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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

January 13, 2004

Cheapestflights.com: 'Error'
The owners of the domain name "Cheapestflights.com" have a message for the travel industry: There's no such thing as the "cheapest" fare. "Sorry, 'Cheapestflights.com' or any agent who always guarantees the very cheapest airfares does not, and cannot, exist due to the size, complexity, diversity and pricing strategies of the travel industry. Please check your expectations. There may be a problem with your expectation settings. Word is that the site is the work of Cheapflights.com, the UK consolidator site that recently launched a US version. Posted 5 p.m.

• People constantly ask me what the lowest fare is to a given destination, to which I usually say "zero." (OK, I'm not always a wise guy.) So collect your frequent flier miles, marry a flight attendant, or print money in your basement, but don't ask anyone what the lowest fare is. Because no on — not even the airlines themselves — know. Send us your comments.

U.S. to Push Airlines for Records
Despite stiff resistance from airlines and privacy advocates, the U.S. government plans to push ahead this year with a vast computerized system to probe the backgrounds of all passengers boarding flights in the United States. The government will compel airlines and airline reservations companies to hand over all passenger records for scrutiny by U.S. officials, after failing to win cooperation in the program's testing phase. The order could be issued as soon as next month. Under the system, all travelers passing through a U.S. airport are to be scored with a number and a color that ranks their perceived threat to the aircraft. Washington Post | Posted 6 p.m.
-- KTVU: TSA explains CAPPS II

• The AP credits the Washington Post with breaking this story. However, the key elements of CAPPS II and its timeline were contained in a US News article that posted a day earlier. A TSA official also talked about the program in an interview published on this site. | Send us your comments.

Orbitz Appoints Andreessen to Board
Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen is being tapped to "deliver innovative products and services to Orbitz users," according to a press release. No mention of his travel industry experience or of what products, specifically, he's going to develop. Hotel Online | Posted 6: 05 p.m.

• Could this be just another publicity stunt for the beleaguered dot-com travel agency? Other than helping develop the first Web browser, it's unclear what Andreessen's accomplishments (and abilities) are. Meanwhile, the company's stock languishes at $24 a share.

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• And finally ... the chatter on the bulletin boards is that US Airways isn't serious about trying to sell off assets, and that its management only planted the story as a negotiating tactic in order to force more concessions from its unions. If that proves to be true, then the unions are likely to dig in their heels even more, and possibly lead to the liquidation of the carrier. (By the way, I'm on assignment this week. Today's notes was posted yesterday evening.) Posted 7 p.m. | Send us your comments.

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