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In this issue …
• They promised the world, but …
• Is Delta-Northwest merger really creating “a leader in providing customer service and value”?
• Flying sick? 4 secrets for surviving your trip
• Here’s a clever way around pricey hotel wireless charges
• Travel blogging
• How to reach yours truly
• Support this site
Support this site and win a Shuttle! We’re having an abbreviated spring fundraiser with double the booty! Over the next two weeks I’m giving away brand-new Skoobadesign luggage, including three cool Shuttle laptop backpacks and three Skreener courier-style laptop bags. How do you win? All you have to do is become an underwriter. Winners will be picked at random. Here’s how.
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FIRST | Random thoughts about the week in travel
They promised the world, but … Whether it’s Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines standing at the altar, assuring us their proposed merger would be a “win-win”, or the Transportation Department symbolically bumping up the compensation for bumped passengers, we travelers have been promised a lot this week. But will any of it really improve the travel experience? I doubt it. Read this week’s issue and then decide for yourself.
Burning question … Have you ever taken a travel company to small claims court? If so, what happened? Send me a note and please don’t forget to include your full name, city and occupation.
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Join 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. Come on by.
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BLAZIN’ HOT BLOG POST | What’s burning up my bandwidth this week?
Is Delta-Northwest merger really creating “a leader in providing customer service and value”? — Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have finally announced their merger this evening. No big surprises in the news release. We knew the Northwest name would be retired, and we knew how this would be spun. JOIN THE DISCUSSION — leave your comment!
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
SIGHTINGS | Noted Elliott appearances online and offline
Rome will have to wait … — When Allison Fagerness’ flight to Rome is canceled, she’s forced to call off her vacation and return home. Her online travel agent, Expedia, promises a refund, but her airline, Alitalia, won’t pay. What should she do? (From The Troubleshooter)
Flying sick? 4 secrets for surviving your trip — Why would anyone get on an aircraft while in the throes of a contagious, debilitating viral infection? Maybe the question should be: Why not? (From MSNBC.com)
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!
BLOGGED | New posts on Elliott’s Blog
Here’s a clever way around pricey hotel wireless charges — Unless you’re a frequent business traveler and own an expensive wireless mobile broadband aircard with a two-year plan, there’s no way around a hotel’s $9.95 per day wireless fee. If you want to stay connected when you’re away, the resort’s got you over a barrel.(From Elliott Blog)
It’s official: airlines must double compensation for bumped passengers — Just in time for the busy summer travel season, the Transportation Department this morning announced a series of steps designed to calm the frayed nerves of air travelers, including a new rule that doubles the limit on compensation airlines must pay passengers who are involuntarily bumped from their flight. (From Elliott Blog)
6 secrets car rental companies don’t want you to know — What’s it like on the other side of the car rental counter? The answer may surprise you. I’ve been corresponding with a former car rental employee, and he’s shared some remarkable insights into the business that might help you make a more informed decision the next time you rent a car. (From Elliott Blog)
Is Kohnstamm lying about lying? — One of the most explosive claims that disgraced guidebook author Thomas Kohnstamm has made in interviews to promote his new book, Do Travel Writers Go To Hell? is that he didn’t visit Colombia while writing a Lonely Planet guidebook about Colombia. (From Elliott Blog)
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FLASHBACK | A retrospective from the Elliott archives
Travel blogging. More on travel and blogging.
The 20 most inspiring travel blogs of 2007 — Which travel blogs inspire me to travel, and to write about it? I’ve already weighed in on the most influential blogs of the year and hotel blogs worth bookmarking. But a lot of you have asked me which sites I read just for the fun of it (in other words, because I think they’re really good). Here’s your answer — my very own list of travel blogs that inspire me. (From Elliott Blog)
Travel blogging myths — A lot of people seem to be obsessing about travel blogging these days. An inordinate amount of bandwidth is being spent discussing what travel blogging is. Few people are talking about what it isn’t. (From Elliott Blog)
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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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