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http://www.elliott.org

November 11, 2002

> Inside

* Lighten Up
* Take the Family?
* 12k and Counting
* Come on Ride the Train
* Terror Fears Boost Insurance
* Bugged By Airport Buggies
* Factoring Miles
* United Err

[Editor's Note: Let's be honest - you didn't sign up for this newsletter to read fluffy destination stories. You want controversy. This week, Elliott's E-Mail delivers. My commentary on overweight flight attendants, "Lighten Up," won't disappoint. Don't miss Terry Riley's take on crewmembers and weight discrimination from 2000 in "United Err." Or scroll down and read "Bugged By Airport Buggies," a vintage Crabby Traveler column about airport safety. - Elliott]

> This Week in Travel

** Lighten Up
Are airline flight attendants too fat? Possibly. Passengers, crewmembers and several studies suggest that these airline employees have been packing on the pounds lately. Not that it's any of our business. How much someone else weighs is a private matter - unless their mass affects the safety of our next trip. And then it does, indeed, become an issue. >> Read the whole story in Opinion.

> By the Way

** Take the Family?
Conventional wisdom says your family should stay home when you travel on business. But is the conventional wisdom wrong? This week, we want to know if you've ever taken your family along, turning a business trip into a vacation. Where did you go - and would you recommend it for other road warriors? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Send us 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.

** 12k and Counting
Elliott's E-Mail hit another milestone last week when we welcomed subscriber number 12,000. We'd like to extend an especially warm welcome to all those of you who signed up after reading my last bCentral column about the five worst airports on MSN.

> Elliott's Commentary

** Come on Ride the Train
Reluctant to fly again? If you need to make relatively short business trips, try the train. I can hear you already. No way, you say - Amtrak, our troubled national rail carrier, is under-funded, inefficient and inconvenient. Besides, if you're traveling on business, the last thing you want to do is sit on a train for hours. >> In bCentral's Power Trip.

** Terror Fears Boost Insurance
The terrorist bombing on the island of Bali last month that claimed the lives of nearly 200 people, many of them tourists, made Alicia Nieva-Woodgate reconsider her planned trip to the Far East. So before she leaves for a three-month adventure to Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Thailand and Burma in December, Nieva-Woodgate is buying a $199 travel insurance policy that covers medical expenses, lost luggage and the cost of returning home if a terrorist incident interrupts her trip. >> Details in The Travel Tightwad.

** Bugged By Airport Buggies
Forget air safety. Travelers should worry about airport safety, to hear people like Leo Cole talk about it. "Those darned carts that are supposedly for the handicapped or the elderly are a menace," complains the Memphis, Tenn., salesman. "Every time you turn around, one is about to run over you." Cole's close calls with the electric buggies - he says they often approach from behind in a crowded terminal and push their way past him - thankfully haven't resulted in any injuries. >> In The Travel Critic.

> Ticked.com Talk

** Factoring Miles
Several readers have sent me e-mail complaining that my "lowest fares" aren't low enough based on percentages and frequent flier miles. Well, let's take a look at reality of when cheap really is cheap. I start with a quote from last week's column, "... this system is only for those with 'lowest-fare' as their goal." That obviously begs the question, "What else matters?" >> In Cheap Charlie.

** United Err
Earlier this summer, United Airlines found itself in hot water for a policy it had in place between 1980 and 1994. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a policy requiring female flight attendants to weigh less than male flight attendants of the same age and height - between 14 and 25 pounds less - was unlawful. Unsurprisingly, swimming into this hot water - they thrive in hot water - are the barracu… I mean the trial lawyers. According to The Wall Street Journal, there are 16,000 potential plaintiffs who may have been suspended or terminated because of the policy. (You can almost hear the gills fluttering.) >> In Terry Riley's column.

> Other Sponsors

** Ticked.com Top Ten
What are travelers reading? Find out at Ticked.com's Top Ten list of bestselling travel titles. Compiled monthly, the list features the most-purchased travel books on the Internet, thanks to the Web site's affiliate relationship with Barnes & Noble. Whether you're looking for something to read on your next trip or wondering what to buy for the traveler in your life, the Ticked.com Top Ten can help.

** 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.

** The Magic For Less
A full-service travel agency specializing in family vacations, romantic getaways, and cruises. The hallmark of our travel consulting is personal attention mixed with a bit of "magic" for the very best prices. A graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge is available on staff to offer advice, share recommendations and help you plan a magical Disney theme park vacation. For a limited time, The Magic For Less Travel is offering discounts of up to $200 on all qualifying travel. The Magic for Less Travel will help you get where you want go - for less.

** JetReady
The pressures that business travelers face in today's environment are unprecedented. Each element of travel management dramatically affects a business's health and profitability. It is no longer enough to be there; each business trip requires employees to maximize performance creating positive value for their organization. To achieve sustained high performance, travelers need to be mentally focused, emotionally engaged, physically energized and aligned with their deepest values and beliefs. To learn more, call (714) 544-2855.

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