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

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http://www.elliott.org

September 9, 2002

> Inside

* Try Cargo
* Illegal Technology?
* IM Here
* Blowing the Budget
* Airlines Make a Money Grab
* Taxi Tales
* Educating Glenn
* Vacation Hogs Will Suffer
* Buy a Ticket on a Bankrupt Airline?

> This Week in Travel

** Try Cargo
The nation's air carriers sure have a strange way of trying to win our business back. With their earnings in a freefall - together, they lost an astounding $3.8 billion in the first half of this year - and customer ratings at a historic low, the ailing airlines recently decided to make flying even more unpleasant. >> Read the whole story in Opinion.

> By the Way

** Illegal Technology?
Ever done anything questionable - borderline illegal - with your technology while you traveled? Like plug your laptop into a power outlet in an airport terminal? Or used a cell-phone scrambling device to interrupt someone's noisy phone call? Maybe you just left your laptop powered up during takeoff and landing? 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.

** IM Here
Got a travel-related question and need a quick answer? Now Elliott's E-mail offers the fastest access to yours truly through instant messaging (IM). Whether you're on AOL's Instant Messenger, MSN's Windows Messenger or Yahoo's Messenger, the screen name is the same: elliottdotorg. Add me to your buddy list and let me know what's on your mind (some restrictions apply).

> Our Sponsor

** Carlson Wagonlit Travel
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> Elliott's Commentary

** Blowing the Budget
A one-day car rental becomes two when an unwitting customer returns her vehicle a few minutes late. Now she wants her money back. Should Budget offer her a full refund for the extra day or a voucher for a future rental? Or is this traveler owed anything at all? Find out. >> Details in The Travel Troubleshooter.

** Airlines Make a Money Grab
Sigmund Freud once said that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Fortunately the good doctor never had to fly, because if he did, he'd discover that sometimes an airline ticket isn't just an airline ticket. It's no joke. You can pay good money for a flight, only to get charged extra for everything from a scheduling change to a luggage fee. And thanks to the tailspin that the airline industry finds itself in today, these fees are multiplying with alarming speed. >> In The Travel Tightwad.

** Taxi Tales
Cab stories are like fish stories. Almost everyone's got one to tell. Here's Nora Daly's: She hailed a taxi in Chicago recently and was taken on a circuitous ride through town. "When we finally arrived, the meter read $30," recalls the Belmont, California, legal analyst. "But the driver demanded $45. When my companion paid him $35, he responded by grabbing her briefcase and throwing her to the ground. She struck the back of her head on the curb and was hospitalized for several days." >> In The Travel Critic Archives.

> Ticked.com Talk

** Educating Glenn
So an oil-industry lifer walks into an airport, meets the caretaker chief of the nation's second-largest airline and, three weeks later, he's running the joint. I'm telling you, frequent flyers, you can't make this stuff up. That's actually how 54-year old Glenn F. Tilton got named this week as chairman, chief executive and president of United Airlines.>> Read Joe Brancatelli's column.

** Vacation Hogs Will Suffer
Here's a proposal sure to resonate with everyone who took a vacation this summer: Let's end daylight-saving time on Labor Day. That way we'd wrap up the season with an extra hour of sleep, a down payment to help us recover from our summer trips. Because if you're like me - and a recent poll indicates many of you are - vacation is not always the restful, re-energizing respite it's cracked up to be. >> Read more in Larry Bleiberg's column in The Dallas Morning News.

** Buy a Ticket on a Bankrupt Airline?
"Should I buy a ticket on an airline that has gone bankrupt - or one that's rumored as close to bankruptcy?" I'm asked that question a lot on call-in shows, for obvious reasons. And, surprisingly enough, my answer is that, for now, I believe you're reasonably safe buying a ticket on a bankrupt or shaky big airline - but not necessarily on a small one. >> Read more Ed Perkins' column.

> Other Sponsors

** ThriftyTraveling.com
A newsletter filled with travel tips and resources as well as late-breaking destination-oriented news and bargains you can use. Each issue is packed with a wide variety of useful information that will help you save money and travel safely without stress. It also has special Over-50, Solo Travel, and Net News sections.

** GreatCruises.com
Learn insider cruise information. Be an informed cruiser. Subscribe to GreatCruises.com's free monthly e-mail cruise newsletter, "All Cruise E-News." Get breaking news on new ships, new itineraries, price trends, cruise lines, health and safety inspections, cruise line awards and cruise tips of the month.

** 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.

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