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

May 16, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Free Autographed Perkins Book
* Question of the Week: Moving Day?
* Travelcomment Welcomes New Columnist
* Make a Statement - Become an Underwriter
* This Week in Travel
* Travelers Behaving Badly
* Dialing For Car Rental Discounts
* Business-Class Bargains
* Why Ask Why?
* A Caribbean Cruise - Minus the Royal
* Shattering a Low-Fare Myth
* Flashback: It's All Hard-Core
* Addicted to Miles
* A Hard-Core Shelling Safari
* A Tech Checklist for Every Traveler

>> First Off <<

** Free Autographed Perkins Book
Our May fundraiser is nearing its climax - a giveaway of five TravelPro rollaboards and a free weekend at any Hilton in the United States. But we didn't save the best for last. This week, the first ten underwriters to sign up at any level will also receive an autographed copy of Ed Perkins' book "Business Travel: When It's Your Money." This brand-new strategy manual for small businesses and independent professionals is a must-read. Plus, you'll be supporting this Web site and newsletter. > Get the details here.

>> Underwritten By <<

** Toursaver.com
Free Alaska travel for companions! Everything in the "Great Alaskan TourSaver" is free or 2-for-1. Frommer's says: "An essential money-saving resource for Alaska travelers." Cruise boats, railroads, attractions, flightseeing, whale-watching, hotels, car rental companies and cultural trips all two-for-one. Just $99.95. Read Frommer's review, learn more.

>> By The Way <<

** Question of the Week: Moving Day?
Ever had to relocate your office? How did you manage to cope with the time spend "in between" office spaces, when you had to use a cell phone, laptop and a clunky dial-up connection to get by? This week, tell us your favorite strategies for staying wired (or wireless) when your office moves. 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 Barry Graham, our April winner.

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

** Travelcomment Welcomes New Columnist
Travelcomment.com, our newest travel commentary Web site, is very pleased to introduce its newest columnist. Joel Widzer is familiar to many of you as the author of "Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel," a guidebook on traveling in high style at budget-friendly prices. Now you can get his irreverent, insightful comments on upgrades and preferred service at Travelcomment exclusively. (And thanks to all of you who offered your candid comments about the new site - they're much appreciated.) > Check out the new Travelcomment.com.

** Make a Statement - Become an Underwriter
By supporting Web sites like the new Travelcomment - and the four other sites affiliated with this newsletter - you aren't just helping bring fresh perspectives to the travel industry. You are also effectively thumbing your nose at the establishment. The old-line, dead-wood publications would prefer you didn't do that. They'd much rather you bought one of their watered-down, advertiser-controlled periodicals, from which you can safely read the "news." But you know better. You're smarter than that. So go ahead, give 'em the kiss-off. > Click here for more information.

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> Experts: Airline Bailout Didn't Work (5/14)

> Airline Offering 1-Euro Flights Folds (5/13)

> Hotel 'Rocket Tax' Blasts Off in Ala. (5/12)

> Summer Airport Delays Predicted (5/11)

> Norwalk Virus Strikes in Australia (5/10)

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

>> Also Underwritten By <<

** Journeyware.com
The new destination for exceptional luggage, business/tech cases and travel accessories from leading brands like Travelpro, Lewis N. Clark, RoadWired and more. Great prices, fast, free UPS ground shipping on orders of just $50 or more! All with a level of uncompromising, personal service that you might not be used to getting these days (especially if you are a frequent traveler). Enter coupon code ELLIOTT and click "update" at checkout for an additional 10% off any order.

>> On Elliott.org <<

** Travelers Behaving Badly
Rob Pait admits he's not always the friendliest traveler. "Yes, I'm sometimes short with travel employees," says the director for a Scotts Valley, Calif., computer hardware manufacturer. "But only with employees who are impolite, unwilling to help or just plain rude themselves." In years past, the travel industry all but denied people like Pait existed. After all, the customer was always right, and if guests were snippy it was because the hotel clerks, gate agents or customer service representatives weren't doing their jobs. But as the busy summer travel season heats up, the hotels, airlines and car rental companies seem to be having a change of heart. > Details in Opinion.

** Dialing For Car Rental Discounts
While hotels often guarantee the best room rates on their Web sites, rental car firms make no such promises. And a U.S. News test shows you might be better off if you abandon the mouse and tackle the telephone. Checking prices to rent a Hertz economy car for a week at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, we found the best rate via the company's toll-free number. No haggling necessary. The steepest quote was from Expedia--a site known for inexpensive travel. > In US News & World Report.

>> On Ticked.com <<

** Business-Class Bargains
The airlines are finally beginning to offer business class bargains directly on their Web sites and from their reservation centers. How low are the prices? I've heard of some fares dropping to around $1,500 round-trip between certain US and European destinations. The real news here is not that the major transatlantic airlines are discounting their airfares. It's that they are discounting openly and selling these discounts directly to the public. > Read more in Cheap Charlie.

** Why Ask Why?
After 15 years in the airline industry, I have come to the conclusion that the word "why" will always be asked, but a rational answer should never be expected. For example: Why does being in an airplane spark up an unusual thirst for … ginger ale? If peanuts are proven to cause gas, then why do they serve them eight miles in the air, in a plane with hundreds of people confined to one space, sitting next to each other? Why are there ashtrays in the airplane toilets if you're not allowed to smoke in there (or anywhere on the plane for that matter) at any time? > In A Frank Steward.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** A Caribbean Cruise - Minus the Royal
When everything goes wrong on your vacation, the least you can expect is some kind of apology - if not a refund. Right? Wrong. For one passenger who endures a nightmare cruise on Royal Caribbean's "Brilliance of the Seas" with her husband, the answer is: neither. After getting stuck in an uncomfortable cabin, suffering the barbs of snippy cabin attendants and breaking her arm, she wants something - anything from - Royal Caribbean. Instead she gets silence. Is the cruise line ignoring her on purpose? And what does she deserve for her troubles? > In Fix My Trip.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** Shattering a Low-Fare Myth
When a discount airline comes to town, how can we lose? That's the question raised by a lot of so-called travel experts lately. The answer, they suggest, is that we can't: A no-frills airline lowers fares when it encroaches on an established route of a major carrier. Air travelers should pack their bags and flock to the lower prices of these discount carriers. Hold on a minute. > In Joel Widzer's column.

>> Flashback: It's All Hard-Core <<
Sometimes, when you're traveling, things come to you in industrial-strength doses. Hard-core, I like to call it. Here's a selection of "hard-core" columns:

** Addicted to Miles
Mileage junkie. Point-head. Incentive enthusiast. Call Robert Backie any of the above and he probably won't deny it. The Phoenix sales manager for a semiconductor equipment company has gone to extremes to reach the elite frequent-flier status on America West Airlines. When he travels to London, he books a layover in Houston or Newark instead of taking a nonstop. That way, he can collect the bonus miles the airline offers for flying from those cities. > In The Travel Critic.

** A Hard-Core Shelling Safari
The storm sweeps across Sanibel Harbor at dawn, drawing a dark curtain over the island. Gray water churns angrily, spitting foamy waves on the beach. Gale-force wind gusts rage. What a perfect day to go shelling. Yes, shelling. Mollusk collecting - the epitome of low-impact pastime on Florida's West coast - is getting a makeover. Shell-gathering tourists were once content to stroll along the white-sand beaches of Sanibel and Captiva during mid-morning and late-afternoon, scooping up whelk, scallop and sand dollar at a leisurely pace. > On Not2Far.com.

** A Tech Checklist for Every Traveler
Think you know everything there is to know about traveling with technology? Think again. Just when you've encountered every computer, telephone, and power-related challenge on the road - and solved it, thank you very much - fate throws you for a loop. Or a short-circuit. An exasperated reader reminded me of that just last week. On a recent business trip to Germany, Patricia Doran Walters of Charlottesville, Va., couldn't make a connection between that country's new digital phones and her analog modem. No one had warned her about the incompatibilities. No one offered a solution. "I was at my wits' end," she wrote. > In The Travel Technologist.

>> Even More Underwriters <<

** Bonjour Paris
France has recently come under a lot of fire. Access Bonjour Paris if you're interested in the pros and cons about travel to France. Bonjour Paris is the best content site about France and is not afraid of controversy. With focus on hotel and apartment reviews, consumer reporting, plus tons of articles, Bonjour Paris is the best on-line resource about tout La Belle France. > Click here for more information.

** EasyTravelAir
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** Outsidetheboxgroup.com
The new SearchAlert re-settable combination padlock from Outside The Box offers unique innovations in luggage security. SearchAlert may be opened with an override device controlled by Transportation Security Administration agents. No SearchAlert lock should be cut off by TSA agents. In fact, we offer a free replacement if it's ever cut off. SearchAlert features a Security Window which changes color from Green to Red when any override device is used. $9.99 each or two for $17.98 Available exclusively online. Enter coupon code: ELLIOTT for a discount. Click here to order.

** 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 - 22,837
* Last month's total unique visitors
Elliott.org - 47,607
Ticked.com - 28,414
Triprights.com - 7,629
Not2far.com - 2,912
Total E3 Network visitors - 86,562

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