• What's elliott?
• About elliott
• Contact us

t o p i c s

• Business
• Commentary
• Destinations
• Help
• Leisure
• Technology
• Vault

Copyright Elliott Publishing. All rights reserved. For more information, call (305) 453-4781 or send e-mail to us.

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

Underwritten By Cheapflights.com — Compare sales, specials and cheap flights to any destination.

October 15, 2004

Storms Spawn Car Rental Shortage
Peter and Jimmy Cali flew into Tampa International Airport from New York City about noon yesterday to attend their mother's funeral. Coming on short notice, the two men arrived without a car reservation. That's when they learned about the statewide shortage of rental cars. After stopping by six rental counters and coming up empty-handed, Jimmy Cali was incredulous. "I do a lot of traveling," he said, before getting a cab to track down a rental possibility in Clearwater. "This has never happened to me before." While car rental companies are honoring all reservations, they have been unable to accommodate walk-up customers for the past few weeks. Frustrated travelers can blame it on the hurricanes. St. Petersburg Times | Posted 6:35 a.m.
• Bad For Florida? Good For Arizona (AP)
• Time To Advertise For Florida Hotels (SPT)

I'm filing today's Travel Notes from Southwest Florida, where I've had a chance to see the devastation firsthand. Although tourism authorities are eager to bring visitors back, it's also true that Florida is still reeling from the hurricanes - and will for the the foreseeable future.

Amtrak Liable For Others' Negligence
It is no mystery why, one spring day two years ago, an Amtrak passenger train jumped the tracks near Crescent City, Fla., and skidded to a stop on its side, killing 4 people and injuring 142. Investigators concluded that the track, owned by the big freight railroad CSX, had not been properly stabilized and that management's oversight of maintenance had been lax. But when millions of dollars in damage claims arose from the crash, it was not CSX, a multibillion-dollar corporation, that paid them. It was Amtrak, the perennial money loser that survives only with regular infusions of cash from American taxpayers. The New York Times | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Cruise Bargains Becoming Scarce
Passengers who have been used to cruise bargains may face higher prices next year. "It's about supply and demand, as always," said Terrance Zepke, author of "The Encyclopedia of Cheap Travel." Although demand for cruising keeps rising, fewer ships are being built. From 2000 to 2004, major cruise lines introduced 62 new vessels. Only three new ships are scheduled to set sail in 2005, and six in 2006. Most orders for new ships take four to six years to fill, and the cruise industry had a severe slowdown in orders after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Cruise bookings then boomed, in part because lines reduced prices to fill cabins. "Now the cruise climate has changed. To get what you want, you'll need to set your sights further out," says Anne Campbell, editor of Cruisemates.com. That means booking four to six months in advance, she said. Seattle Times | Posted 6:50 a.m.

----------

Another Chapter In My Life - Is your favorite airline going broke? It looks as if bankruptcy protection is a popular trend in the airline industry these days, and the light at the end of the tunnel gets farther and farther away. Chapter 11, in case you were wondering, is when a company can no longer contain its losses and profitability seems a remote future hope. The carrier throws itself at the mercy of the bankruptcy court and asks permission to break its promises to lenders, clients, and employees, in order to survive. Featured archived story from Travelcomment.com| Posted 7 a.m.

----------

Southwest Airlines Profits Soar - Southwest Airlines reported its 54th consecutive quarterly profit Thursday, with third-quarter income rising by more than 12 percent. The Dallas-based airline said it generated a net income of $119 million, or 15 cents a share, compared to $106 million, or 13 cents a share, in the previous third quarter. "Despite the weak airline industry revenue environment and higher fuel prices, Southwest achieved a double-digit improvement in earnings," Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said. Analysts expected the carrier to report a third-quarter profit of 12 cents a share. Houston Chronicle| Posted 7 a.m.

Union: US Airways Seeking '82 Pay Levels - US Airways' request in bankruptcy court to impose 23 percent pay cuts on its union workers would reduce flight attendants' pay scales to 1982 levels, a union analyst said. Daniel W. Akins, an economist working for the Association of Flight Attendants, testified Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that the pay cuts sought by bankrupt US Airways are so severe that the airline's pay scales would be 22 percent lower than the average salary scale of the nation's low-cost air carriers. AP | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Virgin Passenger Furious At Bomb Delay - Angry Virgin Atlantic passengers claimed they were kept waiting for 10 hours while authorities argued who was in charge over a bomb threat at Stansted airport. Special Branch, Essex police and the Immigration Service were blamed following the hoax yesterday morning on a 12-hour flight from Hong Kong to Heathrow. First class passenger Nicholas Walters, 47, said: "We found ourselves in a turf war. No one seemed to know who was in charge. We had 10 hours of the most appalling incompetence and English bureaucracy." Mirror | Posted 7:10 a.m.

>> Yesterday's Notes | Tomorrow's Notes <<

E-mail Elliott | Other bloggers | About this blog

Latest Travel Notes | Complete Archives