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

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

March 14, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Good Airlines
* Question of the Week: Non-Elite Discrimination?
* See You at the Miami Herald Travel Expo
* New Feature: Exclusive Newsletter Section
* Home, Suite Motor Home
* Is In-Flight Wi-Fi a Fancy?
* New Airline, New Ideas
* Unsolved Travel Mysteries, Solved
* Plane Food Worth Paying For
* This Week in Travel
* Frankly, I Don't Hate Kids
* Going Somewhere? Line 'Em Up
* Burned at the Magic Kingdom
* Jackson Hole Thrills

>> First Off <<

** Good Airlines
After Charlie Leocha's column about an American Airlines flight gone right posted on Ticked.com last week, we were contacted by the airline and asked for permission to publish the story on its intranet, which we gladly granted. "It's nice to have some good news printed about us for a change," one employee told me. I couldn't agree more, which is why I've devoted the first of our newsletter-exclusive features (see BTW, below, for details) to airlines that have done right by their customers (not always voluntarily, though). Also, be sure to check out A Frank Steward's rebuttal on babies in first class and Not2Far's Jackson Hole adventure.

>> Underwritten By <<

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

** Question of the Week: Non-Elite Discrimination?
Ever felt as if you were being treated like a second-class citizen because you didn't have frequent-stayer status at a hotel? You understand that the elites get upgrades and free rooms, and you don't have a problem with that. But lately, you feel as if you're somehow being treated worse by your hotel because you don't have that platinum card. Tell us your story, including the hotel, what happened to you, and what you did about it. 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 Sheldon Beck, our February winner.)

** See You at the Miami Herald Travel Expo
If you're in the South Florida area next weekend, I hope you'll stop by the Miami Herald Travel Expo on Saturday, March 20, to say "hello." I'll be on a panel entitled "Practical Matters: How to Travel Smart," with Kevin Coffey and Bruce McIndoe. Here are the details on the conference.

** New Feature: Exclusive Newsletter Section
Elliott's E-Mail adds an exciting new feature to its lineup this week. It's an exclusive collection of the best commentaries and troubleshooter columns (with nearly 2,000 archived stories on the site, it's easy to miss something). This week's theme is "when bad airlines do good" - a collection of essays and op-eds about what happens when airlines do right by their customers. (A rare occasion? Of course. I could only find three stories.)

>> Elliott's Commentary <<

** Home, Suite Motor Home
Luxury motor coaches - don't you dare call them campers - are the latest craze in upscale vacation abodes. Demand for motor homes has doubled in the last decade, to about 320,800 units a year, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. And the biggest gains are in the high-end market, where fashionable mobile homes offer everything from big-screen plasma tvs with satellite dishes to interiors designed by Ralph Lauren. Sales of luxury rvs costing $200,000 or more rose 26 percent in 2002 and account for $5 billion, or about half, of overall sales. > Details in US News & World Report.

** Is In-Flight Wi-Fi a Fancy?
Whether you travel frequently or not, the Holy Grail of Internet connectivity is without a doubt wireless access on a commercial aircraft. Connecting to a high-speed data network from anywhere onboard - even from inside those closet-sized restrooms - is thought to be so "gee-whiz" cool that it's probably just a matter of time before every plane is wireless-ready. But talk to road warriors like Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, a technology consultant from Tampa, Fla., and it quickly becomes apparent that for now, at least, in-flight wireless access is more of an unholy quest. > Details in Power Trip.

>> Newsletter Exclusive: Good Airlines <<

Elliott's E-Mail takes a look at airlines that live up to their customer-service expectations even when their peers don't. This newsletter exclusive is sponsored by Dream of Italy, the critically-acclaimed publication that covers everything from art to villa rentals. > For more information or to place your order, visit the Web site or call 877-OF-ITALY.

** New Airline, New Ideas
At a time when the airline industry still is struggling to pull out of a tailspin induced by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a soft economy and poor management, do we really need a new carrier? You could almost hear a collective groan from the airline industry's talking heads when former travel executives Edward Beauvais and Travis Tanner last month unveiled Project Roam, a yet-unnamed discount airline based in Pittsburgh. This is hardly the time to start a new airline, some said. Or is it the perfect time? > In Opinion.

** Unsolved Travel Mysteries, Solved
Not every case that crosses my desk is solvable. Sometimes, a travel company refuses to help a traveler with a legitimate gripe. Here are two such complaints, one of which involves an airline that is openly hostile to journalists who try to help their passengers. And it's a story about how, finally, a carrier with a notoriously bad customer service record does right by a customer. > In Fix My Trip.

> Hear Rosemary Daly on public radio.

> Read the archived Travel Notes for details on the "battle" to help Daly.

** Plane Food Worth Paying For
Should you bring your own meal on your next airline trip - or buy it on the plane? Free food on shorter flights is gone. The major carriers eliminated their air fare in a recent cost-cutting effort, and not a moment too soon. Few people liked the in-flight meals to begin with. But travelers don't want to go hungry either, at least according to a survey by caterer LSG Sky Chefs. Nearly three out of four passengers want the option of buying meals during the flight if the airline isn't offering a freebie. "People ranked food as being very important," says Annette Rogers, a spokeswoman for LSG Sky Chefs, "even on shorter flights." > In Power Trip.

>> This Week in Travel <<

News, opinion and analysis from Elliott's Travel Notes is underwritten by TravelHunters.com - hunting down the best travel bargains on the planet.

> Is Spain Still a Safe Destination? (3/12)

> Mississippi Hotels Fight 6 Percent Tax (3/11)

> The Art of Booking a Hotel Online (3/10)

> Bank Robber Returns to US Airways (3/9)

> Is Delta Air Lines Bouncing Back? (3/8)

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

>> Ticked.com Talk <<

** Frankly, I Don't Hate Kids
I'm not a child-hater. I'm not a first-class snob, either. And despite last week's column on flying babies in the front of the cabin, I do believe there are many more important issues facing the airline industry today. But here's the long and the short of it: Airlines desperately need higher-revenue customers. When passengers pay $12,000 for a first class ticket and have a crying infant next to them the whole time, they're likely to book their future passage on a foreign airline keeps the little ones out of the forward cabin. > In A Frank Steward.

** Going Somewhere? Line 'Em Up
You will probably… No, let me start over. You will almost certainly wait in a line at some time on your next trip. That line might be for a shuttle, a taxi, a hotel room, a sandwich, or a beer. If you travel by air, you will also surely stand in line at the airport. Indeed, standing in line (standing on line, if you are in New Jersey) is so much a part of air travel today that it deserves just as much attention as flying. Queuing is the standard method of determining service priority for customers in most airports in the world-at least in the airports I pass through. > Read more in an archived Err Travel.

>> Triprights.com Ticker <<

** Burned at the Magic Kingdom
If you're seriously injured at a theme park, what are you owed? For one woman whose daughter is burned by fireworks at Walt Disney World, a refund on her vacation would be a good start. But after the park's cast members help her daughter get medical attention, she hears nothing more from the Magic Kingdom. Is she getting the cold shoulder from Mickey - or is something else going on here? Here's how to handle a theme park mishap and to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to you. > In Fix My Trip.

>> Not2Far.com Destination of the Week <<

** Jackson Hole Thrills
At the windswept peak of Rendezvous Mountain in Jackson Hole, Wyo., there comes a moment when you're forced to ask: stay or go? Staying means snapping out of your ski bindings or shouldering your mountain bike (depending on the season), boarding the aerial tram, and then descending to the safety of Teton Village. Going means plunging off a steep drop, the kind of incline that make this mountain resort a legend for thrill-seekers. In Not2Far.com's Destination of the Week.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

** EasyTravelAir
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** Award Traveler
Award Traveler buys and sells transferable frequent flier mileage awards and upgrade certificates. We are a broker between frequent fliers who choose cash rather than miles and air travelers who want first- and business-class service at a reasonable price. > Find out more.

** FirstClassFlyer.com
Fly first class for less than what others pay for coach? Looking for free and purchased upgrades, 2-for-1s, advanced ticketing techniques, and a fast-track to elite status strategies? Look no further ... these hot deals and more are available at First Class Flyer's Web site.

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

* Demographics
* Average newsletter circulation - 20,889
* Last month's total unique visitors
Elliott.org - 50,662
Ticked.com - 23,322
Triprights.com - 9,964
Not2far.com - 2,254
Total E3 Network visitors - 86,202

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