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

February 12, 2001

> Inside

* This Week in Travel
* Poll: Phantom Bookings
* Ticked.com Talk
* Archives: The Travel Technologist
* Be Part of the Story!
* Logan's Law
* On Your Own
* Doing the Two-Step
* Audio Commentaries
* Richtel: As if you Belonged
* Grimes: E-Tickets Explained
* The Occidental Tourist: Tipping Tips

> This Week in Travel

You probably expect to read about Continental Airlines' plans to acquire Delta Air Lines. Or Sabena's rescue from near-bankruptcy. Or the mysterious billion-dollar bid that would keep TWA flying and prevents it from being swallowed by American Airlines. Instead, let's go to Australia, where airline representatives and scientists just finished a conference on the link between blood clots and long flights. The US airline industry doesn't seem to give a damn about DVT, which is better known as "economy class syndrome." But let's not forget that as the airlines consolidate, so also will the legroom in the steerage section. Can you say "Air DVT"? - CE

> By the Way

** Poll: Phantom Bookings
Do you trust a reservation made from an airline Web site? Here's your chance to sound off on the subject. If you think a flight itinerary printed from an airline Internet site is as valid as a plane ticket - or if you don't - then click over to this week's Ticked.com/elliott.org poll and let your vote be counted. Here's the link http://www.coolboard.com/msgshow.cfm/msgboard=27322810606077&msg=29463 960621170&page=1&idDispSub=74538246005586 (You may have to cut and paste the link directly into your browser in order for it to work.) Or just go to http://www.ticked.com

** Ticked.com Talk
While you're at Ticked.com, sign up for its irreverent weekly newsletter, Ticked.com Talk. And tell a friend! Why? Well, a month ago a virus ate Ticked.com's e-mail newsletter list, effectively wiping out the site's entire subscriber database. So if you were on the list and want to get back on, you have to re-subscribe. The newsletter is free, it's fun and it's informative. Just click on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tickedtalk

** Archives: The Travel Technologist
The first two years of The Travel Technologist, the longest-running column about travel technology, is now available online. Don't miss:

A story about gadget disasters - http://www.elliott.org/technology/1999/fallen.htm

An old favorite on a run-in with a hotel publicist - http://www.elliott.org/technology/1999/trust.htm

One of the most controversial columns on travel "turn-offs" - http://www.elliott.org/technology/1999/turnoffs.htm

Also, learn about travelers' false sense of security - http://www.elliott.org/technology/1998/security.htm

The entire index is at http://www.elliott.org/technology/1999/index.html

** Be Part of the Story!
For this week's Travel Technologist, it's your turn to take center stage. The topic is "humorous technology episodes." The email address is feedback@elliott.org (or just reply to this newsletter). Well, what are you waiting for? Ever had something funny happen to your laptop, personal digital assistant, cell phone or pager? Sure you have. Don't forget to include your full name and your contact information.

> Our Sponsor

This issue of Elliott's E-Mail is underwritten by Tell Only The Women, a free e-mail newsletter for women who travel. Sign up for the newsletter at http://www.women-traveling.com/WTT/newsletter_sign_up.htm or check out past topics at http://www.women-traveling.com/WTT/archiveTOC.htm

And by Bonjour Paris, a virtual trip to France for lovers of all things Parisian and French. Visitors to http://www.bonjourparis.com will find travel information, food, wine and hotel tips, as well as lively cultural information.

> Elliott's Commentary

** Logan's Law
Sometime in the 21st century, the survivors of airline deregulation, overpriced technology and the Microsoft monopoly are living in a great domed city, sealed away from the forgotten world outside. Here, in a technologically unbalanced world, mankind lives for confusion, enslaved by the servo-mechanisms, which promise everything but provide nothing. There's just one catch. Life must end ... at one. All true - except for the great domed city part. Read this week's Travel Technologist at http://www.elliott.org/technology/2001/logan.htm

** On Your Own
Can you trust a reservation made on the Internet? Will an airline ignore your online booking if it's convenient? A reader finds the answers to those questions the hard way. Answer guy Chris Elliott tells him how he can avoid becoming an airline's "plaything" and when to know if a booking is for real - or just an electronic mirage. In this week's ChrisCrossings at http://www.elliott.org/ask/2001/cronline.htm

** Doing the Two-Step
Call it the online, offline two-step. It goes something like this: Dot-com venture stakes a claim in the offline world, either by starting its own magazine or buying part of a bricks-and-mortar business. The strategy drives traffic to the company's Web site, attracts new customers, and increases sales. This industry's latest case-in-point is TravelGolf.com's partnership with Turnstiles' Golf and Travel Magazine. Get details in this week's installment of Inside Interactive Travel at http://www.elliott.org/interactive/2001/twostep.htm

> Audio Commentaries

** Real Tickets
Can't trust a booking on your airline Web site? Neither can a lot of travelers. Here's how to make sure you don't get left high and dry by a carrier next time you fly. Listen to more in The Travel Critic at http://www.elliott.org/audio/critic/2001/cybertickets.mp3

** PC Conspiracy?
Is there a plot to kill your computer after just a year of use? If there is, then here's the antidote. Get three proven strategies to ensure that your laptop keeps running. Hear the whole thing in Outtakes from the Travel Technologist at http://www.elliott.org/audio/outtakes/2001/pconspiracy.mp3

(Please note: these MP3 sound files may take up to five minutes to download from a conventional modem.)

> Other Voices

** Richtel: As if you Belonged
Matt Richtel just flew business class from Tokyo to San Francisco, and boy are his thumbs tired. He's been channel surfing since the South China Sea. Five time zones, one international date line, three feature films, an NBC in-flight magazine and a PBS special. Was it on "Our Friend the Virus?" He can't remember. The New York Times reporter is delirious with jet lag. Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/11/travel/BPBIZ.html

** Grimes: E-Tickets
Explained Electronic tickets were supposed to make flying simpler, but some travelers believe they have done just the opposite, writes SmarterLiving.com's Paul Grimes. For starters, they don't consider e- tickets to be truly paperless. If you buy your ticket on the Internet, for example, you get an e-mail confirmation message - printable on paper. If you buy from a travel agent, you get an itinerary and maybe a receipt - on paper. At the airport you get a boarding pass - usually on paper. Get the details at http://www.smarterliving.com/columns/paul/E20010208.1.html

** The Occidental Tourist: Tipping Tips
Ticked.com's Occidental Tourist gets a ton of e-mail from devoted, endearing readers who pose this inquiry ever so benignly: Gees, Tourist, you must be a service employee's worst @#$%#% nightmare. Should a server be a minute late with your martini, you probably only leave a nickel for a tip. If the hotel fails to provide warm, fluffy bathrobes upon arrival, you probably stiff the housekeeping staff. How do you expect these people to feed their families, you piece of sleazy #$@%&#. Read more at http://www.ticked.com/occidental/2000/octip.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.