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

October 10, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Fear Of Flying
* Question of the Week: Are You "Watchlisted"?
* Don't You Dare Click On This Link
* This Week in Travel
* Scary Halloween For Airlines
* Flight Attendant Technophobia
* A 'Ghost' Reservation On Spirit
* A Smorgasbord Of Smells
* Travel Safety 'Experts'
* Who's Next?
* Flashback: Beginnings
* Rental Lots Get Remote
* Don't Know Jack
* TV Ads And Travel Fatigue
* Is Business Travel Obsolete?

>> First Off <<

** Fear Of Flying
I thought I'd get a jump on Halloween by posting some of the scariest columns from the archives. But as I reviewed the stories, I began to realize that all of this week's features dealt with fear in some way. Terry Riley, for instance, talks about scary security advice. James Wysong has a column on frightening smells that travelers have to contend with. Perhaps the most unnerving contribution comes from John Frenaye, who speculates which airline is about to liquidate. And in Flashback, we take a look at several debut columns from way, way, back.

>> Underwritten By <<

** Net-roamer.com
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>> By The Way <<

** Question of the Week: Are You "Watchlisted"?
Have you tried to travel by air recently, only to discover that your name is on a security watchlist? If you have, then we want to hear from you this week. How did you find out you were on the list? What did you do when you found out? Are you still on the list or have you managed to clear things up with the airline and the TSA? 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.

** Don't You Dare Click On This Link
If you do, you'll sign up for Travel Notes, and you'll get the day's most important travel news delivered to you every morning. The travel industry doesn't want that. It doesn't want you to be informed and aware of what is happening to it. It profits from your ignorance. It would rather you get your travel information from the glossy brochures and slick Web sites it produces, which are stripped of any critical or useful information. > Details are here.

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> Newark Screeners Get Failing Grades (10/8)

> Don't Like Your Airport? Try Baghdad (10/7)

> Storms Dampen Florida Tourism (10/6)

> New Era Of Commercial Space Travel (10/5)

> NCL's 'Pride of Aloha' Takes A Fall (10/4)

> 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 <<

** FrequentFlier.com
Want to travel faster, safer, smarter, cheaper, better... and earn more frequent flier miles in the process? Subscribe to the Internet's premier travel newsletter. Every week, The FrequentFlier Crier delivers travel news you can use: frequent flyer program updates, special fares, industry news and trends. > Sign up (free).

>> On Elliott.org <<

(Editor's note: Here are a few of my favorite Halloween-themed columns from the archives. I'll be back next week with all-new stories.)

** Scary Halloween For Airlines
It's gonna be a scary Halloween for the airlines. They have slashed service, pared back travel agency commissions, issued a string of empty promises to customers, raised fares and alienated their own employees. Now their misdeeds are coming back to haunt them: They are becoming less profitable. In some cases, they aren't making money at all. U.S. Airways Group last week reported a net loss for its third quarter of $85 million, compared to a net profit of $142 million a year earlier. "These results are clearly unacceptable," said Rakesh Gangwal, the carrier's president and chief executive. > Details in The Travel Critic.

** Flight Attendant Technophobia
Maybe they've inhaled too much recycled cabin air or indulged once too often in the prepackaged gruel they serve us for dinner, but something is making flight crews behave erratically around electronics. That's the point of most responses to last week's column pondering which gadgets are - and aren't - safe to run on a commercial flight. Here are a few examples. > In The Travel Technologist.

** A 'Ghost' Reservation On Spirit
What if you book a flight online and your credit-card company bills you for it, but you never get a ticket? That's what happens to a traveler who buys a ticket for her daughter on Spirit Airlines. Her credit card charges her, but Spirit has no record of the transaction. Find out what happens when she discovers the "ghost" reservation and learn what you can do to prevent the same thing from happening the next time you book an airline ticket online. > In The Travel Troubleshooter.

>> On Ticked.com <<

** A Smorgasbord Of Smells
Ever sat next to a passenger who made you want to tear off your nose in despair? The aircraft is a smorgasbord of smells, as I've already mentioned in a previous column. But there are more culprits than the body's proverbial whoopee cushion. Odors are all around us, and when you put a couple of hundred passengers in a pressurized aluminum tube, those smells tend to get … concentrated. Here are a few other plane smells - and what you can do to make sure you aren't responsible for any of them. > In A Frank Steward.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** Travel Safety 'Experts'
It's always a good idea to keep an eye on - and an eye out for - the competition. So the other day I ran a search on Google for "travel safety expert." The search returned 69 listings, nine of which pointed to columns I've written or articles where I've been cited. Not a bad percentage I suppose, except that the search also returned 24 listings for Kevin Coffey, my one serious competitor in the corporate travel safety biz. What's more Coffey captured the top listing as well. (Rats!) This exercise was both instructive and motivational, but the most interesting part was in the listings that were returned from other "travel safety experts." > In Terry Riley's column.

** Who's Next?
Which airline is going out of business first? No network carrier is immune to a bankruptcy filing - or a liquidation - but some are less immune than others. (And if they don't go out of business, then they'll at least get an extreme makeover.) Conventional wisdom says US Airways will be toast soon. Some of the travel trade bulletin boards look like Vegas odds sheets predicting the day it stops flying. But I don't think that calendar is in print yet. US Airways is in a really bad situation which was brought on by a set of rose-colored glasses during its first emergence from bankruptcy. A lot has changed and I think that US Airways is not only on the right track, but it is on a strong track for survival. > In John Frenaye's column.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

** 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.

>> Flashback: Beginnings <<
This week, we look at a few of our favorite debut columns. Flashback is sponsored by Dream of Italy, the award-winning newsletter about Italy.

** Rental Lots Get Remote
When I arrived at San Francisco International Airport a few weeks ago, I was greeted by signs warning me that if I wanted to drop off a rental car, I'd better plan on getting to the lot an hour and a half before my flight leaves. SFO is in the middle of a $2.4 billion expansion project that will, among other things, consolidate and relocate its car rental facilities. But instead of pooling the rental areas closer to the terminals, the airport is moving the lots farther away. It turns out San Francisco isn't alone. At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the common rental area will be pushed toward the perimeter by 1999. Boston, Houston Intercontinental, San Jose and Kansas City are considering similar moves. > In The Travel Critic.

** Don't Know Jack
Drug addicts. That's what international business travelers behave like when they're on the road. Jittery with jetlag and disoriented after a marathon flight, they crave their next e-mail fix. Without a nearby phone jack to plug in to, they become despondent, moody and withdrawn. What a perfect opportunity for a scam. It was bound to happen sooner or later. The laptop computer industry is $16 billion-a-year business, according to International Data Corp. Connecting all of those portables to the Internet is a top priority for new users, especially if they're business travelers. It should hardly come as a surprise, then, that the hardware manufacturers peddling everything from filters and line tester to adapters are enjoying double-digit sales growth. > In the Travel Technologist.

** TV Ads And Travel Fatigue
"Americans are asking: 'What is expected of us?'" President Bush says in a new TV ad sponsored by the Travel Industry Association of America. To which a chorus of hotel employees, airline crew members and cruise line staff answer: "We ask you to live your lives. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America's great destinations." But the president and the travel industry may be asking too much of us. Americans aren't just wary of travel; they're sick of it. And it's going to take more than a couple of commercials to get them back. > In Opinion.

** Is Business Travel Obsolete?
Business travel, as we know it, is obsolete. Fed up with high prices and feeling the pinch of a contracting economy, road warriors stopped buying expensive trips last year. The effect on the travel industry was nothing short of catastrophic. Airlines lost more than $7 billion in 2001, even though planes were flying at capacity levels, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade group. Some business travelers have stopped buying altogether. Here's why. > In Power Trip.

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