Traveller letters: Don't make this mistake when hiring a car in the UK

CHILE RECEPTION

Landing in Santiago, Chile, I was told by my travel agent I would have to pay a $US100 "reciprocal" fee, but not told that if I transferred in transit, I would not have to pay.

There were two officials at the transfer desk, one took the passport and the other took the money, but no official receipt was provided.

I didn't realise it until a month later, having to stay overnight because of a long wait between planes. I was forced to pay another $US100 to leave the airport or stay in the terminal for 24 hours (a room had been booked in a nearby airport hotel). This is a tidy racket for unsuspecting, trusting Australian travellers.

Lee Trimboli, Sydney, NSW

LA DOLCE VISA

I want to respond to the letter (Rants & raves, September 23) about a bad experience following a lost passport with my own experience in Rome.

Somehow, between the Abu Dhabi airport (where my passport was checked prior to boarding) and Rome airport, my passport went missing from my bag. Panicked inquiries of the airline staff and a search of the plane failed to turn up the missing document.

At passport control, I was unable to enter Rome and was taken into custody airside by police officers who (rather sniggeringly) said that I would be detained and sent back to Australia on the next available flight.

Luckily, it was a weekday morning and a phone call to the Australian embassy in Rome rapidly set wheels in motion. A delightful young embassy official hopped in a cab and met me at the airport with the forms for an emergency passport, plus a camera for the obligatory photo (worst passport photo ever after 26 hours flying from Sydney).

Luckily, I had the required €240 (cash only) needed to issue the passport. My partner accompanied the official back to the embassy where the passport was issued and given to him. He returned to the airport where he was allowed back through immigration control to give me the passport and, before too long, we were on our way through the streets of Rome to our hotel and a late dinner.

All up, it took about eight hours, most of that time taken up by the trips to and from the airport. I have nothing but the highest praise for the Australian embassy staff we dealt with; they were amazingly helpful, friendly and reassuring. We were told that Australia and New Zealand are the only countries that provide this service, which rescued our trip from disaster.

Amanda Trenaman, Balmain, NSW

CLUB RULES

Having travelled to various parts of the world to play golf – or for the husband to golf while I prefer the less stressful environment of the 19th hole – we've had very different experiences than John Davison (Rants & raves, September 16) when checking in golf clubs.

Oversized baggage has not been an issue for us with Royal Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia and even Jetstar.

Before booking any flights, we review the airline's OB requirements as each tends to differ. Also, my husband purchased an airline-approved golf travel bag and packs in this his full set of sticks, shoes and clothing. We will not use Thai as their OB policy is like a golfer's bank account after a stint at Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand – pretty poor.

Kristen Ireland, Melbourne, VIC

ON THE DOUBLE

Ron Yuen's issue with booking two seats for one person (Rants & raves, September 16) is uncommon but a pain nonetheless as travel agents don't always know how to deal with it.

For any special requests like that, you are better off booking the whole two seats (the one you are sitting on plus the spare one you need) directly with the airline, so that way they are aware of your needs and can actually work out a few options with you, including buying the spare seat (especially if the reason why you are buying the spare seat is due to a medical issue).

Using an example, I booked two seats for myself with Singapore Airlines years ago as I have broad shoulders and am a bit heavy and my fare was essentially the published fare for the one seat plus the base fare (excluding taxes and surcharges) for the second seat. The airline made sure no one in check-in or at the gate could use the accompanying seat if they needed to due to overbooking.

I checked the seat plan using ExpertFlyer and KVS and, lo and behold, the seats I was assigned to were blocked and stayed blocked right until flight departure.

The only downside is that you will have to do the booking over the phone, but most of the airlines will waive phone booking fees as they recognise that people who need two seats can only book them over the phone.

Also, depending on the airline, the second seat may attract the full fare or be offered with a discount or the cost refunded to you if there are spare seats available the moment the flight departs.

Jason Azucena, Carlingford, NSW