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

August 22, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Brave Last Days
* Question of the Week: Your Stories From the Road
* It's a Direct Hit!
* Not Signed Up For Travel Notes Yet? You're Missing Out
* This Week in Travel
* Thanks For Nothing
* Not Another Airline Bailout
* Smart Buying
* Cheap Olympics
* Newton's Law of Travel
* Another Chapter in My Life
* Engine Trouble
* Delta's Recovery Plan
* Flashback: Bankruptcy Blues
* Try Cargo
* Will Road Warriors Return?
* No Point Collecting Miles?

>> First Off <<

** Brave Last Days
Good morning, class. Please open your textbooks to Chapter 11. No, wait … make that Chapter 7. This fall, it looks as if we're going to see at least one, and maybe several airline liquidations. Don't worry, we've got you covered. There's a refresher course on the airline bailouts, archived columns on airline bankruptcies, a Wysong column on living through liquidation (he survived Pan Am's implosion). Charlie Leocha had a story on how to protect yourself when your airline goes belly-up. We have an internal Delta memo on how it intends to prevent bankruptcy. And there are all-new columns from John Frenaye and The Travel Troubleshooter.

>> Underwritten By <<

** FirstClassFlyer.com
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>> By The Way <<

** Question of the Week: Your Stories From the Road
If you travel on business, and if anything really interesting has ever happened to you while you're away, then we want to hear from you this week. We're looking for compelling stories from the road - brushes with celebrities, danger, romance, or just your tales of a favorite business trip that's the kind of story you would tell your grandkids about someday. You know what I'm talking about, right? Send us an e-mail at and include your full name, city, and what you do for a living. Remember, your story could mean free luggage.

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

** It's a Direct Hit!
Hurricane Charley whacked us last week here in Central Florida. There are lots of fallen trees, frayed nerves and homeless squirrels. But other than that, we're OK. Many thanks to all of you who wrote to express your concern, and my apologies for not writing back to everyone. (I still have a backlog of e-mails from last week.)

** Not Signed Up For Travel Notes Yet?
Come on. 3,000 other active travelers have subscribed to Travel Notes by E-Mail, the free newsletter featuring the day's top travel stories. Why? Could be because it's one of the most trusted sources for daily travel news, brought to you without ads. It's travel news, delivered fresh every weekday morning. > Sign up here.

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> London Strikes Loom Next Week (8/20)

> After Storm, Fla. Hotels Turn to Scams (8/19)

> Airlines Agree to Cut O'Hare Flights (8/18)

> InterContinental, Expedia Part Ways (8/17)

> No Travel Notes on 8/16. (We got hit by the hurricane.)

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

> NEW! Sign up for Travel Notes by e-mail. Find out more.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

** Cheapflights.com
Flights price comparison site. Compare sales, specials and cheap flights to New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, London, Cancun, San Jose and over 600 more destinations. Cheapflights.com provides a quick and independent picture of the market for cheap flights from airlines (including Southwest and JetBlue), travel agents and specialist discounters. > Find cheap flights now.

>> On Elliott.org <<

** Thanks For Nothing
Now that US Airways is bankrupt and United Airlines is following its vapor trail into the abyss of insolvency, here's a question worth asking: What happened to all that money we gave the ailing airline industry after Sept. 11? Congress allocated $15 billion to save the carriers after the terrorist attacks, of which $5 billion were outright grants. Of that, US Airways pocketed $287 million and United took $724 million. Are these airlines going down and taking our tax dollars with them? Possibly. Although the affected airlines insist the government money was well-spent, thanks very much, all this talk of bankruptcy leaves the average taxpayer with the impression the money was wasted. If it wasn't - and we all hope that's the case - then let me be the first to ask: Where's the evidence? > In an archived Opinion.

** Not Another Airline Bailout
Is anyone surprised that the troubled airline industry is asking for more government help? After weeks of behind-the-scenes lobbying, the carriers are now expected to formally request billions of dollars in additional tax breaks and subsidies at a Congressional hearing. That's on top of an unprecedented $15 billion federal bailout approved by our legislators last year. No, the fact that our carriers are looking for another handout doesn't come as any revelation. The industry may well lose close to $10 billion in 2002, which would make it the worst year in the history of commercial aviation. > In an archived Opinion.

>> On Ticked.com <<

** Smart Buying
Recently, one of the larger "charter/scheduled" airline combinations, Tower Air, declared bankruptcy. This is a real bummer if you had a paid ticket for a Tower Air flight. What's a passenger to do with a ticket from a bankrupt airline? Here is a case where payment with a credit card - and working with a travel agent - makes all the difference in the world. > Read more in Charles Leocha's archived column.

** Cheap Olympics
I'm down under at the Olympic Games. On the way in magazine after magazine and newspaper after newspaper I have read about all the top restaurants in Sydney, all serving great food at top dollar. I have also heard about the outrageous prices being charged for hotels in the town during the Olympics. I decided to check out what was affordable and what doesn't end up costing an arm and a leg in Sydney. I'll start with the biggest bargain just in time for the Olympics and for the near future - the Australian dollar. It is only worth .55 to .60 per US Dollar. That means a hotel costing A$100 is only about US$60. That makes almost everything a bargain in Australia right now. > Read more in Cheap Charlie's archived column.

> Also, see part two.

> Part three.

> Part four.

> Part five.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** Newton's Law of Travel
During the past few weeks I've read many articles with the tips and tricks on how to get the best deal on airfare, hotel rooms, car rentals, and leisure vacation packages. But be careful what you ask for - and who you ask. As a travel agent, I can't help but think of Newton's Third law of Motion: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." While Newton was right on, he was not in the travel industry and those opposite reactions (mostly unseen by the consumer) can wreak havoc on your agent. > In John Frenaye's column.

** Another Chapter in My Life
Is your favorite airline going broke? It looks as if bankruptcy protection is a popular trend in the airline industry these days, and the light at the end of the tunnel gets farther and farther away. Chapter 11, in case you were wondering, is when a company can no longer contain its losses and profitability seems a remote future hope. The carrier throws itself at the mercy of the bankruptcy court and asks permission to break its promises to lenders, clients, and employees, in order to survive. > In James Wysong's column.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** Engine Trouble
When your rental car breaks down, you expect the company to replace it. And when you've bought the most expensive insurance, you expect any damage will be covered. But that's not how it turns out for one Hertz customer who rents a car in Mexico and ends up with a mysterious $2,989.51 bill. Was he a bad driver or did Hertz make him promises it couldn't keep? Find out if the bill sticks or if Hertz made a mistake. > In Fix My Trip.

** Delta's Recovery Plan
Delta Air Lines recently admitted it was in dire financial shape and could file for bankruptcy. How to turn things around? CEO Jerry Grinstein sent this internal memo to his employees outlining his plan. > In Memo of the Week.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

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>> Flashback: Bankruptcy Blues <<

Looks as if the end is near for several big airlines. But don't worry, we've got you covered. Here are a few of our favorite stories about airline bankruptcies - and how they should be handled. Flashback is sponsored by Dream of Italy, the award-winning newsletter about Italy.

** 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. They cut schedules, reduced mileage benefits, imposed new ticketing fees and added onerous restrictions to non-refundable tickets - measures they say will save them money, but which have angered many passengers to the point that they never want to darken the door of an airport again. > In Opinion.

** Will Road Warriors Return?
Don't ask frequent traveler Andrew deLivron to notice the silver lining around the once-friendly skies that now hang ominously above business travelers. His disillusionment with the travel industry - and especially the airlines - erupted in raw anger recently when the major carriers, led by a bankrupt US Airways, added new restrictions to their tickets and mileage awards. "What the airlines are doing just doesn't make sense," said the product manager for a truck parts manufacturer in Cedar Falls, Iowa. > In Opinion.

** No Point Collecting Miles?
A few days ago, I got a letter from US Airways' frequent flier program offering magazine subscriptions for my miles. In the past, I would have preferred to hold on to my hard-earned points for an award ticket. Not now. This year, with US Airways and United in bankruptcy and other airlines struggling, I cashed in as many of my points as possible for subscriptions to Time, Entertainment Weekly and Smithsonian (titles I wouldn't necessarily pay full price for but don't mind having around). When US Airways filed for bankruptcy protection in August, it promised that my points were safe. > In Opinion.

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Access the Internet anywhere in the World through a local call, keeping your own email address and home ISP at a reasonable cost per minute. User-friendly point and click software enables analog dial-up, ISDN, and broadband. Thousands of access points, many "all-cities" and "toll-free" with access throughout the country that you are visiting. No sign-up fees. No minimum usage or monthly quotas. Pay for usage only. Detailed usage reports. First half-hour free. Professional, personal service. > Check it out.

** ProTravelGear.com
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>> Who's Reading Elliott's E-Mail? <<

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Travelcomment.com - 14,380
Total network visitors - 126,763

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