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http://www.elliott.org

July 29, 2002

> Inside

* Flying for Fun
* Surprise Hotel Surcharges
* 'Power Trip' Column Debut
* Take This Tech Tool
* LA Savings are Online
* Too Close a Connection
* Time to Ban Airline Miles?
* Flawed Travel Surveys
* Let's Buy the Airlines
* Employees vs. Travel Managers

> This Week in Travel

** Flying for Fun
When it comes to air travel, the thrill is gone. Flying just isn't fun anymore. But that's more than a morale problem for the nation's airlines - it's a money problem. The dreadful, humorless state of the aviation industry is keeping them from a recovery. (Note: this column first appeared in February. Since another round of dismal airline earnings were just released, I've decided to feature it again.)

> By the Way

** Surprise Hotel Surcharges
Have you encountered a surprise fee or surcharge when you stayed at a hotel? 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.

** 'Power Trip' Column Debut
I'm very excited to announce the debut of a new weekly column on business travel. "Power Trip" will feature tips and commentary for frequent travelers, and will be published by Microsoft's bCentral. On a personal note, I'm thrilled to be writing a column about business travel again. I hope you enjoy it. If you'd like to suggest a column topic, please e-mail me.

> Our Sponsor

** 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.

> Elliott's Commentary

** Take This Tech Tool
If you had to choose between taking a cell phone, a personal digital assistant or a laptop computer on your next business trip, which would you pick? It's not a hypothetical question. Airlines now are strictly enforcing their "one-plus" rule for carry-ons, which limits you to a single bag plus a personal item like a briefcase or purse. If you're accustomed to hauling all of your technology on a flight - transformers, adapters and batteries included - chances are you've already been confronted by a crew member who asked you to make a hard choice. >> Details in Power Trip.

** LA Savings are Online
Jeff Hatch, a retiree from Truckee, Calif., turns to the Internet when he's looking for a bargain on a hotel in Los Angeles. With good reason. He recently clicked on a Web site called California Riviera to find a room near the beach, and the booking service landed him a good deal. "They booked me a suite at Four Seasons in Newport Beach," he recalls. "The price was so good that the desk clerk thought it was an error and put me in standard room." >> In The Travel Tightwad.

** Too Close a Connection
She's flying from Buffalo, NY, to London via Chicago for a three-week graduate study course at Oxford. But her connection times are close - maybe too close. Did her travel agent make a mistake? Is she going to miss her flight. Will her luggage? >> Details in The Travel Troubleshooter.

** Time to Ban Airline Miles?
Oh, the lengths we go to collect our mileage rewards! Carsten Thomsen flew from Austin, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, then did an about-face and returned to Austin on the same day - just to earn the 1,500 miles needed to reach Delta Air Lines' Gold Medallion status. "I took some magazines and good books along and spent a relaxing day picking the extra miles," he says. >> In The Travel Critic Archives.

> Ticked.com Talk

** Flawed Travel Surveys
The "scientific results" arrived on my desk the same afternoon. Survey No. 1: Corporate travel agents are able to match or beat airfares found on the Internet 93 percent of the time. Survey No. 2: Travelers are still overpaying for airfare because 59 percent don't know that cheaper Web-only fares exist. Would it surprise you to learn that the first findings were submitted by a brick-and-mortar travel agency council? Or that the second study was conducted on behalf of Orbitz, a leading Internet booking agent? >> Read more in Harry Shattuck's column.

** Let's Buy the Airlines
So here's an intriguing idea: How 'bout us disgruntled frequent flyers pool our nickels and dimes, sell our miles for some investment capital and then buy out the airlines that make our lives so miserable? Because besides their other well-chronicled faults, the block-headed martinets who run the nation's six largest mainline carriers have managed to run their airlines into the fiscal toilet. >> Read more in Joe Brancatelli's column.

** Employees vs. Travel Managers
Inside many companies, there's a little war going on. It pits traveling employees against the corporate travel manager. The goal of both is to scrimp on increasingly scarce travel funds. The problem is both have different ideas of how to do it. The dispute centers on the best way to book airfares: through the company travel agent or by buying discounts over the Internet. >> Read more in Chris Woodyard's column.

> Other Sponsors

** 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.

** 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.

> Your Opinion Matters

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