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August 5, 2002

> Inside

* Summer of Surcharges
* PDA: Cleared for Takeoff?
* Bestseller List to 'Die' For
* Carlson Travel Tip: Clean Up
* Are We Lost Yet?
* Is Business Travel Obsolete?
* Playing Expedia's Waiting Game
* Dotcom Deals in Miami
* Marking the Miles to Key West
* The Lowdown on High-Altitude News
* Maximum Hassle
* I'm Flying on 9/11

> This Week in Travel

** Summer of Surcharges
Almost every part of the ailing travel industry, from car rental companies to cruise lines, is lowering prices but adding creative fees to in order to make up the difference. They aren't bothering to tell anyone about it, either. Is it time for new disclosure laws?

> By the Way

** PDA: Cleared for Takeoff?
Have you ever used a personal digital assistant with wireless capabilities to send and receive e-mail on a plane? How did it go? Did you feel guilty doing it, or did someone try to stop you? Tell us about it. Send an e-mail 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.

** Bestseller List to 'Die' For
Neil Teplica's "100 Things to Do Before You Die" tops Ticked.com's list of bestselling travel books for this month, followed by Joel L. Widzer's enduring "The Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel: The Art of Cultivating Preferred Customer Status." Find out who's up and who's down, and check out our featured title, Jessica Stockwell's "Dare to Travel the World: A Mini Manifesto for Globetrotters."

** Carlson Travel Tip: Clean Up
Can't stand the thought of spring cleaning - fall, winter, or summer cleaning as well? Call a travel agent. Yes, your agent should be able to put you in touch with a bonded and insured house cleaner to scrub your home from top to bottom while you are sunning your top and bottom. For more information, visit our Web site or call us toll-free at (877) 288-3138. To subscribe to our bi-weekly email newsletter, send an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject line.

> Our Sponsor

** 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.

> Elliott's Commentary

** Are We Lost Yet?
This summer is shaping up as the busiest ever for vacation road trips. A record number of vacationers will probably get lost, too. Drivers have grown dependent on iffy online directions, inaccurate maps, and inadequate onboard navigational systems. >> Details in U.S. News & World Report.

** Is Business Travel Obsolete?
Business travel, as we know it, is obsolete. Fed up with high prices and feeling the pinch of a contracting economy, road warriors stopped buying expensive trips last year. The effect on the travel industry was nothing short of catastrophic. Airlines lost more than $7 billion in 2001, even though planes were flying at capacity levels, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade group. >> Details in Power Trip.

** Playing Expedia's Waiting Game
Expedia fails to notify a passenger of a flight time change, resulting in a four-hour wait at the airport. But when the customer calls to complain, Expedia claims it never got the change information from the airline. He writes a letter of complaint - and the site sends a canned response. What's going on here? >> Details in The Travel Troubleshooter.

** Dotcom Deals in Miami
Miami is one of those destinations where everything is on sale, at least when it comes to travel. It's on sale during the summer. It's on sale during the winter. Here in the land of year-round sunshine and discounts, a Web connection can just add to the bewilderment. >> In The Travel Tightwad.

** Marking the Miles to Key West
The two-hour drive from Key Largo to Key West is often though of as a difficult, if not dull, journey - navigating around speed traps, traversing windy bridges and dodging dog-size deer. But the trip down the Overseas Highway is a destination unto itself for many motorists, who savor each span and absorb the unfolding seascapes with the kind of devotion normally found in the saltwater fly-fishermen or underwater photographers who frequent these islands. >> In Destinations.

** The Lowdown on High-Altitude News
Ever wonder where the "news" programs on your airline flight come from? Neither did I, until I got a note from a company that creates the talk shows you listen to on your in-flight entertainment system. It was an invitation to participate in a "special dedication to cutting-edge companies" formatted as a "60-minute news report." >> In The Travel Critic Archives.

> Ticked.com Talk

** Maximum Hassle
We have all heard the moans and groans of the major airlines - namely American, United, Continental, Delta, Northwest and US Airways. They are all groaning the same song and they are all losing money at unprecedented rates. In the meantime, the non-major airlines are singing on the way to the bank. Southwest, Airtran, Jet Blue and Frontier are reporting profits and other airlines who have changed from the complexity of yield managed airfares to easy-to-understand, consumer-friendly pricing have not been faced with declines as large as those registered by the majors. >> Read Charles Leocha's column.

** I'm Flying on 9/11
The safest day of the year to travel is right around the corner: September 11, 2002. Would you fly on a commercial airline on that date? Terry Riley will. He has reservations to return home from Orlando on a cross-country flight on this infamous date. September 11 will undoubtedly be one of the safest days to fly of the past year-assuming that pilots won't be packin' a piece by then. >> Read more in Terry Riley's column.

> Other Sponsors

** 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.

** Cruisemates.com
Cruising gets you more vacation for your dollar, but you have to know where to shop. Find out more at CruiseMates. Not a travel agency - just 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 - and it's free!

** Dare to Travel
Jessica Stockwell's new e-mail newsletter offers techniques and tactics that help you discover how to travel in today's uncertain times. Stockwell is the author of "Dare to Travel the World," billed as a "must-read" for post 9/11 travelers who plan to travel outside their comfort zone and across cultures and continents for business or pleasure.

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