ELLIOTT’S E-MAIL
First aid for travel
July 18, 2007
Oh where, oh where has my luggage gone? Oh where, oh where can it be? If you’re a British Airways passenger, keep singin’. In this week’s issue of Elliott’s E-Mail, I profile one traveler whose lost luggage claim is lost, and I document the carrier’s apparent attempt to stop passengers from contacting it with legitimate complaints. There are lots and lots of interesting blog entries on subjects ranging from Anna Maria Island, Fla., to free Wi-Fi. Plus, there’s a whole section devoted to the TSA. It’s shaping up to be one crazy summer. As Sgt. Esterhaus would say: Hey, let’s be careful out there.
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FIRST | Random thoughts about the week in travel
Burning question … What’s your top annoyance this summer? High gas prices? Airline delays? Hotel fees? Have at it! Send me a note or shoot me an IM (celliottlive on AIM).
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SIGHTINGS | Noted Elliott appearances online and offline
Lost luggage, ignored claim — British Airways loses three bags belonging to Izlen Umut Egeli’s family. Under the Montreal Convention, the airline must compensate the travelers for their luggage, but Egeli is trapped in a maze of claim forms, phone representatives who can’t help, and fax machines that won’t. Is there a way out? (From The Troubleshooter)
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BLOGGED | New posts on Ellipses
easyJet: slow boarding, no refund — What happens when you start charging a fee for everything that isn’t bolted down on a plane? Madness, that’s what you get. At least that’s what Ron Di Costanzo got when he flew from Barcelona to London on discount carrier easyJet. (From Ellipses)
Overlooked: Anna Maria Island — Just when I thought I had thoroughly explored Florida’s coastline and discovered its best vacation destinations, I stumbled upon a place like Anna Maria Island, a quiet resort area near Bradenton, right across the bridge from Longboat Key. (From Ellipses)
Are airlines changing their e-mail addresses to dodge customer complaints? — For the last two years I’ve maintained an unofficial database of executives responsible for customer service at major travel companies. Each entry lists the company’s preferred method of contact and includes phone numbers and e-mail addresses of company officials. (All of the information was available online, and not the result of any privileged correspondence I may have had with the companies.) But in the last several weeks, at least three airlines have started bouncing e-mail queries back to their customers as undeliverable. (From Ellipses)
US Airways passengers: ‘no confidence’ in management — Ffocus, a group of US Airways frequent fliers, is calling for a management change at the nation’s sixth-largest airline. In a report sent to the carrier last week, and which I’ve obtained, the influential group of about 800 passengers detailed the air carrier’s misdeeds and concluded by giving its executives a vote of “no confidence.” (From Ellipses)
Passenger sues Spirit in small-claims court — and wins — If you’ve ever felt as if the airline industry can get away with pretty much anything it wants to, then you have to check out Ellen Creager’s fascinating account of a passenger who sued Spirit Airlines in small-claims court, and won. (From Ellipses)
Do you have the right to a free Wi-Fi signal? — In the gadget-dependent, always-on world of the early 21st century, do you have a right to a Wi-Fi signal? The answer isn’t just “yes.” I think every public area, whether it’s the inside of a plane, a hotel room, a train, or an airport terminal has the obligation to offer a high-speed signal — for free. (From Ellipses)
For air travelers, there’s a new sheriff in town — If you’ve ever wondered why the government does little more than count the number of complaints filed by air travelers and then reports them, the answer is simple: the Transportation Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement & Proceedings only has the resources to pursue the biggest cases. The net effect is that airlines have been getting away with almost anything they want to. (From Ellipses)
Is the TSA discovering customer service? — The Transportation Security Administration is a favorite target of bloggers, travel writers, newspaper columnists … heck, everyone. It’s a government agency that can’t seem to do anything right, even when it’s done nothing wrong. (From Ellipses)
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!
FLASHBACK | A retrospective from the Elliott archives
What should we do about the TSA? More stories about our last line of defense against the terrorists
Kill the TSA — Before Sept. 11, when airlines still paid for their own security, critics charged that profit-hungry carriers had quietly run a chilling cost-benefit analysis. Since it was virtually impossible to create an airtight security system, the airlines decided to hire the cheapest guards and buy the least expensive screening equipment. (From Commentary)
Is screening a punishment? — A secondary screening by a Transportation Security Administration agent — being taken aside and given the once-over with a handheld magnetometer — is said to only happen under a specific set of circumstances. The passenger looks suspicious, acts suspicious or is traveling on a suspicious itinerary, like a one-way ticket paid for with cash. But a secondary screening as punishment? I hadn’t heard of that until, well, it happened to me. (From Ellipses)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by the Alaska Travelgram, which gives you the inside scoop on Alaska, with information on activities, accommodations, hot air fare deals and secret insider tips — from the folks who live there. Subscribe here. It’s free.
POSTCARDS | The latest from Elliott’s personal photo blog
Good reading — Aren and his friend Aden hang out on the front porch reading Aunt Kaia’s poetry, dressed in her fabulous fall line of clothes.
Playtime — Aren and his friend Ella pretend it’s fall so that Aunt Kaia can get a few good shots of her new clothing line. Of course, fall in Florida looks like this too …
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Elliott’s E-Mail is published 50 times a year by Christopher Elliott. (c) 2007 Christopher Elliott.
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