Debunking a Dozen Travel Myths

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Two travel professionals, my dinner companions in Coventry, England, had just told me that they hadn’t been to London in years. Just a two-hour train ride away from shopping, theater and royal pageantry, and they didn’t go every other weekend?

 

“It’s cheaper and easier to get on a plane to Spain out of Birmingham, to tell the truth,” one explained. “Way cheaper, really. So, London versus Costa Brava? Two hundred pounds versus 50? Rain, sun?” He held his hands up in the universal shifting-weight scale.

 

That was my first clue that the famous axiom about getting around Europe — that trains are best — is a fable from simpler times. I later verified the truth of this on a three-week family trek around Scandinavia. We rented a car, spent less (far less) than it would have cost us on trains, and had infinitely more flexibility to wander up and down little country lanes.

 

When I did a little more research, I confirmed that my friends were right after all. The advent of low-cost airlines has made air travel cheaper, quicker and more convenient than rail. For instance, a flight on Easyjet from London to Paris in September costs $108; passage through the Chunnel on the Eurostar is $195.

 

So the European train myth is one of those enduring, apocryphal travel claims that you still hear and encounter in print. These inventions lurk around like old wives’ tales. Here are 11 additional travel myths; learn the truth about each, and from now on you’ll travel more wisely and well.

 

Dress well and ask nicely and you might get upgraded to first class: This silliness dates from the Howard Hughes era of aviation, when air travel was glamorous and airlines actually competed on service. Now the skies are ruled by cost structures and loyalty programs, and airlines reserve the front cabin for a select few: customers who buy first-class seats, passengers cashing in miles, elite frequent fliers, regular frequent fliers and passengers with promotional coupons, in that order. Asking? You may as well ask for special odds in Vegas.

 

U.S. airlines are required to compensate you if a cancellation is their fault: This fable is based on the so-called “Rule 240,” which no longer exists — thank the Reagan-era frenzy of deregulation. Today, there is no government requirement at all covering canceled flights. What happens to passengers depends on the particular airline’s “contract of carriage,” and these vary widely. You may or may not be rebooked on another airline; you may or may not be offered a hotel if you’re stuck overnight or a meal if it’s an all-day breakdown. Most U.S. airlines, at least grudgingly, provide some level of care, though. At the very least, they do have to honor their contract and get you to your destination, when possible. Want compensation if, say, you miss the first night of your honeymoon? Good luck.

 

For somewhat better treatment, fly in Europe, where EU regulations require airlines to perform more humanely.

 

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