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

August 8, 2004

>> Inside <<

* A Rare Treat
* Question of the Week: Hotel Cell Phone Trouble
* 'I'm Hooked'
* This Week in Travel
* Best Airports to Go Wireless
* Dumbing Down Travelers
* Flying With the Senator
* Where's My Waiter?
* Travel Agent - Or Double Agent?
* Frank Questions
* Quirky Festivals of The Florida Keys
* Filthy Hotel, No Refund
* Flashback: The Passenger Rights Revolution
* Fight For Your Rights
* So You Want a Revolution?
* Res Agents Get Snippy
* Extreme Reservations

>> First Off <<

** A Rare Treat
It took a little arm-twisting, but I finally managed to convince two of our newest columnists to write articles they didn't want to. This week, renegade travel agent John Frenaye follows the money and takes an honest look at where your agent's loyalties lie. And flight attendant James Wysong, at long last, takes aim at … his critics. But wait, there's more! Travel Notes is hopping with news and analysis. I've got stories about the best airports for wireless access. We have archived columns about everything from crazy festivals of the Florida Keys to flying with Sen. Joe Lieberman. And don't miss our Flashback on the passenger rights revolution (ahh, the good old days) and an all-new Troubleshooter column about a hotel that isn't up to standards.

>> Underwritten By <<

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>> By The Way <<

** Question of the Week: Hotel Cell Phone Trouble
Ever had trouble sending or receiving a call on your cell phone at your hotel? Have you ever wondered if the property is intentionally interfering with your call - either with a jamming device, or just by building extra-thick walls - so that you have to use the more expensive hotel phone? If you've ever experienced that, we'd like to hear about it. We'd like to hear about it. 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.

** 'I'm Hooked'
Those are the two most common words I get from new readers of Travel Notes by e-mail. And it's easy to see why more than 2,000 subscribers have joined the list of travelers receiving the free, daily e-mail newsletter, since it started up just three weeks ago. Where else can you find a comprehensive roundup of the day's top travel stories - minus ads, hype, self-serving commentary and, most important, any cost to you? > Sign up now.

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> Is IAC About To Flame Out? (8/6)

> FAA: Cut O'Hare Flights, Or Else... (8/5)

> Board: Require Child Seats on Planes (8/4)

> Hotel Rates, Profits Jump This Year (8/3)

> Looks Like Another Airline Bailout (8/2)

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

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

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>> On Elliott.org <<

** Best Airports to Go Wireless
No one likes to spend time stuck at the airport on a stopover or, worse yet, a mechanical or weather delay of unknown duration. But the wait can be made more bearable if there's an easy wireless Internet connection to help you stay productive. The question is: Given your druthers, which airport would you prefer to be trapped in? (Not that you really have much of a choice; when you travel long distances on business, you're a prisoner of the major airlines' hub-and-spoke system -- meaning you'll inevitably land places like Dallas, Atlanta and Denver.) But let's say, for argument's sake, you do have a choice. Where would you go? > In Power Trip.

** Dumbing Down Travelers
Never underestimate the ignorance of the traveling public. That's the painful, but inevitable, conclusion I've arrived at after more than a decade of solving other people's travel problems. Simply put, there are more clueless people on the road, at the airport, and staying in our hotels, than ever. Call it the dumbing down of the American traveler. > Details in an archived Opinion column.

>> On Ticked.com <<

** Flying With the Senator
I'm sitting on a Northwest Airlines Airbus A319 way in the back, squeezed into row 17. I'm on my way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for an editorial meeting of the contributors to my ski and snowboard guidebook, Ski Snowboard America & Canada. Across the aisle is Senator Joe Lieberman, reading through a briefing book. He is squeezed into row 17, too. He is headed to Iowa to continue campaigning in his quest for the presidency of the United States. This is the first time I have flown Northwest since a summer trip to Madrid, Spain, in business class. The world in the back of the plane is still miserable. Today, I get to share my misery with one of the Democratic candidates for President of the United States. > Read more in Charles Leocha's archived column.

** Where's My Waiter?
As the ticket agent at the airline check-in counter hands you your boarding pass and points you to your departure gate, he says that he will call the agent at the gate to try to get you upgraded. He doesn't. As the flight attendant hands you your box lunch, she says that she will come right back with your special request for non-fat milk. She doesn't. What's going on here? Is there a conspiracy among service providers to withhold service from you? Do these people have it in for you? > Read more in an archived Err Travel.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** Travel Agent - Or Double Agent?
A travel agent used to cost nothing to use. Not anymore. When airlines eliminated commissions paid to travel counselors, agents began charging service fees. And by and large, customers went along with it, in part because the fees implied that the agents were now working for them. Exclusively. But that's not true. Service fees never really replaced the revenue from the airlines. They just supplemented it. The question is - and it's a question most agents may not want you to ask - does this create a conflict of interest? > In John Frenaye's column.

** Frank Questions
I know my columns may bring some readers to a boiling point. Topics like infants in first class, fat flight attendants, or how I nearly lost my manhood in Mexico City, have sparked hundreds of e-mails - positive, negative, but never indifferent. But enough from me. I'm turning this column over to you in an effort to even things out. > In James Wysong's column.

>> On Not2far.com <<

** Quirky Festivals of The Florida Keys
A flotilla of powerboats hovers above a Technicolor reef, tied together like a fleet of mothballed warships. "We're almost ready," says Bill Becker, who is in command of the lead pontoon vessel. He turns his radio up a notch. "OK," he says. "Here we go." Becker signals to the scuba divers waiting at the stern. One by one they step off the side of the boat, plunging into the transparent Atlantic off Looe Key, Fla. There's a rush of bubbles, and then the water erupts in music. > In Not2far.com's Destination of the Week.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** Filthy Hotel, No Refund
If your hotel doesn't meet your standards of cleanliness, can you check out and ask for a refund? Normally, the answer is "yes." But if you book your hotel online, through a service that offers cheaper rooms that are nonrefundable, the answer could be different. When one Hotwire customer leaves his room because of unsanitary conditions, and the site refuses a refund, he doesn't take "no" for an answer. Who's right? And how do you make sure this doesn't happen to you? > In Fix My Trip.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

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>> Flashback: The Passenger Rights Revolution <<
This week, with summer travel in full swing, we look back at a time long ago when "passenger rights" was a battle-cry for the weary traveler. Flashback is sponsored by Dream of Italy, the award-winning newsletter about Italy.

** Fight For Your Rights
I get a lot of e-mails from other crabby travelers. They usually don't understand what their rights are - only that they have more rights than the airline or hotel tells them. They're usually correct. They just need someone to encourage them to take a stand, to make their presence known to the often monolithic and uncaring travel providers. By way of inspiration, I offer a few success stories from the past year. > In The Travel Critic.

** So You Want a Revolution?
I read your last column with interest, particularly your lines: "The problem is that they aren't doing it together, with a single voice. Until they do so, I think the carriers will continue to get away with what they're doing." Well, if you want to generate traffic to your site and be a hero, why don't you take the lead and be the flash point? I propose that you start an organization to allow passengers to speak with that one voice. You can be the catalyst to draw the millions who will gladly join. People will support such an organization, they dream of it, but they have to know where it is. You have a high profile already to get things off the ground. > In ChrisCrossings.

** Res Agents Get Snippy
It's bad enough that phone res agents toil thanklessly away in cube farms somewhere out in the Midwest. But lately, they've also become the forgotten victims of the passenger rights revolution. Yes, it's true. Travelers aren't the only ones who are suffering. "The American public has been more abusive towards airline employees as the days go on," complains Tim Calandrino, a reservations supervisor for a major U.S. carrier. "Just today, I had a customer wanting compensation for a five-minute delay on arrival - and it was due to weather." > In The Travel Critic.

** Extreme Reservations
A seat assignment in economy class is about as desirable as a protracted stopover in a smoke-filled airport terminal or consuming airline food that gives you heartburn, to hear travelers talk about it. In fact, experienced fliers will go to great lengths to avoid the back of the plane. They plead for upgrades to business class (yes, I've seen them get on their knees and beg). They hover around the gate and argue with the overworked airline employees. They even wait until the next flight if there's a chance they can score an upgrade. > In Power Trip.

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>> Who's Reading Elliott's E-Mail? <<

* Demographics
* Elliott's E-Mail newsletter circulation - 27,246
* Travel Notes by E-Mail newsletter circulation - 1,501
* Last month's total unique visitors
Elliott.org - 62,027
Ticked.com - 35,474
Triprights.com - 11,080
Not2far.com - 3,802
Travelcomment.com - 14,380
Total network visitors - 126,763

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