passengers. I paid them for a product that included seats together. They don’t provide the product they sold me and I have to be the one to beg passengers to trade? It’s ridiculous and bordering on fraudulent.”

5. Customers really dislike being put in “prison on the tarmac”, which earned final spot on the DVI list of common travel complaints. The proposal of a traveler’s bill of rights was a hot topic after public outrage regarding numerous incidents of flyers being forced to remain on the tarmac in their seatbelts with no access to restrooms, water or food. Most incidents are not as egregious as this but even an extra hour taxing or waiting in line on the tarmac can be stressful. The department of transportation and the avation consumer protection division has developed a 58 page document entitled “Development of Contingency Plans for Lengthy Airline On-Board Ground Delays”. This document spells out for the airline industry the basic needs of passengers including food, hydration, clean environment, access to lavatory facilities, information and the ability to communicate.