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http://www.elliott.org

August 26, 2002

> Inside

* Nationalize Travel?
* Holiday Wish List
* Carlson Travel Tip: Eating Right on the Road
* Not Another 9/11 Retrospective
* How Does Visa's Exchange Rate?
* Check Out Hotel Surcharges
* What a Tangled Web We Weave
* You Wouldn't Treat Your Dog Like This
* First Class: Gone But Not Forgotten
* You Didn't Do His Bidding

> This Week in Travel

** Nationalize Travel?
Remember all those efforts to re-regulate the airline industry earlier this year - bills like the "Fair Treatment of Airline Passengers Act" and the "Aviation Consumer Right To Know Act" that would have compelled carriers to offer passengers the lowest airfare or inform them of air traffic delays? Turns out that was just the warm-up act. The re-regulators have quietly ditched their narrow goal in favor of a broader agenda for 2002: nationalizing the travel industry. (Note: This commentary first appeared in Dec. 2001. It seemed that with the restructurings in the airline industry, the story was worth another look.) >> Read the whole commentary.

> By the Way

** Holiday Wish List
What kind of tech toys do you want to see under the tree this holiday season? If you're a frequent traveler, we want to know! We're especially interested in the type of gadgets or applications you want (practical, extravagant, fun?).Send an e-mail to us and please don't forget to include your full name, city, and what you do for a living. Your answer may appear in a future column.

** Carlson Travel Tip: Eating Right on the Road
When eating on your voyage, enjoy - with caution! Many destinations do not have adequate health and sanitation regulations and traveling with a stomachache, diarrhea, or worse is no fun. Avoid unpasteurized dairy foods and raw foods. Always ask for bottled water when dining (sparkling or still) and consider some water purifying drops or tablets for the water you use to drink, make ice, or brush your teeth. Be careful of the smaller boutique hotels and locally-flavored restaurants. For more information on travel safety, visit our Web site at or call us toll-free at (877) 288-3138. To subscribe to our bi-weekly email newsletter, send an e-mail to us with "subscribe" in the subject line.

> Our Sponsor

** GreatCruises.com
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> Elliott's Commentary

** Not Another 9/11 Retrospective
Tempted as I am to add my voice to the chorus of Sept. 11 retrospectives, I'd rather dwell on the present - and the future - for us road warriors. Yes, the terrorist hijackings of 9/11 affected business travelers in ways that most people can't understand. Maybe you have a favorite seat on the Boeing 757, the type of aircraft that flew into the Pentagon and crashed into the western Pennsylvania countryside. Or maybe you knew someone who worked in the World Trade Center. I did. >> Details in Power Trip.

** How Does Visa's Exchange Rate?
How does Visa come up with the charges for currency transactions on a credit card? Visa charges 1 percent for its foreign currency transactions, and issuing banks are now often adding another 2 percent. But a reader says the numbers on his statement don't add up. Find out where the money is going. >> Details in The Travel Troubleshooter.

** Check Out Hotel Surcharges
Local calls at the Marriott University Park in Tucson, Ariz., cost a dollar each. So why did Dean Kennedy have to pay $28 for his phone call? It turns out he'd left his laptop hooked up to the phone one night because he was expecting an important e-mail. "The clerk informed me that local calls were a dollar plus 10 cents per minute for calls over one hour," remembers the Chandler, Ariz., accountant. "When I looked again at the placard, sure enough, some extremely fine print notified me of this charge." >> In The Travel Tightwad.

** What a Tangled Web We Weave
When the United Airlines Web site quoted Robert Elleman a round-trip fare of $813.31 for a flight between Cincinnati and Buenos Aires, the first thing he did was make a printout. That's because it looked too good to be true. It was too good to be true. When he tried to book the ticket, the site returned an error message. Then it gave him another price for the flight to Argentina's capital: $1,159. >> In The Travel Critic Archives.

> Ticked.com Talk

** You Wouldn't Treat Your Dog Like This
When it comes to airline service, enough folks have said it: forget the meals and movies, give us seats and solid on-time delivery! The airlines don't seem to have this figured, but the folks in first class might think differently. Elite-level travelers should have this beat as well; as someone who always travels on my own dime, and thus always in coach, when I became an elite level member of a major domestic airline, I thought my days in middle seats were over. Wrong - on my first trip as an elite traveler, we got middle seats and worse, as you'll read ahead. >> In Ed Hewitt's column.

** First Class: Gone But Not Forgotten
Things ain't like they used to be. Particularly up front in the not-so-friendly skies. In recent days, to support my contention, one of the major U.S. airlines sank into Chapter 11, another one is hovering on the edge and there's no relief in sight. More to the point of these comments, American Airlines is eliminating first class on most of its international network, staying aloft with three classes on a half-dozen or so routes to such destinations as London/Heathrow, where the competition for business travelers is fierce. >> In Martin Deutsch's column.

** You Didn't Do His Bidding
Continental chief executive Gordon Bethune, who has never seen a problem or a quarterly loss so large that he couldn't blame someone else, has a convenient new scapegoat: You. It's all your fault that Continental is hemorrhaging cash and nearing the abyss of bankruptcy and collapse. You are not flying enough. You are not paying high enough fares. You aren't forking over enough fees and surcharges. You aren't smart enough to realize that Continental is better than the average airline. You are not doing what Bethune told you to do. >> In Joe Brancatelli's column.

> Other Sponsors

** EyeforTravel
The EyeforTravel USA East conference and exhibition taking place at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge on September 23 to 24 has over 150 people signed up for the event already. If you would like to be part of the biggest travel distribution event you can book now for only $995, a massive saving of $300 for a two-day VIP pass. (More information in part 2 of this newsletter).

** Firstclassflyer.com
Want to fly first-class for the price of coach? Looking for free upgrades, two-for-one specials and a fast-track to elite status? Look no further. These hot deals and more are available at First Class Flyer's Web site.

** Bonjour Paris
Bonjour Paris is a virtual trip to France for lovers of all things Parisian and French. Visitors will find travel information, food, wine and hotel tips, as well as lively cultural information.

** Save Money at Disney World
Secrets To An Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation will show you how to save up to 40 percent on your Walt Disney World Vacation. Discover the money saving tips and strategies - virtually unknown by the general public - that will help you save big on Disney hotels, dining, tickets, cruises, honeymoons, and souvenirs.

> Your Opinion Matters

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