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

April 15, 2002

> Inside

* Pull the Plug on Orbitz?
* Are Prices Really Rising?
* Got News?
* Column Deathwatch: Week Seven
* Windy City Savings
* Rescheduled on Delta
* Tech Luggage Gets an Upgrade
* Wrecked in Key Largo
* B&B Backlash
* Fantasy-land Fodder
* Creative Complaining
* What a Guy!
* Agency Fees Rise

> This Week in Travel

** Pull the Plug on Orbitz?
These aren't the best of times for highflying Orbitz, the low-fare travel site owned by the nation's major airlines. The Justice Department is investigating the dot-com to determine whether its agreements with suppliers are anticompetitive. And a survey recently revealed that some of its airfares were up to $2,000 cheaper than those quoted by rival online travel agencies Expedia and Travelocity, suggesting that the government has every reason to be concerned. Should someone just pull the plug on Orbitz? Find out at http://www.elliott.org/vault/oped/2002/orbitz.htm

> By the Way

** Are Prices Really Rising?
A lot of experts are saying that prices on hotels, airline tickets and rental cars are climbing. Is that your experience? What did you pay for your last trip, and was it more than you expected? 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.

** Got News?
Heard any good rumors lately? Is there information about a travel company that you're itching to talk about? Don't wait for the press release - contact us! E-mail editor@elliott.org or call (305) 453-4781 with any hot tips or hearsay. Anonymous e-mails are OK.

** Column Deathwatch: Week Seven
Running a column deathwatch is like reading an adopt-a-pet feature in the paper. The implied threat is always: If you don't adopt poor Fifi, we'll have to put him to sleep. Same thing with the columns in this newsletter - if they don't find a home soon, they're getting put out of their misery. But don't worry, it looks as if there's going to be a happy ending. Keep your fingers crossed. Comments? Send them to editor@elliott.org

> Our Sponsor

** Single Parent Travel
Are you a single parent? Like to travel? Then sign up for our free monthly newsletter that's designed specifically for the traveling single parent. It offers informative advice about proper travel documentation, tips on how to handle the kiddies on those long trips, and a place to meet other single parents and be heard. Click on http://www.SingleParentTravel.net

> Elliott's Commentary

** Windy City Savings
Don't get blown away by high prices when you visit the Windy City. The Internet is a second-to-none resource for discounts in Chicago, and in my final column in our series on how to save money when you travel to a big city, I'll show you where to click. In The Travel Tightwad at http://www.elliott.org/tightwad/2002/chicago.htm

** Rescheduled on Delta
When Delta Air Lines changes its schedule but fails to notify you, does it owe you anything? A reader wants to know after she's bumped off a nonstop flight without her consent. She's also upset at Travelocity, her agent, for not doing more. Who's to blame? Find out. Read the details in The Travel Troubleshooter at http://www.elliott.org/ask/2002/travelocity.htm

** Tech Luggage Gets an Upgrade
Is your luggage slowing you down? If you're a technology user traveling in this post-Sept. 11 world, it probably is. Most major airlines have instituted a strict new "one-plus" carry-on luggage rule allowing you to bring a single regulation-size bag, plus a smaller pocketbook or laptop on to the plane. Check out The Travel Technologist at http://www.elliott.org/technology/2002/luggage.htm

** Wrecked in Key Largo
It looks as if the USS Spiegel Grove's number is up. Finally. If all goes as planned, the retired 510-foot Navy transport vessel will leave its shipyard here in late spring and get towed more than 1,000 miles south to Key Largo, Fla. Then a unit of Navy SEALS will blow cantaloupe-size holes in the ship's hull as part of a training exercise, putting her down at a depth of about 130 feet. But so far nothing has gone as planned. In Destinations at http://www.elliott.org/vault/destinations/2002/grove.htm

** B&B Backlash
Cynthia Barry became part of the bed-and-breakfast backlash when the proprietor of the inn she was visiting during a trip to England tried to break down the door to her room one morning. "He ranted and raved because we did not take our showers until after breakfast," she recalls. "He said that there were rules for staying in a bed and breakfast and that we should know them." During his door-front tirade, she says, the innkeeper accused the Clearwater, Florida, traveler of "slumming" - visiting a run-down neighborhood for amusement - and threatened her with bodily harm. "We did not know if this angry, crazy man would hurt us or try to kill us. We were very frightened of him and the situation." In The Travel Critic Archives http://www.elliott.org/vault/critic/2000/bb.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.)

** Fantasy-land Fodder
You'd think that the airlines would 'get it' by now, right? That they don't own the divine right to 90 percent of our long-distance trip options anymore. Post 9/11, people have discovered that trains, buses and cars are more attractive options in many cases, given concerns about security and extended time spent going through the screeners these days. But, as the Occidental Tourist discovers in an exclusive guest appearance, the airlines are living in a kind of fantasy-land. Read more of The Occidental Tourist's column at http://www.ticked.com/occidental/2001/ocfantasy.htm

** Creative Complaining
You don't need Joe Brancatelli to tell you that life on the road stinks. You've been living it every day of the week for years. And now, seven months to the day after the September 11 tragedies, we all have to deal with the added absurdities of the not-ready-for-prime-time comedy we call airport security. So the question isn't whether life on the road is awful. Of course, it is. The question is whether you're going to get compensated for the indignities. Read more in Joe Brancatelli's column at http://www.zyworld.com/brancatelli/branc041102.htm

** What a Guy!
Several major airlines say they will soon remove their in-flight phones. Cell phones have apparently made in-flight phones, once a marvel of modern technology, anachronistic and unprofitable. But columnist Martin Deutsch is going to miss the in-flight phones. Not because he ever used them much - too damned expensive and not particularly reliable - but because they've often been an unintentional window on the souls of some of our most colorful fellow flyers. Read more in Martin Deutsch's column at http://www.zyworld.com/brancatelli/deutsch/upfront.htm

** Agency Fees Rise
Here's a timely exercise for anyone who has ever bought an airline ticket. Consider how much you would pay someone to make a plane reservation for you: $10? $25? $50? $100? Then call your travel agent and ask what she or he charges. If you haven't bought a ticket in the last few weeks, you may be surprised. Since mid-March, travel agents have increased their service fees, sometimes more than doubling them. Read more in Jane Engle's column in the Los Angeles Times at http://www.latimes.com/travel/news/insider/la-000024772apr07.column

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

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> 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

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