Coming and Going

The Cost of Change

UPRIGHT AND LOCKED

The Cost of Change

Less than a half-hour after David Lynch made an airline reservation to fly from Dulles to Jacksonville to visit his ailing father, he got a phone call. His father had taken a turn for the worse. Lynch, of Great Falls, decided it was critical that he get to Florida right away.

His wife, Elaine Poms, immediately called US Airways to cancel the reservation they'd just made at the airline's Web site. She learned that a refund could not be issued, only a credit, minus a change penalty of $150.

But don't airlines give you a grace period for making changes?

Not all. Most charge the customer the moment a reservation is made but allow changes without penalty for 24 hours. The US Airways policy: You can ask the airline to hold a reservation for 24 hours. Once you pay, though, a change made five minutes later is treated no differently from a change made a year later. That was the policy of America West, and US Airways adopted it after the merger of the two airlines in 2005.

The US Airways policy actually is quite handy when you're unsure of your plans or want to lock in a fare while you shop around or consult with a travel companion. If you decide not to keep the reservation, it automatically expires, and you don't have to go through the hassle of canceling and checking your credit card to make sure the charge was removed. Knowing that the policy differs from that of most carriers, however, is key.

CoGo decided to go to bat for the Lynch family. US Airways agreed to waive the penalty this time. Spokeswoman Valerie Wunder noted, however, that customers have to click on the explanation of terms and conditions before purchase. Reading what you're agreeing to can help you avoid surprises later.

FIRE WATCH

California Caveats

In Northern California, lightning recently sparked more than 1,000 wildfires in counties north of the Bay Area. As firefighters work to contain the flames, CoGo wonders: Is California going to glow more red than gold this season?

"In the past, we had similar conditions with lightning storms," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "But it's never been this early in the season."

Wildfire experts have a hard time predicting the conflagrations because of shifting and localized variables such as soil moisture, vegetative growth and wind strength. However, they do know that California has been suffering from a decade-long drought, making it highly vulnerable to fires, said Sue Haseltine, associate director for biology at the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the wildfire season out West is starting sooner (before April) and finishing later (after November) than usual.

For travelers holding a plane ticket to California, Haseltine said, "Go on your trip, but pay attention to local warnings and weather conditions." She also recommends that campers have an exit strategy:"Know how you are getting out of there if a fire does ignite."

As for the current situation: At press time, Berlant said 232 fires have been contained, 132,235 acres have been scorched and air conditions around the Bay Area and NoCal are smoky. However, the fires have had little effect on tourist attractions. In wine country, for example, all of the wineries and hotels remain open. "The fires are on one-half of 1 percent of the land area," Sonoma County Tourism Bureau spokesman Tim Zahner said, referring to four wine-country counties. "Things are going swimmingly."

For wildfire conditions around the country, check the National Interagency Coordination Center's Web site,http://www.nifc.gov/nicc. For local updates, contact the county or tourism office; at your destination, tune in to radio public announcements.

BLOG, blog, blog

Net Gains?

In an item on our blog this week ( http://blog.washingtonpost.com/travellog), we reported that American Airlines had rolled out its new Internet service on transcontinental flights, testing it first on select flights out of New York. Passengers can check http://www.aa.com and a few other sponsored sites for free, but the airline is charging $9.95 for flights of three hours or shorter, $12.95 for longer flights.

Then things got interesting: We took a poll asking readers if they'd pay the $10 for Internet access on a short flight and if they'd pony up $13 for longer ones. Most people (about 70 percent) said they wouldn't pay for Internet service on a short flight, but the majority (about 60 percent) said they would pay for the service on flights more than three hours long.

Some readers responded that it's easier to stay occupied sans the Web on shorter flights; others noted that many people buy $5 magazines to take onboard anyway and that a few dollars more for Internet access wouldn't break the bank. CoGo agrees, though we wonder if all that clicking and browsing will keep us up when we're trying to nap.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK

Adios, Amigos

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Reporting: Cindy Loose, Andrea Sachs

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to: cogo@washpost.com. By fax: 202-912-3609. By mail: CoGo, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.