Elliott’s E-Mail: April 13, 2008
Read this week’s issue online or subscribe to the RSS feed.
In this issue …
• The sky isn’t falling
• Scam alert: don’t buy Southwest tickets on Craigslist
• 5 ticket screw-ups air travelers make
• Airline deathwatch: place your bets, please
• Farewell, Skybus
• How to reach yours truly
• Support this site
This issue of Elliott’s E-Mail is underwritten by skoobadesign.com, designers of top-rated, award-winning cases and accessories for laptops and other tech/travel gear. Named “best buy” by a major independent consumer magazine, as well as leading technology, travel and general interest publications. Elliot’s E-Mail Subscribers get 20 percent off, plus free shipping (UPS Ground/48 States) on all Skooba Design orders of $50 or more. Just enter coupon code ELLIOTT20 at checkout. Some restrictions apply. Here are the details.
FIRST | Random thoughts about the week in travel
The sky isn’t falling. Wow, what a week! You’d think it’s the end of the world, to read what’s being written about the demise of low-fare airlines like Skybus and the massive inspection-related cancellations at American. But you’re smarter than that. You know that most vacations and business trips are taken by car, and that 99.9 percent of the travel industry (you know, like hotels, car rental companies and cruise lines) are doing just fine. Of course, I’m one to talk. I hit a few snags when I redesigned my Web site, delaying the transmission of this week’s newsletter by a few days. I’ll be back to my regular schedule next week.
Burning question … What not to wear when you travel? Whether it’s something that might endanger you (body piercings that can get caught on an airline seat) or inconvenience you (wearing shorts on a flight where the thermostat’s turned way down) passengers often wear the wrong thing on the plane. Tell me your story of what not to wear on a plane. And also, if you have any advice for what you should wear, I’m all ears. Send me a note and please don’t forget to include your full name, city and occupation.
Our spring fundraiser starts next week — win stuff! Fasten your seatbelts, folks. Next week, we’ll be doing a condensed fundraiser, and I’m giving away lots of free stuff, including brand-new Skoobadesign luggage. Details on how to donate to the cause are right here.
Have you heard about TalkingTravelers.com. There’s a new site out there called TalkingTravelers.com. It’s a place where travelers can go to talk about their last trip and interact with other like-minded travelers. Yours truly has a hand in it. Come on by.
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by FirstClassFlyer.com, the only tool you need to fly first class for the price of coach — or close to it. Looking for free and purchased upgrades, two-for-ones and a fast-track to elite status strategies? Look no further than FirstClassFlyer.com
BLAZIN’ HOT BLOG POST | What’s burning up my bandwidth this week?
Scam alert: don’t buy Southwest tickets on Craigslist — Every now and then I come across a hard luck case with no easy fix. William Marleau’s story is just the latest. He bought tickets on Southwest Airlines through Craigslist and ended up being drawn into a clever scam that may force him to pay for his flight twice. JOIN THE DISCUSSION — leave your comment!
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by Priceline.com, the leading travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers. With both Name Your Own Price and everyday fixed low prices, no other travel service gives more ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. No one does deals like Priceline.com!
SIGHTINGS | Noted Elliott appearances online and offline
Half the car, twice the price — Douglas Hawkins and his wife reserve a Budget rental car in Naples, Italy, but when they arrive at the car rental counter, the company downgrades his car and almost doubles its rate. Six months later, Budget hasn’t refunded the money Hawkins says it owes him. What now? (From The Troubleshooter)
Grounded by inspections? Get there anyway — If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of air travelers whose plans are disrupted by this week’s inspection-related cancellations at American Airlines or one of the flights bound to be called off because of safety concerns in coming days, don’t think of yourself as permanently grounded. (From MSNBC.com)
5 ticket screw-ups air travelers make — You don’t have to look far for ticketing mistakes in an age of do-it-yourself booking. Take it from me: not only do I write the Travel Troubleshooter column, a question-and-answer feature that helps people solve real-world problems, but I’m also a an expert on errors. (From MSNBC.com)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by Carrentals.co.uk, which provides the easiest and quickest way to search for car hire on the web. Our car rental search engine will compare the market in seconds and provide you with prices from up to 40 car hire suppliers. Cheap car hire is one search away!
BLOGGED | New posts on Elliott’s Blog
Here’s the AApology — do you buy it? — American Airlines blasted an apology to its frequent fliers yesterday, and it included a somewhat long-winded explanation of the MD80 meltdown. Will customers accept the airline’s version of events? (From Elliott Blog)
Airline deathwatch: place your bets, please — Now that Frontier Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection, it’s time to get serious about a game we bloggers haven’t played since 2002. It’s called airline deathwatch. (From Elliott Blog)
Internal memos reveal chaos unfolding at American Airlines — There are 15 cities without American Airlines service this morning. A total of 255 aircraft — all MD80s — are grounded. That translates into 991 flights canceled today, resulting in hundreds of thousands of passengers jamming the phone lines at the world’s largest air carrier. (From Elliott Blog)
Is New York’s new aviation ‘czar’ in over her head? — There are two things we know about New York’s new aviation ‘czar’, who was named today. And we know them simply because an online search of Marie Kennington-Gardiner’s name reveals it. (From Elliott Blog)
A new look — and a new record — 109 comments. That’s a new record for this site, and it signals a turning point in the life of my blog. The inmates are now running the asylum. Might as well do a redesign. (From Elliott Blog)
Unconventional wisdom: when good airlines go bad — When it comes to airline service, it’s easy to make sweeping generalizations, because they’re usually completely correct. The awful air carriers deserve their reputations. So do the good ones. But every now and then something happens that makes me question the conventional wisdom. Take yesterday’s experience in New Orleans, in which I received surprisingly attentive service from an airline that I didn’t expect – and unusually poor service from one that I did. (From Elliott Blog)
Who killed Skybus Airlines? Here’s the surprising answer — Skybus Airlines became the fourth airline to fold in a week when it abruptly announced that it would cease all operations effective today. No one didn’t see this coming. But unlike the other air carriers that have expired, this one’s got all the makings of a real whodunit. (From Elliott Blog)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by Cheapflights.com, which lets you search and compare flights to find the lowest-priced airfare for your next trip. Get the details at Cheapflights.com.
FLASHBACK | A retrospective from the Elliott archives
Skybus, RIP. The top Skybus posts.
Skybus contacts revealed: emails, phone numbers for five top execs — If Skybus, the no-frills, surcharge-happy startup airline bothered responding to its customers with anything other than a boilerplate e-mail message, I wouldn’t do this. If I didn’t get the number of complaints that I do about Skybus, I wouldn’t do this. If it told the truth about its phones, I wouldn’t do this. (From Elliott Blog)
“Skybus left us stranded” — Oh no, not another Skybus complaint! That was my first thought when I received an e-mail with the subject line “Skybus left us stranded.” If I write something about this, I said to myself, Skybus and its mainstream media apologists will really think I have a grudge against this no-frills startup airline — especially after outing its executives in my blog — even though nothing could be further from the truth. (From Elliott Blog)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by G1G.com, the household name in global travel protection. G1G Insurance Services has nearly 20 years of experience in providing insurance products. Find a policy now.
POSTCARDS | The latest from Elliott’s personal photoblog
Trapped — Erysse tries to escape the paddleboat ride at the Magic Kingdom. Alas, she forgot her climbing shoes today.
Bike race! — Iden participates in the annual St. Luke’s preschool bike race. Got nitrox?
TALKBACK | How to sound off about this site Read something you disagree with? Got a story idea or a gripe? Here’s how to be heard:
• Send me an e-mail. I’m at elliottdotorg on every major e-mail provider — AOL, Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo. I’m also reachable at the same e-mail address I’ve always had, of course.
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• Skype me. My username is christopherjelliott.
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• Find out what I’m doing now on Twitter.
• Post a response below an article, in the “Comment on this article” field.
• Contact me with this handy feedback form.
Please note: Unless you specify otherwise, all e-mails, letters and phone conversations are considered “on the record.” That means your name could be used in a future article.
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