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Frontier Airlines mishandled my bags on a recent flight to Salt Lake City. I had missed a connection, and the airline promised to send the bags to my hotel. It also gave me a sheet explaining that I would be reimbursed for up to $25 in incidental expenses.

That morning, I bought socks and toiletries for $10. My bags were not delivered as promised, so I phoned Frontier the following evening. Two hours after the call, my luggage arrived.

On my way back, I spoke with a Frontier representative at the airport. I gave her my receipts and filled out the necessary forms for reimbursement. Altogether, the process took several hours.

I’ve been waiting for my $10 reimbursement for months. I have called Frontier Airlines, left phone messages, and sent e-mails through its Web site. I want my money back - and a hand-signed apology from an executive at Frontier Airlines - and hope you can help me avoid a costly suit for the airlines and print this in your advice column to help other travelers.

- D.G., Elkins Park, Pa.
Answer: Frontier should have paid you the $10 promptly. Forcing you to spend hours filling out paperwork and then months waiting for compensation is probably not the kind of experience the airline has in mind when it calls itself “a whole different animal.”

Actually, let me back up a little. Frontier shouldn’t have misplaced your luggage in the first place. When it did, reuniting you with your belongings should have been a top priority - not an afterthought that only became a problem after you phoned.

Reimbursement for incidentals is one of those issues the airline industry as a whole rarely does right. It should reimburse you at the gate - in cash. (I’ve seen it before.) But more often, it asks you to fill out paperwork and then denies your claim because of a technicality.

I couldn’t find any reference to Frontier’s liability regarding misplaced luggage. The airline publishes a list of frequently asked questions about refunds on its site (www.frontierairlines.com/frontier/faqs/refund-services-faqs.do), but it doesn’t include any information about reimbursing you for incidentals when your luggage doesn’t arrive on time. So, short of that piece of paper you received when your luggage didn’t make it, you wouldn’t know what Frontier had agreed to do.

I think the airline needs to be a lot clearer about what it will do when your luggage is lost, at least when it comes to picking up your expenses.

But you could have handled this situation more effectively, too. Frontier specifies that certified or registered mail is the best way to reach it, so instead of calling and e-mailing, I might have sent the carrier a registered letter with copies of your paperwork, requesting a refund.

You also might have pushed for an immediate reimbursement at the airport on your return flight. I mean it’s $10. How hard would it have been to just reach into the cash register and hand you an Alexander Hamilton?

I contacted Frontier on your behalf. It checked its records and found that the originating flight - the one on which your connection had been missed - was on a different air carrier. So technically, it didn’t misplace your luggage. It also could find no record of your original complaint or your many calls and e-mails to the airline. Frontier apologized and refunded your $10.

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The new procedure, which is sure to make some passengers blush and others burn in anger over what critics call a virtual reality strip-search, is part of a “security evolution” at airport passenger checkpoints around the country.

It comes amid continuing concerns that Al Qaeda-trained suicide bombers are potentially only one plane ticket away from a U.S. attack, according to the nation’s top transportation security official.

“If despite all our best efforts we fail to keep a [would-be] terrorist off an airplane, at least we must make sure that suicide bombers cannot smuggle the explosives they need to cause a catastrophe past the airport checkpoint and onto the aircraft,” said Kip Hawley, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, which is responsible for security at the nation’s airports.

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Spring break: If the words evoke a shudder — or a flashback — you’re probably too old to enjoy its madness. And it can get pretty crazy, engulfing normally lovely vacation spots for a while.

In prime spring break destinations, the sudden influx of college-age students is huge, overtaxing local resources and spilling onto beaches, byways, cheap hotels, fast-food joints, and popular sightseeing spots. According to the US Department of State,

“Over 100,000 American teenagers and young adults travel to Cancun over their Spring Break each year.”

And if you’ve seen The Real Cancun, you’ve witnessed how spring break boozing and cruising can get out of hand in places that draw monster-sized crowds of college-age students eager to cut loose.

That means there are certain places you would be wise to avoid during spring break if you want a quiet, relaxing, sophisticated honeymoon or holiday. (The rest of the year, they’re fine places to visit.)

While spring break dates vary from school to school, most spring breaks are scheduled between early March and the beginning of April.

SPRING BREAK DESTINATIONS

Where do the giant spring break crowds flock? To warm places where cheap lodging is plentiful. If your vacation happens to fall during spring break and you’re traveling to one of these destinations, you’re advised to stay at a better hotel where the management doesn’t look kindly on accommodating four or more to a room.

The following destinations perennially draw large numbers of college students during spring break:

Spring Break In the USA

• Panama City, Florida
• Daytona, Florida
• South Beach, Miami, Florida
• Key West, Florida
• Lake Havasu City, Arizona
• South Padre Island, Texas

Spring Break in Mexico and the Caribbean

• Acapulco, Mexico
• Cancun, Mexico
• Mazatlan, Mexico
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Paradise Island, Bahamas
• Montego Bay, Jamaica
• Negril, Jamaica

In addition, there are numerous cruises that depart during spring break. If you’re thinking of sailing during that period, check with a travel agent or the cruise line before you book to determine if a certain cruise will be filled with spring breakers… and consider choosing another one.

WHERE CAN YOU ESCAPE FROM SPRING BREAK?

Don’t let the spring break hordes discourage you from traveling during this period, though. There are wonderful places to visit where the only wet T-shirt contest you will witness is in your own room, if that’s your pleasure. All of the following are safe to visit during this month of madness in the US:

• Canada
• Europe
• Other Caribbean Islands
• Cities in the USA

DOES EVERY COLLEGE STUDENT GO WILD DURING SPRING BREAK?

Absolutely not. Plenty spend their break working, visiting family, studying, and/or donating their time to charity. But those won’t be the ones in the next room, keeping you awake at 5 a.m. as they drop water balloons (and worse) from the balcony….

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The
original Sandals Antigua is designed to look like a Caribbean Village. The
brand-new part of Sandals Antigua is modeled after a Mediterranean Village and has posher rooms. Together they now are known as Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa, offering honeymoon couples a world-spanning getaway… without leaving the beach.

Visit Sandals’ Web Site

_{Photo of Antigua beach by Vincent Sardone.}

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