Customer Service

An airline in China is mulling over plans that would allow passengers to stand during short flights and pay less than those who have seats. Spring Airlines, a low-cost carrier based in Shanghai, said having passengers stand up in flight would enable it to cram 40% more travelers into its Airbus A320 planes while cutting operating costs 20%.

Despite signs that the country's economic free fall may be bottoming out, demand for business travel continues to plummet, putting airlines and hotels in financial straits. As businesses continue to tighten spending practices, corporate travel is projected to drop by 15% this year compared with 2008, while overall travel demand could decline by 11%, according to a study by PhoCusWright, a Sherman, Conn., market research firm. Corporate travel -- defined as business travel managed under strict corporate policies -- has historically represented about 40% of the total travel market, but PhoCusWright predicts that share will drop to 35% next year.

California law states that "a telephone bill may only contain charges for products or services, the purchase of which the subscriber has authorized." So why do so many seemingly unauthorized fees appear on people's phone bills? Fontana resident Howard Cohen is among the thousands of people a year who, state officials say, report questionable charges on their phone bills. In May, his AT&T bill included a $14.95 charge from a company called ILD Telecommunications. He didn't recognize the name or know what the charge was for. Cohen, 65, said he immediately called AT&T and was told by a service rep that it wasn't the phone company's problem.

A few weeks ago, Sarah Gilbert, a Portland native who is proudly "car-free," pedaled her bicycle to the drive-through at Burgerville, a regional fast-food chain. She ordered four cheeseburgers, one each for her husband and three young sons, who were waiting hungrily at home. But when Gilbert tried to pay for the food, she was denied. This Burgerville drive-through, an employee told her, did not serve bicyclists. Gilbert was stunned. How could that happen in Portland, the self-proclaimed bike capital of America, where nearly 8% of people pedal to work?

Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center has become too overcrowded to handle the expected surge of H1N1 flu patients in coming months, county leaders said this week as they forced hospital officials to reduce wait times by transferring patients more quickly. The crowd waiting for emergency room beds at County-USC often swells to 100, some waiting up to 24 hours, Supervisor Gloria Molina said. Recent county reports show that 30% to 40% of the time the hospital is operating at "severely" and "dangerously" overcrowded levels.

Toyota Motor Corp. said it planned to roll out new safety and driver-assistance programs on certain Toyota and Lexus models beginning late in the summer. That marks the first major competition for General Motors Corp.'s OnStar service since it started up 12 years ago. The Japanese automaker said Toyota and Lexus versions would offer safety systems, and the Lexus version would also include driver convenience features such as directions to nearby destinations and a voice-command program that could be used to control such features as the vehicle's satellite radio and climate control system.

U.S. airlines' on-time performance, baggage handling and domestic cancellation rates were not as good in November as in the previous month but still improved over a year earlier, the Transportation Department said. Airlines recorded an on-time arrival rate of 83.3% in November, an improvement over November 2007's 80% rate but below the rate of 86% recorded in October.

Scores of travelers forced to stay inside a grounded jetliner for nine hours at Ontario International Airport in November sued TACA Airlines this week, claiming that they suffered inhumane treatment. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of 75 passengers, alleges that the airline was negligent and falsely imprisoned 192 people aboard Flight 670 from El Salvador after the plane was diverted to Ontario from Los Angeles International Airport because of heavy fog. The passengers are seeking $5 million in damages.

Yahoo Inc. is closing a service called FareChase that helped users find travel bargains as part of a plan to tighten the company's focus and cut costs. Yahoo was to shut down the service Wednesday, sending users to its main travel site instead, a spokeswoman said. Yahoo bought FareChase in 2004. The service enabled customers to search for prices on flights, hotels and cars. The company faces slumping online advertising and mounting competition from Google Inc., which dominates the Internet search market.

Los Angeles-based Crystal Cruises is throwing a lifeline to the gadget-challenged: an onboard tech concierge to help guests with all types of personal electronics. The concierges will provide free consultations to passengers who visit the ships' computer centers beginning this month aboard Crystal Symphony and in May aboard Crystal Serenity. Niche concierges have long been big in the hotel world. The Ritz-Carlton began offering tech concierges in the 1990s in Asia. Ritz properties now have many other types of specialty concierges, including ones for romance, shopping and medical issues.