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ELLIOTT'S E-MAIL
http://www.elliott.org

April 1, 2002

> Inside

* Send Them Packing
* Jettison That Gadget
* 8k and Counting …
* Column Deathwatch: Week Five
* Bargain Sites in Gotham
* Almost Overcharged on Expedia
* Free Software for Your Next Trip
* Smarter Travel Content
* Airfare Terrorism
* Non-Stop? Not!
* Hotels Don't Get it
* A Goldfish in Every Room
* Where's the Fun?

> This Week in Travel

** Send Them Packing
When President George Bush signed the aviation security bill into law last November, turning 28,000 minimum-wage baggage screeners into federal employees with a stroke of his pen, he promised Americans "greater confidence when they fly." Four months later the president's promise rings hollow. The new security screeners are incompetent and abusive, Americans remain reluctant to fly, and the government seems as powerless as ever to stop an act of terrorism from recurring on a commercial carrier. Read the rest at http://www.elliott.org/vault/oped/2002/packing.htm

> By the Way

** Jettison That Gadget
When is the time right to throw away that PDA, laptop or cell phone? How frayed around the edges does it have to be? How obsolete? Your tales of hanging on to old technology - and when you decided to toss it - are wanted. Send us an e-mail, and please don't forget to include your full name, what you do for a living, and contact information. Your response might appear in a future story.

** 8k and Counting …
In the last four issues we've added more than 1,000 new subscribers to Elliott's E-Mail - a new record. If you've just joined this list, welcome! Special thanks to all the old-timers who told your friends about this newsletter. Also, a big "thank you" to the newsletters that recommended us during the last month, including Randy Petersen's MilesLink, The Independent Traveler, Tim Winship's Frequent Flier Crier and, of course, our friends at SmarterLiving.com. We're much obliged.

** Column Deathwatch: Week Five
Thank you for all the messages of support last week. There's some encouraging news on the way - it turns out that several news outlets are very interested in picking up the columns that appear on Elliott's E-Mail. Remember: Travel Web sites come and go, but this newsletter will still be here after the column deathwatch ends. Hope you stick around to find out what happens. We'll have an update next week. Comments? Send them to editor@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

** Bargain Sites in Gotham
New York is the most expensive city in the Americas, according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit report on the world's priciest places. But that doesn't mean you have to get fleeced when you visit the Big Apple. Just log on to the Internet and you'll find plenty of ways to pare the price of your visit, whether you're looking for an inexpensive restaurant or trying to discover good deals on entertainment. In The Travel Tightwad at http://www.elliott.org/tightwad/2002/ny.htm

** Almost Overcharged on Expedia
Does Expedia's Flight Price Matcher bill you extra for a ticket that should be free? That's one reader's contention after he tried to buy tickets for a friend and her three kids, one of which is an infant. Find out what Expedia has to say about this mix-up and how you can prevent it from happening to you. Read the details in The Travel Troubleshooter at http://www.elliott.org/ask/2002/expedia.htm

** Free Software for Your Next Trip
Last week I promised to do one better than just recommend inexpensive programs for your next trip. I said I'd find software that's free. But free isn't always free. A lot of software developers give their product away with a proviso. The so-called "shareware" version comes with limited functionality. Or, worse still, the program expires unless you cough up a credit card number. Check out The Travel Technologist at http://www.elliott.org/technology/2002/free.htm

** Smarter Travel Content
In a flashback to our archives, we revisit a column written more than a year ago about a travel Web site that seemed to have found an admirable balance between content and commerce. Its columns were among the most cutting-edge, if not confrontational, on the Internet. Its roster of writers included Ed Perkins and Paul Grimes, two travel journalists who rarely passed up an opportunity to pen something controversial. Read the details in the Inside Interactive Travel Archives at http://www.elliott.org/interactive/2001/smarter.htm

> There's much more news and commentary about travel. Click on http://www.elliott.org for details. <

> Ticked.com Talk

(Note: Some of these URLs are long and may break up in your e-mail program. If they do, just cut and paste them into your browser, or go directly to http://www.ticked.com and follow the hard links.)

** Airfare Terrorism
Cheap Charlie can't stand it. For years the airlines have been clearly engaging in price-fixing, but our government seems to feel that there is nothing wrong with it. The airlines have been clearly engaged in active predatory pricing, but the government doesn't seem to have an adequate enough definition to prosecute what he sees as blatant predatory activities. Read more of Charlie Leocha's column at http://www.ticked.com/cheapcharlie/2002/chterror.htm

** Non-Stop? Not!
Last November, Bruce Glassman booked an April flight from Reagan National Airport to West Palm Beach, Fla., on US Airways. But last month, when Glassman visited the airline's Web site to find out what type of aircraft he'd be flying, he found that his nonstop flight had been replaced with a connecting flight. Glassman was furious. Read more in Keith Alexander's column in the Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22919-2002Mar26.html

** Hotels Don't Get it
Is Joe Brancatelli the only one who's noticed that hotels still don't get it? No matter how great the property, no matter how carefully a hotel chain has studied its surveys and demographics and focus groups, none of them seems to fully understand that business travelers do business in their rooms. Read more in Joe Brancatelli's column at http://www.zyworld.com/brancatelli/branc032802.htm

** A Goldfish in Every Room
Struggling to devise new ways to appeal to business travelers after the lodging industry's worst year in over three decades, many hotels are coming up with innovative programs and services that go well beyond the data-port-in-every-room type of expansions that were common in recent years. Like ... a goldfish in every room. It's no April Fool's joke, as Joe Sharkey reports. Read more in Joe Sharkey's column in the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/business/27TRAV.html

** Where's the Fun?
Susumu Homma, Terry Riley's partner in Tokyo, sent him a notice he found in a hotel in Beijing. Where's the fun in staying at this hotel? See the whole thing, plus find out about America West's dead passenger boarding policy. Read more in Terry Riley's column at http://www.ticked.com/errtravel/2002/errfun.htm

> For links to other engaging travel opinions, visit http://www.ticked.com today. Don't forget to bookmark the site. <

> Other Sponsors

** Frequent Flier Mile Alert! from SmarterLiving.com
Want to earn more miles toward your next free ticket? Sign up for SmarterLiving.com's free Mile Alert! newsletter to receive bi-monthly e-mail updates on the lastest mile-earning news from major airline programs, plus ways to earn miles without flying. Sign up for free and receive special member discounts on travel! http://rd.SmarterLiving.com/frequentflier_ce030602

** PS Inform by PositiveSpace
A travel agent needs to do more than book a flight to gain a client's loyalty these days - he or she needs to know enough to be an expert travel advisor. PS Inform can help. Short, daily email messages alert you to breaking travel stories, advisories and tips that make you a hero to your clients. And it's free. Subscribe today at http://www.positivespace.com/v2/redirect?loc_id=26

** GreatCruises.com
Learn insider cruise information. Be an informed cruiser. Subscribe to GreatCruises.com's free monthly e-mail cruise newsletter, "All Cruise E-News." Get breaking news on new ships, new itineraries, price trends, cruise lines, health and safety inspections, cruise line awards and cruise tips of the month. Sign-up at http://www.greatcruises.com/Newsletter1.htm

** 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.

> Charter Underwriters

* AirJet Airline News - News updated hourly at http://www.airlinebiz.com

* Applied Psychology - Security tips online at http://www.appliedpsychology.com

* Bonjour Paris - This site's French connection at http://www.bonjourparis.com

* Journeywoman - The premier travel resource for women on the Internet at http://www.journeywoman.com

> 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 (305) 453-4781 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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