10 Naughty or Nice Travel Providers in 2012

Spirit enacted the most outrageous bag fee we've seen yet—a $100 fee for carry-on bags if they're paid for at the gate. The new fee went into effect in November, just in time for the holidays. Happy holidays to you, too, Spirit! Oh, and the airline also refused to refund a dying veteran for his airline ticket this year after his doctor told him that he was too sick to fly.

The airline filed for bankruptcy and replaced some crewmembers with subcontractors, causing internal labor struggles. Three different American flights had to make emergency landings after rows of seats came loose from the floor and started sliding around. A New York Times writer detailed his "Kafkaesque" nightmare of a trip from Paris to New York that took over 30 hours, which was sadly typical of the delays the airline suffered all year. (In September, American's on-time arrivals fell to just 54 percent.)

It wasn't a good year for United, either, after it merged with Continental. In March, the airlines switched over to a joint website, frequent-flyer program, and reservation system, which did not go smoothly (to say the least). That month, United earned the highest number of consumer complaints of any U.S. airline, accounting for 34 percent of all complaints to the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Nor did United do much to help its reputation this year, by losing a 10-year-old girl who was traveling alone, putting extra-narrow nine-across seats on their new 787 planes, raising checked-bag fees, and allegedly causing a paralyzed veteran pain and humiliation on a flight.

It almost seems like Ryanair wants to be on the naughty list. Here's a quick roundup of the appalling things the airline did this year:

• Almost crashing in an attempt to make up for a 30-minute delay
• Charging passengers €60 (about $79) to print out boarding passes at the airport
• Trying to pass off as a Paris gateway an airport that's about a four-hour drive away from the city
• Getting its racy ads banned
• Banning passengers from exit rows if they don't pay extra
• Calling passengers "stupid"
• Allegedly flying low on fuel to save money

It just wouldn't be a naughty list without the TSA! This year, the much-maligned security agency was caught up in a number of theft scandals in which screeners were busted stealing from passengers. (Read more about the incidents here, here, here, and here.)

TSA agents also were accused of singling out women to go through body scanners, harassing a nursing mother, spilling human ashes (and laughing about it), screening hundreds of passengers through an unplugged metal detector, and racial profiling.

AirTran ranked number one in the 2012 AQR (Airline Quality Rating) rankings this year, which measures airlines in lost luggage, on-time performance, service, and oversold flights. The airline has been at the top of the rankings for the last few years, earning it a spot on our nice list.

Eco-tech firm Brighter Planet named the midrange national hotel chain Vagabond Inn as the number-one most energy- and carbon-efficient hotel group in America. So if you're feeling naughty about your travel carbon footprint, maybe add Vagabond Inn to your personal list of nice hotels?

Richard Nicotra, the owner of a Staten Island Hilton, warmed our hearts this year by refusing to evict Hurricane Sandy victims from the hotel in order to accommodate New York City Marathon runners' reservations. Nicotra opened the Hilton Garden Inn to locals who had lost their homes and power. (Although the marathon was eventually canceled, Nicotra didn't turn away marathon-goers either, offering them a free cot and meals if they decided to come anyway.)

Hilton Garden Inns in general deserve a spot on our nice list, as they were ranked number one in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2012 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study for the "upscale" category.

JetBlue announced this year that it will be rolling out free Wi-Fi access on flights starting in 2013. And that's in addition to the airline's standard free first checked bag, free DirecTV, and the most legroom in coach.

J.D. Power and Associates ranked rental-car companies on costs and fees; pickup, return, and reservation processes; car quality; and shuttle buses, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car came in at number one. Plus, by the end of 2012, the car-rental company will have planted 7 million trees in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service.

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