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http://www.elliott.org

November 14, 2004

>> Inside <<

* The Cold Facts
* Do You Think Air Travel is a Right?
* This Week in Travel
* Travel Questions For a Second Term
* The Myth of Bad Airline Service
* Looking For Answers
* Full Hotel, Half a Room
* Flashback: Turn Up The Heat
* Quirky Festivals of the Florida Keys
* Surviving Vieques
* Florida Fish Stories
* A Midwinter Night's Dream

>> First Off <<

** The Cold Facts
Since this newsletter is coming to you from upstate New York, where the temperature is well below freezing and there's snow on the ground, it seems appropriate that this issue would be about the hard, cold facts. Charlie Leocha takes a hard look at what George Bush's second term might mean to the travel industry. James Wysong asks hard questions about the state of the airline business. Joel Widzer examines the state of airline service (and concludes it's not so bad). And I have a new troubleshooter column about a hotel guest who only got half a room. If you're thinking about warm weather, there's a flashback section just for you. By the way, for those of you who tried to sign up for our daily news blog, travel notes, we've fixed the sign-up errors. You can sign up here.

>> Underwritten By <<

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>> By The Way <<

** Do You Think Air Travel is a Right?
Is our ability to fly by commercial airliner a privilege - or a right? What do you think? Should anyone who wants to travel by plane be able to do so? If not, then under which circumstances should someone not be able to fly? And have you ever been denied boarding on a flight for reasons other than overbooking (and how did you handle it)? Please e-mail us. As always, please include your full name, city, and what you do for a living.

> Be part of the debate and win Travelpro luggage. Anyone who e-mails us for any reason will qualify for a luggage giveaway (your comments don't have to be published). So if we have your e-mail address on file, you're automatically entered in the drawing.

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

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> Payless Settles GPS Car Tracking Suit (11/12)

> Suit Seeks to End 'Behavior Profiling' (11/11)

> Airlines, EPA Agree to Water Rules (11/10)

> Under the Hood With Big Brother (11/9)

> Hotel Rates Hit The Roof in Gotham (11/8)

> 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 Ticked.com <<

** Travel Questions For a Second Term
How will a second Bush administration affect the travel industry? We have just finished with a fascinating presidential election. The focus was on terrorism, the war in Iraq and the economy. Virtually nothing was said about the travel industry. Surely, it will be affected by another George W. Bush term. The effect of Bush II on the travel industry has nothing to do with red and blue states. It has nothing to do with moral values. However, the question of conservative versus liberal comes into play - government intervention versus "let the industry struggle" is a factor. Privacy concerns come into consideration. And costs certainly will come under scrutiny. > Read more in Charles Leocha's column.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** The Myth of Bad Airline Service
Everyone talks about bad airline service. But what about good service? The nation's newspapers, Web bloggers, and airwaves are full of stories about the plummeting state of flying. Every day, my e-mail "in" box fills with airline horror stories. So I wonder: am I the luckiest person in world? For me, air travel is not that bad. I've flown 132,000 air miles this year, and on balance, my inconvenience factor has been relatively low. (In fact, I find navigating the Southern California freeways system, much more stressful.) And after a recent Sunday in Las Vegas, betting on losing football teams, I can certainly eliminate the chance that I'm just lucky. > In Joel Widzer's column.

** Looking For Answers
During the past year I've fielded many of your questions about air travel. But with the state of the airline industry as it is these days, I have a few questions for you. Your ticket price already includes surcharges for security, airport usage, and now for fuel. What's next, an "incompetent management" surcharge? Or is that just another word for employee concessions? Does Delta really stand for Divert Everyone's Luggage To Atlanta? I guess no more than UAL stands for U Are Late. And what, exactly, does KLM stand for? > In James Wysong's column.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** Full Hotel, Half a Room
You booked a standard, double-occupancy room online. But when you check in, the hotel is oversold and you're offered half a suite and a rollaway bed. Should you get your money back? One upset hotel guest thinks so. Find out what you are - and aren't - entitled to when your hotel is overbooked and see how this case is resolved. Plus, learn how to get better results when you've got a dispute with any travel company. > In Fix My Trip.

>> 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.

>> Flashback: Turn Up The Heat <<
There's snow on the ground up here in New York. Time to change latitude. Here's a look back at some southern-themed stories.

** 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. > On Not2far.com.

** Surviving Vieques
A group of unshaven men clustered around a dinghy under a blazing midmorning sun. There were other revolutionaries, in tents, speaking quickly in Spanish. A camera crew filmed the spectacle from a safe distance. Only the hand-painted sign near the road told a different story: "Civilian Zone," it warned. All members of the military "and their friends" are forbidden from entering. Welcome to Vieques, an island between Puerto Rico and The United States Virgin Islands that the Wall Street Journal recently called one of the worst vacation spots in the world. > In Destinations.

** Florida Fish Stories
It's sunset on the Gulf of Mexico's saltwater flats and Richard Stanczyk, the master of Monster Alley, is ready for show time. "They'll be biting anytime now," he whispers as he sends a writhing crab hurtling silently off the boat into the darkness, attached to a hook, line and rod used for salmon fishing. "Anytime now," he repeats, and I'm not sure if it's for drama or the residual effects of the fever that kept the top-flight fishing guide in bed all day yesterday. My question is answered seconds later, when the first beast takes the bait. > In Destinations.

** A Midwinter Night's Dream
Rolling dunes and towering cliffs with nary a soul in sight. Waves crashing on the shore. A posh room for two in a historic hotel, a spicy omelet of smoked turkey, chipotle, and cheddar cheese for breakfast, and complimentary Christmas candies-for only $149 a night. That's what Peter Flynn, a Saugus, Mass., attorney, will enjoy on his winter getaway. So what's the catch? Let's just say he won't be sitting in a rocking chair on the Harbor View Hotel veranda, drinking in the water view. Not with an average December temperature of 44 degrees on Martha's Vineyard. > In US News & World Report.

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