Seth Kugel

Help! Air France Lost My Fencing Gear Before a Big Tournament.

Air France lost a Team USA fencer's equipment bag on his way to a Grand Prix tournament in Tunisia. For months, he followed every bizarre, inconsistent instruction they sent him – even providing a receipt for his boxer briefs – but never got reimbursed. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/t...

Niede Guidon, 92, Archaeologist Who Preserved Prehistoric Rock Art, Dies Her work in Brazil challenged the prevailing theory of when humans first arrived in the Americas and led to the development of a forgotten corner of the country.

A larger-than-life Brazilian archaeologist who transformed an impoverished region of the country died last week, and though I never met her personally, I did get to write the obit. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/s...

Help! KLM Lost My Mom’s $400 Wheelchair and Won’t Pay Up.

Whose responsibility is it when luggage disappears from the carousel? I got no comment from six of the seven biggest U.S. carriers, as well as JFK airport. Kudos to @americanairiines.bsky.social for saying "it's ours." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/t...

Help! A Cruise Line Charged Us $800 for a Day Trip We Didn’t Take.

A cruise ship charged two passengers for a whale-watching excursion without their permission, then refused to refund them when they missed a deadline to back out. They won't be doing that anymore! If something went wrong on your trip, try me at trippedup@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/t...

Tripped Up: I Gave Up My Seat for $800, but Frontier Forgot to Pay Me. When the low-cost airline asked for 20 volunteers to take a later flight, one of them never received the promised voucher. Was a handwritten list to blame?

What are the pros and cons of voluntarily giving up your seat on an overbooked flight? Add this one to your con list: they might not pay you. (Send stories of travel fiascos to trippedup@nytimes.com!) www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/t...

Help! I Couldn’t Take My Tall-Ship Voyage, and I Want My Money Back. When an injured traveler has to back out of a $1,450 volunteer gig aboard a historic ship, the company says it’s just the middleman and the terms and conditions on its website don’t apply.

For my @nytimestravel.bsky.social column, I resolve disputes between travelers and (usually) big corporations. Today, it's a very small (and admirably stubborn, but definitely wrong) Spanish non-profit. Have an issue for the column? Reach me at trippedup@nytimes.com. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/t...