Getty Images Not so special Airlines losing lots of money also mishandle lots of luggage for their customers. And even more importantly, they lose lots of time for their customers, too, through long flight delays and too-frequent cancellations. And so it’s probably predictable that the worst airline for customer service last year among major carriers was the one that filed for bankruptcy: American Airlines. But bankruptcy is not the only turbulence for travelers. Mergers also make for big customer woes as well, at least while two airlines are trying to splice themselves together. United Airlines scored almost as poorly as American. The Middle Seat Scorecard ranks major carriers each year on a number of key measures important to travelers: on-time arrivals, long delays, canceled flights, ... Continue reading →
5/23/2012 5:46 PM ET|By Liz Weston, MSN MoneyMen better at saving for retirement?A quick glance at 401k balances suggests women fail to grasp the importance of saving for their later years. But a closer look shows something else is at work.Both men and women suck at saving for retirement. More than 60% of working Americans say they have less than $25,000 put aside, according to the latest Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefits Research Institute. Thirty percent have less than $1,000.Among those who do save, however, men have piled up more -- a lot more -- than women. The median balance for men in 2010 was $33,547, according to a Vanguard study of 3.5 million participants in 2,000 workplace retirement plans it administers. That's ... Continue reading →
If it is true that every cloud has a silver lining, then there must be one for the weak US economy, right? USA Today's Larry Copeland may have found one. On May 21, 2012, Copeland reported that "higher gas prices and a spotty economy recovery" are responsible for the drop in traffic congestion in the US. According to a study from INRIX, a Washington state firm that tracks and studies traffic flows, "[t]raffic congestion dropped 30% last year from 2010 in the the USA's 100 largest metropolitan areas." From the article: "INRIX collects traffic information from more than 4 million vehicles equipped with GPS devices and from other sources for its annual scorecard." Interestingly, "Of the 100 most populous metro areas, 70 saw declines in ... Continue reading →