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In this issue …
• Travel secrets!
• 5 things airlines won’t tell you about weather delays
• Kiddies verboten at Disney World restaurant
• Banned but not forgotten
• All bundled up
• How to reach yours truly
• Support this site
This issue of Elliott’s E-Mail is 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!
FIRST | Random thoughts about the week in travel
Travel secrets! What you don’t know can hurt you — or at least keep you from having a good trip. If there’s a theme to last week’s news, that would be it. From dissecting NASA’s data on airline safety to the truth about weather delays to four “secret” days when you shouldn’t travel, I’ve got it all covered in this week’s issue of Elliott’s E-Mail. And if you didn’t see me Friday night on 20/20, here’s a transcript. Yeah, that was me. (Note: I’m sending the newsletter early again because I’ll be on assignment next week. Happy travels!)
Burning question … What do you think of the passenger rights revolution? A year ago, the second passenger right revolution began with the now-infamous tarmac trappings in Austin. My question for you this week: Are we better off because of it? Worse? About the same? Your thoughts are much appreciated. Send me a note and please don’t forget to include your full name, city and occupation.
OK, one more week! By popular demand, I’ve extended the winter fundraiser by one more week. You can still become a 2007 underwriter and get your premium. Here are the details. I’ll be processing all of the premiums next Monday.
Only a few days left on ExpertFlyer offer. Remember ExpertFlyer, the cool subscription service for frequent fliers I recently wrote about? The special offer for readers of this site is valid through the end of the month, so don’t wait. Either sign up for a 15 percent discount using the coupon code GUCFOGAQ. Or you can give ExpertFlyer to a friend or loved one here. The gift certificate is for one full year of premium service (normally costing $99, which is a $20 discount from the monthly premium membership price of $120 a year). So you get a double discount when using the coupon.
SIGHTINGS | Noted Elliott appearances online and offline
Help! Mickey’s got my photos — On a trip to Disneyland, Marco McFarren and his girlfriend participate in a program that allows them to buy a CD of photos taken by cast members for $59.99. But wait! The CD actually costs $124.95 when it’s ordered from the Disney Web site. Is Mickey holding their vacation photos hostage, or was McFarren given the wrong information? (From The Troubleshooter)
5 things airlines won’t tell you about weather delays — Is your airline telling the truth about the weather? If you were a passenger on one of the more than 1,200 United Airlines flights canceled since Dec. 23, you might have wondered — particularly after its pilots claimed the carrier was understaffed during the peak travel period, contradicting the airline’s explanation that winter storms were to blame for its actions. (From MSNBC.com)
4 days when you’re better off staying home — You probably already know about Spring Break, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. That is, you know enough not to travel around those days. Scoring a frequent flier award ticket is pretty much impossible, hotels aren’t discounting their rooms, and you’ll probably pay full price for your rental car. Plus, it’s usually a tragic mess out there — long lines at the airport, dense traffic and frayed tempers. But this isn’t another story about blackout dates. (From MSNBC.com)
Deciphering your Web site traffic reports: 5 tips — What do you make of the traffic reports you get for your Web site? If you’re like me, you’re probably fixated on just one number: site visitors. But if you asked me about the difference between page views and unique visitors, or to draw a distinction between length and depth of visit, my knowledge might get really fuzzy really fast. (From Microsoft Office Live)
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.
BLOGGED | New posts on Elliott’s Blog
Kiddies verboten at Disney World restaurant — I was tempted to look up the word “irony” in the dictionary when I heard about Disney banning kids from one of its theme park restaurants. Because that’s where you’d expect to find that kind of news. But it’s true: the happiest place on earth has closed the door to children under the age of 10 at Victoria & Albert’s, an upscale restaurant at the Grand Floridian resort. (From Elliott Blog)
Airline complaints surge 37 percent in latest report; US Airways is most complained about carrier — Complain, complain, complain. Is that all airline passengers can do? Even though domestic carriers had fewer flight delays, cancellations and mishandled bags this past November than during the same month a year before, customers didn’t take notice, according to the Transportation Department’s latest Air Travel Consumer Report. (From Elliott Blog)
Other people’s resolutions: what travel bloggers are saying about 2008 — If you believe blogs represent the future of travel writing, you should check out some of the resolutions these travel blogs have made for 2008. (And in case you’re wondering — yes, I do think blogs are the future, and that many of the best minds in travel writing are already blogging.) (From Elliott Blog)
Redacted! NASA airline safety study released — sorta — NASA made good on its promise to release its airline safety survey by the end of the year, but did little more than post 6,208 pages of heavily-redacted — and ultimately meaningless — data on its Web site on the slowest news day of the year. (From Elliott Blog)
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
FLASHBACK | A retrospective from the Elliott archives
Banned but not forgotten. Verboten from the archives.
Ban babies on board? — Ban babies on board. Stop kids from flying altogether or at least create a special children’s sect ion on planes.That’s what a growing number of frequent travelers want to do. (From The Travel Critic)
Airlines blacklist passengers — Mark Adkins thought that he was doing America West Airlines a favor by giving up his seat on an overbooked flight from Tucson to Las Vegas. But he says the airline returned the favor a few hours later by banishing him for life. (From The Travel Critic)
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POSTCARDS | The latest from Elliott’s personal photoblog
Happy birthday, Iden — Iden turned three today. (OK, actually he turns three next week, but we’re celebrating early because Daddy has to go on a trip.)
All bundled up — Erysse visited ICE at the Gaylord Palms, where the temperature was a bone-chilling eight degrees. What a great excuse to bundle up and do her best Little Red Riding Hood impression.
Where’s the alligator? — Erysse had a blast at the Brevard Zoo, and she even got to see scary alligators. They didn’t move a lot, but Mommy said they have sharp teeth, so she kept her distance.
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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