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

November 28, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Relax, It's Almost Over
* Best-Rate Rage?
* This Week in Travel
* The Future According to Hollywood
* Plane Superstitious
* Want an Upgrade? Say 'Thank You'
* No Guarantees
* Flashback: Mr. Fixit's 2002 Columns
* Is it a Crime to Ask for a Contract?
* No Dream Vacation in Tahiti
* Lost My Ticket in a Plane Crash
* Suite Steal

>> First Off <<

** Relax, It's Almost Over
The longest weekend of the year - Thanksgiving weekend - is just about wrapped up. Now that's a reason to give thanks! Joel Widzer has another reason: it could get you upgraded on your next flight. We've also got columns from Charlie Leocha, James Wysong and a look back at the best troubleshooter columns of 2002 (that was the first season it actually began "solving" every case.)

>> Underwritten By <<

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>> By The Way <<

** Best-Rate Rage?
A lot of airlines and hotels offer best-rate guarantees if you book from their Web sites. This week, we're looking for your stories about making claims on those guarantees. Ever tried to file a claim? Did it work - or did you end up with best-rate rage? Share you story with us. 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.

> Low-Fare Airlines Singing the Blues (11/26)

> Weather Hampers T-Day Travel (11/25)

> Car Rental Wait Times On the Rise (11/24)

> Experts Avoid Holiday Travel Trauma (11/23)

> Busiest Travel Week Of Year Begins (11/22)

> 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 <<

** BookingBuddy.com
Find the lowest airfare for your next trip at BookingBuddy.com. Enter your departure and arrival cities and travel dates, then click on any of the travel providers to get their best fare offers. You can choose from the major travel sellers as well as top airlines. BookingBuddy.com is the fastest way to find the lowest price on airfare. > Compare fares now.

>> On Ticked.com <<

** The Future According to Hollywood
Last week the crème de la crème of the online travel industry met at the PhoCusWright Executive Conference in Hollywood. The presidents and CEOs of hundreds of companies who are involved with online travel gathered to learn what to expect in the coming year and to wheel and deal in marathon networking. Wall Street analysts began the conference with an assessment that growth in the online travel segment is beginning to slow down. This slowdown is caused by the previous growth in the industry and broadband penetration. > Read more in Charles Leocha's column.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** Plane Superstitious
Some people need to physically touch the outside of the airplane before boarding. Others won't travel unless the flight number has one or a combination of certain digits. Through the years I have witnessed many flight superstitions but never quite as interesting as a passenger named Nick. Nick was a middle-aged man, but had always been afraid to fly. His job required him to do some extensive travelling, so he devised a plan. He did some extensive research and concluded that out of all the seats on the airplane, and out of all the air disasters where some passengers survived, seat 34C was the safest. > In James Wysong's column.

** Want an Upgrade? Say 'Thank You'
For most Americans, the Thanksgiving holiday is synonymous with travel. And this year looks like one for the record books, with AAA projecting that more than 37 million Americans will hit the road. For me, Thanksgiving means more than that. More than the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with cranberry sauce, someone carving the turkey, and the fight over who gets to pull the wishbone. It means a lot of request for Joel's airline upgrade techniques. > In Joel Widzer's column.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** No Guarantees
A lot of hotels promise you'll find their best rates on their Web sites. But what if you see a better price somewhere else? When one hotel guest tries to make file a claim on a hotel chain's best-rate guarantee, he finds out how difficult it is to get a hotel to honor its pledge. Impossible, actually. Find out what a best-rate guarantee is worth - and how you can file a successful claim the next time you book a hotel room. > In Fix My Trip.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

** Net-roamer.com
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.

>> Flashback: Mr. Fixit's 2002 Columns <<
In 2002, The Travel Troubleshooter began solving traveler complaints - how shall I say this? - more aggressively. Here are a few of the most memorable cases.

** Is it a Crime to Ask for a Contract?
A passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight has a question about a flight delay, so he goes to the ticket counter and asks for a copy of its contract of carriage. And what does the ticket agent do? She lies to the traveler - tells him she doesn't know what it is - and then eventually calls security to have him removed. So is it a crime to ask for an airline's contract? Find out. Read the details in The Travel Troubleshooter.

** No Dream Vacation in Tahiti
When she booked her dream vacation to Tahiti, her agent assured her that her hotel had snorkels and outrigger canoes free of charge and available for our use. But when she got there, she found out it didn't have the outriggers, and the snorkels were rented for a "nominal fee." And that was just the beginning. Find out how one dream vacation turned into a surcharge nightmare. > In Fix My Trip.

** Lost My Ticket in a Plane Crash
The Federal Express plane carrying my paper ticket crashed - and now the agency I booked my trip through won't issue another one, writes a frustrated reader. How to pick up the pieces after your paper ticket goes up in flames? Find out. > In Fix My Trip.

** Suite Steal
A hotel guest loses $12,000 worth of computer equipment and property in a burglary. It looks like an inside job, but the property will only reverse the room charges as a "gesture of good will" and pay out $1,220 in damages from its insurance company. Could Chief Inspector Clouseau, the bumbling detective from the Pink Panther movies, have done a better job handling this incident? A look at the case of the missing laptop computers. > In Fix My Trip.

>> Even More Underwriters <<

** FirstClassFlyer.com
Want to 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.

** 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.

** 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.

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

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Total network visitors - 105,815

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