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

March 21, 2001

> Inside

* Enchanted But Still Crabby
* Just Give Me A Screen
* Tech-Help Therapy
* X-Rated Honeymoon
* This is Not a Story About Orbitz
* Look Before You Book
* Save Yourself!
* Agents are OK
* Brancatelli: The Facts About Flight Delays
* Maxa: Stats to the Rescue
* Perkins: When First Class Isn't

> This Week in Travel

** Enchanted But Still Crabby
No particularly deep industry insights to share this week, since most of last week was spent touring Central Florida. I could take a few paragraphs to complain about the weather (it was cool and wet) or being stuck at the Orlando International Airport for seven hours yesterday. I could talk about how Gatorland is the most underrated of the theme parks, or rave about Disneyworld's upscale dining options, or about Universal's best-kept secret, the surprisingly affordable VIP tour. But I'll save that for a future column. - CE

> By the Way

** Just Give Me a Screen
What's the most you've ever paid for a PC with an Internet connection? I'm talking about connectivity at business centers, airports, and resorts. What's the max you've ever been charged? And have you ever gotten an Internet connection for free? E-mail feedback@elliott.org, and please include your full name, city and a good contact phone number.

> Our Sponsors

** RoadNews.com
Elliott's E-Mail is also sponsored by 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

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

> Elliott's Commentary

** Tech-Help Therapy
Is it time to end the 'break-fix' cycle? You know, that corporate travel merry-go-round where your technology crashes, only to have it salvaged by someone on your company's help desk? Over. And over. And over. No one warned you about the 'break-fix' cycle when you started traveling. In this week's Travel Technologist at http://www.elliott.org/technology/2001/dependent.htm

** X-Rated Honeymoon
Her travel agent swore that "no kids" didn't mean "clothing optional" in the hotel's promotional brochure, but when one traveler arrived in Cancun, Mexico, for her honeymoon, she learned otherwise. Chris Elliott investigates the troubling case of the X-rated honeymoon and advises the embarrassed newlywed on how to get her money back. Get the naked truth in this week's installment. Read this week's ChrisCrossings at http://www.elliott.org/ask/2001/crx.htm

** This is Not a Story About Orbitz
This is not a story about Orbitz. This is not a story about how the Chicago-based company is going to change the way we buy travel. If it were, then there would be a carefully scripted quote from chairman Jeffrey Katz, or at the very least, a sound bite from one of the dot-com's proactive publicists. But there isn't. In this week's installment of Inside Interactive Travel at http://www.elliott.org/interactive/2001/overreact.htm

** Look Before You Book
How much cash can you save by booking travel online? Rob Argento saved more than $200 on an Alamo rental car in Los Angeles by clicking on Expedia. The Manhattan marketing executive shopped around online and even checked with the car rental company's site, before finding a $100 weekly rate - for a convertible. In Access Magazine at http://www.elliott.org/vault/access/2001/cool.htm

> Audio Commentaries

** Save Yourself!
You can't trust your help desk to get you off the hook when you're on the road. So who can you turn to? Find out in this week's Outtakes from the Laptop Traveler at http://www.elliott.org/audio/outtakes/2001/saveyourself.mp3

** Agents are OK
You might be forgiven for thinking that booking travel online is the only way to go. Think again. Listen to more in The Travel Critic at http://www.elliott.org/audio/critic/2001/agents.mp3

> Other Voices

** Brancatelli: The Facts About Flight Delays
Before we even discuss the current epidemic of flight delays, we need to remember one thing: The major U.S. airlines have been lying about this crisis for years. Remember when they insisted delays were caused by passengers arriving late to the airport? So they decreed we would henceforth arrive twice as early - one hour for domestic flights and two hours for international departures - than ever before. Biztravel.com's Joe Brancatelli has details at http://misc.biztravel.com/brancatelli.htm

** Maxa: Stats to the Rescue
Since the summer of 1996, there have been only two crashes involving U.S. commercial aircraft that killed more than one person. While the number of flights has more than doubled in the last 20 years, the American aviation industry boasts an enviable safety record. More congestion, however, raises fears for the future, reports MSNBC's Rudy Maxa. Read more at http://www.msnbc.com/news/540142.asp

** Perkins: When First Class Isn't
"The brochure said we'd be in a first-class hotel," SmarterLiving.com's Ed Perkins heard from a reader, "but when we got there, it was very ordinary and not at all luxurious. Were we the victims of a rip-off or scam?" My answer is, "No, but you may have been the victim of a misconception." Unlike the airline case, First Class isn't at the top of the most commonly used hotel rating system; it's smack in the middle. Get the details at http://www.smarterliving.com/columns/ed/When20010315.1.html

> 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.

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