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

April 18, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Keeping it Simple
* Question of the Week: Finding Data on the Fly?
* Aren Visits Alaska (Along With His Parents)
* Practice Safe Wi-Fi
* Online Travel, Version 2
* Monkeys Protest at Fort Lauderdale Airport
* This Week in Travel
* Have a Seat
* It's the Fares, Stupid
* A Cruise From Hell to Nowhere
* Flashback: Surrealism
* High Times in Winter
* Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe
* Snow and Surrealism at Le Massif
* Scandalous Park City

>> First Off <<

** Keeping it Simple
Charlie Leocha's brilliant column about cheap fares got me thinking about how travel often gets needlessly complicated. There's so much talk about the comeback of "frills" these days, but as James Wysong, a.k.a, A Frank Steward, notes in his column, passengers care about simple things - like being able to fit into their seats. I try to make sense of the increasingly complicated rules for booking online travel in a US News & World Report article, and if you do nothing else this week, listen to my NPR story on the monkeys at Fort Lauderdale airport. It's a simple (and guilty) pleasure.

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>> By The Way <<

** Question of the Week: Finding Data on the Fly?
If you travel with a laptop computer or personal digital assistant, you're familiar with the drill. You need information from your PC quickly - but the "find" function won't cut it. How do you keep all of your data on your portable organized - and how do you find something you need on the fly? I'm interested in any techniques or applications that help you make sense of all the information you have on your computer. How have these programs helped you while you're on the road? Send us an e-mail and include your full name, city, and what you do for a living. Remember, your story could mean free luggage. It did for Ed Kummel, our March winner.

> Trying to e-mail me? Please read this first.

** Aren Visits Alaska (Along With His Parents)
Many, many thanks to our friends in Alaska who made last week's visit to the Last Frontier possible. Aren, Kari and I had a terrific time exploring Anchorage, Alyeska and Seward. And a special thanks to those of you who wrote to me with personal invitations to stop by and visit. Alas, some of your e-mails didn't make it on to the laptop before I left, so I couldn't respond to them in time. By the way, I highly recommend coming to Alaska at this time of year - the weather is pretty decent and there are no tourists. If you want to see pictures of our visit, check out Aren's blog.

>> Elliott's Commentary <<

** Practice Safe Wi-Fi
The Internet can be a dangerous place, with viruses, worms and spyware lurking behind every URL and waiting to pounce on your PC every time you check e-mail. But that's nothing compared to what can happen with a wireless hookup. Connecting to the Web through Wi-Fi can make your laptop even more vulnerable to hackers and pernicious code. Just ask Peter Shankman, who recently returned from a business trip to Europe. On a stopover at the KLM lounge in Amsterdam, he opened his laptop and tapped into the wireless connection. Big mistake. "By the time I got to Berlin, the machine was totally and completely dead," says the New York communications consultant. "My computer had gotten infected. My file trees were completely shredded." > Details in Power Trip.

** Online Travel, Version 2
Finding an affordable plane ticket or hotel room used to be a no-brainer for Beth Bowers, a software trainer in Cassopolis, Mich. She would click on an all-purpose travel Web site like Expedia or Orbitz and routinely find the lowest rates. But lately she's noticed that the bargains aren't as abundant. "I can find the same prices - and sometimes better ones - when I go directly to the airline or hotel Web sites," she says. In other words, the rules of online booking have changed. A lot. > In US News & World Report.

** Monkeys Protest at Fort Lauderdale Airport
They're African green monkeys, or vervets. About the size of a cat. Long tails. Brown fur. And a mischievous expression. But these primates are hopping mad about the expanding airport at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Two car rental facilities and a remote parking lot have opened here recently, invading the vervets' habitat. And the monkeys are protesting. > From National Public Radio's Day to Day.

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>> This Week in Travel <<

News, opinion and analysis from Elliott's Travel Notes.

> Measles Warning for Air Passengers (4/16)

> Delta Air Lines' Woes Deepen (4/15)

> Car Rental Companies May Pay Fines (4/14)

> Online Hotel Wars Heat Up (4/13)

(Note: There was no blog posting on Monday, April 12. I was on assignment.)

> See archived blog postings or catch up on today's news.

>> Ticked.com Talk <<

** Have a Seat
With the evolution of the seat and the benefit of modern technology, don't you wonder how the airlines manage to perfect the art of making the seats in economy so uncomfortable? The airlines would like to hide the obvious fact that more seats equal more revenue. They live in a fantasy world where the normal passenger is 5 foot 6 inches tall and 160 pounds or less. Things get quite tricky when you are over 6 feet tall or carrying around some extra body weight. One airline's solution was to charge extra-large passengers more. In addition to the carry-on baggage template, maybe there will be a big-butt template? "Excuse me sir, could you please have a seat in the Dairy Air-o-Meter?" > In A Frank Steward.

** It's the Fares, Stupid
The low-fare/low-cost airline industry seems to be edging back towards the foolish ways of the majors. JetBlue has always had the best in-flight entertainment and others are trying to emulate it. Frontier, AirTran and America West are all adding business class seating. There are even reports that Southwest is planning some sort of entertainment system on its aircraft. In the meantime, the major legacy airlines are bleeding red ink. Bleeding at an amazing rate that means bankruptcy if they stay the course. "Whoa," I say to the low-cost airlines. Ask yourselves what brought you to this position of consumer acceptance and profitability. The answer is clear: low fares, understandable fares, fair fares and dependable schedules. > Read more in Cheap Charlie.

>> Triprights.com Ticker <<

** A Cruise From Hell to Nowhere
Remember Murphy's Law, the rule that says anything that can go wrong will? Ever wonder what would happen if Murphy took a cruise? One reader's elderly parents, who recently sailed on Carnival's "Conquest," have a pretty good idea. First the ship was delayed by an accident. Then it missed several ports of call. And Carnival only offered a 50 percent-off certificate as compensation - not enough to make up for the ruined vacation. Should the cruise line have done more? > In Fix My Trip.

>> Flashback: Surrealism <<
Travel journalism is often a surreal experience. I mean, name one other profession - except perhaps art historian - where you can get away with the headline 'Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe' (apologies to René Magritte). While you're thinking about that, check out this flashback:

** High Times in Winter
Edyth Schoenrich scales the Swiss Alps almost every winter. She takes in the same bird's-eye view that backcountry skiers and mountain climbers do-steep, dangerous rock formations covered in deep powder snow. But the 83-year-old medical professor from Baltimore never breaks a sweat-and gets to enjoy crackers and warm brie with a glass of Burgundy, served en route. "It's so serene," she enthuses, "so spiritual." > In US News & World Report.

** Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe
Since it isn't feasible to write a follow-up to every Travel Technologist column, I often roll all of the engaging questions and comments from the last several weeks into one in enormous journalistic joint and light up, figuratively speaking. So get your cigar cutters ready, friends. Here we go. > In The Travel Technologist.

** Snow and Surrealism at Le Massif
Le Massif is the kind of winter resort that surprises you at every turn. Often, without even trying to. There's the St. Lawrence River, the frozen-over waterway at the base of the mountain, stretching almost as far as the eye can see. At times you find yourself slowing to a snowplow because the river looks so close that you're afraid of hitting a mogul and tumbling into the water. The view is utterly spectacular, in a league with the aquatic backdrops found at resorts such as Heavenly in Lake Tahoe, Calif., or Alyeska in Girdwood, Alaska. > In Destinations.

** Scandalous Park City
Few places on earth are as strange as Park City, Utah, at the end of ski season. I arrived at this unlikely conclusion after spending a March weekend in the mining-town-turned-millionaires'-playground. The First Family happened to be vacationing at nearby Deer Valley only days after the President's Senate trial acquittal. Secret Service agents in suits mixed uneasily with late-season skiers waddling down Park City's Main Street in short-sleeves, jeans and unbuckled ski boots. > In Destinations.

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** Toursaver.com
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** Dream of Italy
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** Travelhunters.com
If you like to find great travel bargains, you've got to check out TravelHunters.com - the bargain travel community. The site was created by two brothers from Minnesota who love to help people find the best travel bargains. You'll find numerous hot deals for vacations and cruises, bargain travel articles, travel resources, and a comprehensive travel message board. Be sure to sign up for the free monthly newsletter - the Travel Hunters News - dedicated to helping people find amazing deals. > Here's the site.

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