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

July 23, 2001

> Inside

* Save the Travel Technologist
* This Week: Airlines in a Tailspin
* Censored: Press Junkets Under Attack?
* Exclusive: Cell Phone Ideas, Please
* Summer Schedule
* Get Your Rail Tickets Cheap
* $200 a Night, Bed Extra
* Wireless Persecution
* Driving Up Prices
* Cell Crime
* Perkins: When do You Need Insurance?
* Brancatelli: Paradise Lost

> Save the Travel Technologist

Help save the longest-running weekly column about travel and technology! If you like the weekly insights, observations and news reported by the Travel Technologist column, your e-mail can make a big difference. Biztravel.com is about to cancel the weekly feature - but you can prevent it from doing so. Send a note to Suzanne Zapf at SZapf@rosenbluth.com and let her know that you depend on the Travel Technologist every week. Tell her how important technology coverage is to you, and make sure you mention that by eliminating the Travel Technologist, you'll have one less reason to visit Biztravel.com. Remember to cc editor@elliott.org - I'll report on the progress of this initiative next week. (When you write, please do not include this newsletter in the note.)

> This Week in Travel

** Airlines in a Tailspin
Delta Air Lines last week reported a second-quarter loss of $123 million. Northwest posted a $55 million loss for the latest quarter. Earnings at Southwest and Alaska are down from year-ago levels, too. The reason? Well, the airlines are blaming it on you - business travelers. They're upset that you're refusing to pay the exorbitant fares for unrestricted travel. They're honestly puzzled by your refusal to fly the unfriendly skies, to be treated like cargo, fed like cattle, handled like children. When will the carriers get it? We can only hope that the hard times will force them to take a good look at how they're doing business, and to change their ways. - CE

> Censored From the Sunday Travel Section

** Press Junkets Under Attack?
A recent lawsuit filed against the major film studios could have repercussions on the way you get your travel news. The suit, filed by a group called Citizens for Truth in Movie Advertising, alleges that by providing air fare, ground transportation, hotel accommodations, meal expenses and gift bags to film reviewers, who then give glowing reviews of their movies, the studios are "perpetrating a fraud on the movie-going public." The Los Angeles Times ran an informative story about the issue last week at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-072001junket.story But what does this mean to your Sunday travel section, which gets most of its news exactly the same way? How long will it be before someone takes the Times to task for its cruise coverage? Or any number of other publications for sending its reporters on press trips? Read my take on junkets from the archives at http://elliott.org/vault/critic/1998/writers.htm and decide for yourself.

> By the Way

** Exclusive: Cell Phone Ideas, Please
This week, we're looking for new ideas on how to prevent motorists from getting into an accident when they use their cell phones. Any and all proposals, no matter how outrageous or outside the box, are welcome. Please send your comments to feedback@elliott.org along with your full name and city of residence.

** Summer Schedule
During late July and August, this newsletter will be published intermittently, in part because of scheduling issues and in part because there's often very little news to report. But rest assured, when there's news to report and commentary to deliver, Elliott's E-Mail will bring it to you.

> Elliott's Cheap Travel Tip

** Get Your Rail Tickets Cheap
Buy mass transit tickets in bulk. The London Visitor's Travel Card (www.raileurope.com) gives you unlimited access to London's mass transit system. One week, for example, costs $58, which can be considerably cheaper than paying for a bus or tube every time you want to go somewhere. Other European cities, like Vienna, offer similar specials. Got a moneysaving tip? Send it to tip@elliott.org.

> Our 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/

** Readers Like You
If you care about quality travel industry coverage and want to support the leading consumer advocacy Web site, you can become an underwriter, too. It's easy, it's painless and it's totally anonymous. Just click on http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P34Z3D2F0Z734N for details.

> Elliott's Commentary

** $200 a Night, Bed Extra
Is there an energy shortage in oil-rich Oklahoma? Well, no. But that didn't stop the Hilton Garden Inn in Tulsa from charging business traveler Robert McAuley an extra $3-a-day energy fee to cover the cost of lighting his room. Surcharges, first spied on hotel bills in blacked-out California in the spring, have found their way into the fine print at lodgings in more than 16 states. In US News & World Report at http://www.elliott.org/vault/usnews/2001/extra.htm

** Wireless Persecution
These aren't the best of times for travelers who use cell phones. A few weeks ago, a woman on a Czech Airlines flight landed on the wrong side of the law when she whipped out her wireless device in midair, despite repeated warnings from a flight attendant. According to a police spokesman, the call temporarily disrupted the turboprop's navigation devices and jammed communication between the plane and the tower. She faces one year in jail if convicted. Read this week's Travel Technologist (while it still exists) at http://www.elliott.org/technology/2001/persecute.htm

** Driving Up Prices
Next time you rent a car, read the fine print. Diane Scholfield forgot to when she booked Dodge Neon from Avis. Her three-day rate in Salt Lake City was listed at $143.97. "I bought some insurance for $9.99 per day, and I chose the prepay gas option at $13.12," remembers the San Diego, Calif., editor. "Mentally, I'm figuring less than $200 for the rental." Wrong. Her bill came to $223.78-that's $17.61 in taxes, $14.40 for a "concession fee recoup" and $4.71 for a "trans corridor perserv revolving loan fund." From the archives of The Travel Critic at http://www.elliott.org/vault/critic/1998/surcharges.htm

> Audio Commentary

** Cell Crime
When is it a crime to talk on a cell phone? When you're driving? When you're on a plane? That's the question commentator Christopher Elliott asks in his audio commentary. Find out the answer. Click on this week's Outtakes from the Laptop Traveler at http://www.elliott.org/audio/outtakes/2001/crime.mp3

> Other Voices

** Perkins: When do You Need Insurance?
Let's say you've reserved airline seats to Europe, hotels and a rented car, for a total price of $4,000 or so. Do you need travel insurance? Probably not, reports SmarterLiving.com's Ed Perkins. Most cheap airfares are either refundable or at least reusable - you can trade them in on future travel, less a fee - and you probably don't have to pay anything to cancel your hotel and rental car reservations. Click on http://www.smarterliving.com/columns/ed/Travel20010719.1.html

** Brancatelli: Paradise Lost
In case you hadn't noticed, Joe Brancatelli is no John Milton and the elite levels of the frequent-travel programs are hardly Paradise. But his poetic shortcomings notwithstanding, he's compelled to deliver this bit of ignominy and shame: Many of you have suddenly come to the realization that Paradise - your hard-won elite status with your favored airlines and preferred hotels - may soon be Lost. Go to http://www.biztravel.com and click on News & Views for more.

** 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

** IgoUgo's Real New York
Get the best of what locals and frequent visitors have to say about the world's most exciting city at http://www.igougo.com. IgoUgo, nominated as Best Travel Site by the Webby Awards, is now selling its first guidebook, IgoUgo's Real New York. Nothing's canned. Everything's up-to-date. It's written by real travelers, just like you. In IgoUgo's Real New York you'll find many New Yorks, seen through the eyes of some of the best IgoUgo guides. This is a detailed, interactive guidebook as rich in perspectives as the city itself... Click here for more info: http://www.igougo.com/guidebook/guidebook_ny.html

** Gayjet: For gay and lesbian travelers, and our friends
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** Cruisemates.com
Cruising is the world's best vacation value! So, why are prices historically low? Find out at CruiseMates http://www.cruisemates.com - the Web's Best Cruise Guide. Known for unbiased cruise reviews, feature articles, news and advice, CruiseMates is Consumer Reports recommended. Message boards, chat, polls, contests, humor, consumer advocate, singles, teens, gay, first-cruisers. CruiseMates means complete cruise information.

> Your Opinion Matters

Read something you disagree with? Got a story idea or a gripe? Your opinion can make a difference. E-mail 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.

> 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.