• What's elliott?
• About elliott
• Contact us

t o p i c s

• Business
• Commentary
• Destinations
• Help
• Leisure
• Technology
• Vault

Copyright Elliott Publishing. All rights reserved. For more information, call (305) 453-4781 or send e-mail to us.

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

July 22, 2002

> Inside

* Wrong Target
* Surprise Car Surcharges
* Baby Blog Update
* Business Travelers: 9/11 Victims?
* Big Savings in the Big D
* Can These Miles Be Saved?
* When Travel Goes Really Wrong
* Ticked Top 10
* Humorless Air Travel
* Speechless

> This Week in Travel

** Wrong Target
Thousands of travelers save money every day using a creative booking practice called "back-to-back" ticketing. But last month, United Airlines issued a stern memo to its travel agents notifying them that it had enhanced its software capabilities to "more easily identify such abuses" and threatening them with financial penalties or legal action if they facilitated such ticketing. Problem is, they're taking aim at the wrong target.

> By the Way

** Surprise Car Surcharges
Have you encountered a surprise fee or surcharge on a car rental? 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.

** Baby Blog Update
You're reading this newsletter just for the blog, right? Well, after I failed to include a link to Aren's Web log last week I got several notes from readers asking what had happened. He's still here, of course. He still loves getting mail. You can read all about Baby Ace's latest adventures in Vero Beach and Merritt Island. (A very special thanks for our friends as Visit Florida, the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce and NASA for their help.)

** Business Travelers: 9/11 Victims?
If you travel on business, here's a question: do you feel as if road warriors are the "forgotten" victims of 9/11? Have the concerns of corporate travelers been overlooked in rebuilding the institutions that were damaged after the terrorist attacks? Your feedback would be much appreciated. E-mail me with your thoughts. Please include your name, city and contact information, since your comments could appear in a story.

> Our Sponsor

** 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!

> Elliott's Commentary

** Big Savings in the Big D
Going to the Big D? Log on to the Internet before leaving for Dallas. A visit to the Web can save you lots of money. Hard to believe, considering that the ninth-largest city in the United States isn't exactly known as a tourist destination. But the discounts are there - not as abundant as they are elsewhere, nor as easy to find. But they're there.

** Can These Miles Be Saved?
He switched charge cards, had a few late payments on the old one - but a lot of frequent flier miles. Now American Express is denying him his hard-earned points. Can this traveler's miles be saved?

** When Travel Goes Really Wrong
Jeanne Moore is the kind of person who almost makes me regret the columns I've written about bland airline food, silly car rental surcharges or inadequate hotel amenities. The Bakersfield, California, teacher was the lone American on the Indian Airlines jet hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan, last Christmas Eve. The ordeal included being left in a freezing cabin overnight and the stabbing of a hostage who reportedly refused to wear a blindfold. "I've spent eight days in a plane, on a tarmac, with terrorists," she says. And what did she get for the inconvenience? Nothing. Absolutely zip.

> Ticked.com Talk

** Ticked Top 10
1. The Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel: The Art of Cultivating Preferred Customer Status (Joel L. Widzer)
2. Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 (Joan Rattner Heilman)
3. 100 Things to Do Before You Die (Neil Teplica)

>> Read the whole list.

** Humorless Air Travel
Everyone knows you can't joke about bombs or guns when you pass through airport metal detectors. Everyone knows you can't yell "fire!" in a crowded theater. But everyone may not realize the extent to which zipped lips are becoming a requirement to stay on a jetliner these days. Read more in Chris Woodyard's' column.

** Speechless
Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's the sheer volume of random airline acts of stupidity and callousness. Or maybe it's just the accumulated outrage. But this week Joe Brancatelli finds himslef speechless, unable to form the words - and find the well-chosen adjectives - to fully explain what the airlines have been doing since last we met in this little corner of cyberspace.

> Other Sponsors

** 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.

** Err Travel
Travel smarter, travel safer, and travel with more confidence. Click on Err Travel, security expert Terry Riley's informative Web site. While you're there, sign up for his free e-mail newsletter so you won't miss the latest news in travel safety.

** MilesLink Voices
If you rely on Randy Petersen's WebFlyer site for timely news and information about mileage programs, you'll want to sign up for MilesLink Voices, a new electronic newsletter published in conjunction with Ticked.com. It features the sharpest opinions about travel delivered twice a month to MilesLink subscribers.

** Carlson Wagonlit Travel Tips
This week's tip: What will they think of next? New TSA regulations now forbid any open container to be brought through a security line in an airport. That means you will need to ditch that coffee or soda before security or curb your thirst until after security where there will be drinks aplenty at the shops on the plane side of the checkpoint. Visit our site or give us a call toll free at (877) 288-3138 and see what an experienced travel agency can offer! To subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, send an e-mail to carlsontravel@jvegroup.net and type "subscribe" in the subject line.

** JohnnyJet
Ever wish there were one site that listed every possible link to other travel-related Web sites? Johnny Jet.com does just that, and more. The site has links to practically everything you need to know that's travel-related. From general sites for airlines, trains, cruises and booking sites to maps and ground transportation, to practical information for pet, student, and senior travel, to the quirkier sites, such as places to buy beer or gas and a language translator. Everything is divided into categories, and this makes maneuvering very easy. Be sure to sign up for Johnny Jet's free newsletter that has the week's travel news, tips, webcams, websites, and where's Johnny Jet.

> Your Opinion Matters

Read something you disagree with? Got a story idea or a gripe? Your opinion can make a difference. E-mail us 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.

> Be an Underwriter

This site relies on support from travelers like you. If you care about journalism that's uncompromising, cutting-edge and consumer-focused, then you're invited to become a subscriber of elliott.org. Your contribution will help keep us operating.

> Please Forward Elliott's E-Mail

Did you know the average reader forwards Elliott's E-Mail to two other people every week? We don't mind at all, but you could always save yourself the trouble by inviting them to subscribe. It's easy and it's free: just click here.

> Credits and Subscription Information

Elliott's E-Mail is published 50 times a year by http://www.elliott.org. (c) 2002 Elliott Publishing. To unsubscribe, please go to our unsubscribe page and follow the directions or send an e-mail to our general unsubscribe mailbox.