• 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.

ELLIOTT'S E-MAIL
The Last Honest Travel Newsletter
http://www.elliott.org

April 30, 2001

> Inside

* Can't Get Away from Cell Phones
* May is Pledge Month
* Elliott on Entrepreneur.com
* Make 'em Pay
* Ban Cell Phones at the Airport
* How Dare You?
* Calling for Trouble
* Ban Phones from the Airport? Really?
* Pitchin' Passengers
* Weird Travel News

> This Week in Travel

** Can't Get Away from Cell Phones
That ringing you hear isn't coming from the portable phone next to you - it's probably coming from this Web site. The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association late last week announced it would team up with the National Safety Council to produce a series of public service ads that asks consumers "whether it is appropriate to make a call." It's about time. Travelers have been ranting - as they do in several of this site's columns - about restrictions on phone usage and limits that should be placed on portables. What do you think? Join the debate by e-mailing feedback@elliott.org. And check here next week to see what you had to say. - CE

> By the Way

** May is Pledge Month
Next month is pledge month at elliott.org. Since 1997, Elliott's E-Mail and its companion Web site, elliott.org, have been entirely free to travelers and industry professionals who want the latest commentary and the most innovative - and controversial - content. In the coming weeks, you can help keep it that way by becoming an elliott.org underwriter. The May goal is modest: we're looking for 500 underwriters. Stay tuned for details.

** Elliott on Entrepreneur.com
Traveling can make you feel like royalty - or it can be a royal pain. It's exhilarating because you get to call the shots, but it's also time-consuming to get yourself prepared for a trip. Oh, and don't forget the bill you'll ultimately have to foot, because now you're the boss. Travel writer Christopher Elliott, who was interviewed for this Entrepreneur.com special section, can sympathize with your plight. Read the entire article at http://www.elliott.org/about/press/entrepreneur.htm

> Elliott's Cheap Travel Tip

** Make 'em Pay
This week's cheap travel tip comes from veteran flight attendant Ro Spinelli, who tells us how she scored a fistful of vouchers from American Airlines. On a recent flight from Chicago to San Francisco, the carrier severely mishandled one of her checked in bags ("By the time we retrieved our bag, it smelled like an aquarium," she recalls). She insisted that American clean her luggage, but it took a lot longer than expected. "In the meantime, every monthly visit I made to the airport to check on my bags, I was given $25 flight coupons for each of us to soften the blow of inconvenience," she says. Finally, four months later, she decided to buy a new bag. She billed American - and the airline paid. Got a moneysaving tip? E-mail cheap@elliott.org.

> Our Sponsor

** The FrequentFlier Crier
Want to travel faster, safer, smarter, cheaper, better... and earn more frequent flier miles in the process? Every week, The FrequentFlier Crier delivers travel news you can use: frequent flyer program updates, special fares, industry news and trends. Sign up free at http://frequentflier.com/subscribe.htm

> Elliott's Commentary

** Ban Cell Phones at the Airport
Mike Marker can't seem to get away from cell phones when he's traveling. "Whether it's in the public area of an airport, a frequent flier club or on a plane," complains the Salt Lake City consultant, "I can't escape the constant barrage of conversations and business deals being made." He thinks wireless phone chatter is becoming like second-hand smoke, and he wants something done about it. Read this week's Travel Technologist at http://www.elliott.org/technology/2001/bancellphones.htm

** How Dare You?
A flight attendant is raving mad at travel critic Chris Elliott for depicting air hosts as angry and insensitive. He's got an idea: why not spend a day in his jumpseat before writing another story about flight attendants? Is the crewmember's anger justified - or misdirected? Only one way to find out. Get the details in this week's installment of ChrisCrossings at http://www.elliott.org/ask/2001/crattendants2.htm

** Calling for Trouble
So now it's supposedly safe to use cellular phones on a plane. So what? Airlines should still prevent the use of portables on board. And while they're at it, they ought to remove those overpriced onboard phones, too. I'm tired of having to listen to the guy next to me kvetching away while I'm trying to get a little shut-eye. But many frequent fliers have gone through the stratosphere in the wake of a recent report in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that carriers are banning cell phone use not because of safety, but for profit. From the vault at http://www.elliott.org/vault/critic/1999/cellphone.htm

> Audio Commentary

** Ban Phones from the Airport? Really?
No kidding. But should cell phones really be banned from the airport? Listen to the pros and cons in this week's audio commentary and then make up your own mind. Click on Outtakes from the Laptop Traveler at http://www.elliott.org/audio/outtakes/2001/banphones.mp3

> Other Voices

** Pitchin' Passengers
Ticked.com columnist Cheap Charlie is upset at British Airways this week. The airline announced it would expand seat room - in business class. What are the rest of the travelers going to do with the substandard seat pitch? For the answers to that and other travel questions, click on this week's installment of his column at http://ticked.com/cheapcharlie/2001/chseats.htm

** Weird Travel News
While Joe Brancatelli was living la dolce vita in Rome, he came across a weird Italian game show called Passaparola. It's got puppets, skating hosts, and showgirls in skimpy outfits shaking their booty between questions. But that's nothing compared to the odd business travel news he found when he returned. Click on http://misc.biztravel.com/content/news_and_views/branc/01/042601branc.htm

** Heard a Rumor? Got News?
If you've come across any interesting travel or technology-related news, let us know at Elliott's E-Mail. We'll check it out. Send a note to editor@elliott.org or call (410) 626-9618.

> Other Sponsors

** AirJet Airline News
This issue of Elliott's E-Mail is also underwritten by AirJet Airline News, the largest electronic airline news magazine on the Internet. News updated hourly at http://www.airlinebiz.com/wire/

** Travelsucks.com
If you hate paying too much for airfare, you'll want to subscribe one of Travelsucks.com's travel bargain newsletters. The site now offers 63 different newsletters that list bargain airfare by geographic areas. And while you're there, you won't want to miss the travel nightmares submitted by readers. Click on http://travelsucks.com/travelbargains.html

** RoadNews.com
Subscribe to the Laptop Warrior Digest, a free monthly e-mail discussion list newsletter published by Roadnews.com that shares reader exchanges on today's hot mobile computing issues. Sign up for the newsletter at http://www.roadnews.com/html/Digest/i-lw-signup.htm or check out past topics at http://www.roadnews.com/html/Digest/archive-index.htm

> Your Opinion Matters

Read something you disagree with? Got a story idea or a gripe? Your opinion can make a difference. E-mail us at editor@elliott.org or call (410) 626-9618 with any comments, feedback or suggestions about anything in this newsletter. Your participation won't just make it a better service, but it could also improve travel.

ELLIOTT'S E-MAIL is published weekly by http://www.elliott.org. To unsubscribe, please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elliottslist and follow the directions.