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

October 3, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Travel Better
* Question of the Week: Bothered By Bankruptcy?
* Protect Yourself (It's Free)
* This Week in Travel
* Five Worst Airports Ever
* Rudest Flight Attendants
* Air Fenway
* What's The Status Of Your Status?
* A Debit Memo Debacle
* Flashback: A T2 Retrospective
* Ten Things Every Travel Site Should Avoid
* Can 'Purple Demon' Avoid Orbitz Errors?
* Airlines Double As Travel Agents
* Pull The Plug On Orbitz?

>> First Off <<

** Travel Better
Sometimes we lose sight of why this newsletter is published. We do it to help you travel better - to pay less and to enjoy more. And this week's newsletter accomplishes that mission. Joel Widzer tells you how you can make sure your elite status lasts into the next year. Charlie Leocha compares airline seats to the bleachers at Fenway Park, and he tells you why it should matter. James Wysong goes looking for the friendliest flight attendants. In an archived column, I tell you which airports to avoid. And I also answer the question of whether you should ever pay your travel agent's debit memo. Finally, in our special flashback section, we take a look at T2 - better known to most of you at Orbitz. It was sold to Cendant last week, a deal that, as far as I can tell, will not benefit travelers in any way (I've been promised an interview with a Cendant executive next week, however).

>> 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).

>> By The Way <<

** Question of the Week: Bothered By Bankruptcy?
Whether you're flying on United, US Airways or looking to book at ticket on Delta, the possibility of your trip being interrupted (or canceled) by bankruptcy is higher than ever today. This week, we want to know if it's already come to that. Has your flight been delayed, rescheduled or canceled because of the airline's problems? Have you had a harder time redeeming frequent flier miles? Is bankruptcy becoming a hassle? 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.

** Protect Yourself (It's Free)
If your airline goes belly-up, what's going to happen to your frequent flier miles? Is your airline ticket safe if you're traveling on a bankrupt carrier? Be the first to get the answers to those questions. Subscribe today to Travel Notes, the new daily travel newsletter. Every morning, you'll get the latest news in fast-format - no ads, no spin, no graphics. It's pure, distilled information. > Here are the details.

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> Survey: Business Travel Recovering (10/1)

> More Travel Dot-Com Mergers Ahead? (9/30)

> Cendant to Buy Orbitz For $1.1 Billion (9/29)

> Cruise Lines Under Attack Over Access Strike (9/28)

> Storm-Battered Florida Wants Visitors (9/27)

> 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 <<

** 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.

>> On Elliott.org <<

** Five Worst Airports Ever
No airport is perfect. Each one has its flaws, whether it's Palm Beach International Airport's confusing access roads, Juneau International Airport's maddening fog or Las Vegas airport's omnipresent cigarette smoke. Frequent travelers understand that. They deal with it. But when an airport is so imperfect that we go out of our way to avoid it, when we would rather drive for hours to the next major city than bother with it and when we warn everyone we know to stay away, far, far away - well, those airports deserve special recognition. I'm here to help. In a previous column, I told you about the five best airports for layovers. Now I'm going to talk about the five worst. > Details in an archived Power Trip.

(Did I already mention this is an archived column?)

>> On Ticked.com <<

** Rudest Flight Attendants
Are the flight attendants on low-fare carriers ruder than those on network airlines? Is the service, like the amenities, no-frills? I had to wonder after the reaction to my last column, in which I suggested you'd get shortchanged in the service department when you flew on a cheaper airline. In fact, a lot of readers e-mailed me to say they'd been treated better by crewmembers on the low-cost carriers. So which is it? > In A Frank Steward.

** Air Fenway
I wedged myself into the tiny seat. My knees were jammed into the back of the chair in front of me. No room for a Knee Defender. But I considered myself lucky - at least I had an aisle seat. People were standing up to food and drinks. Every now and then, an attendant would scoot down the aisles with snacks. Watching the show was almost impossible. It was miserable. Only two hours to go. Then someone walking up the aisle hit my elbow knocking my beer all over my leg and down into my shoes. No apology. Just a grunt. > Read more in Charles Leocha's column.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** What's The Status Of Your Status?
It's time to give your elite status a boost. I'm not talking about your frequent flier mileage statement - I'm referring to the number of points or miles you have that will provide you elite membership with your preferred airline next year. Elite membership is becoming more difficult to earn, so this is the time to think ahead. Otherwise, you could lose your status. Why worry? Here are a few reasons. > In Joel Widzer's column.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** A Debit Memo Debacle
It's been six months since you took that flight from Dallas to Greenville, SC. But what's this? A bill from your travel agent for $404? Yes, it is. Your agent just got a debit memo from her airline and now she wants you to pay it. For one traveler faced with that problem, settling up doesn't solve anything. When he tries to get a refund from the airline, he runs into a brick wall - and has to call for help. Will he ever see his $404 again? Find out. > 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: A T2 Retrospective <<
This week, we look back at one of my favorite subjects: Orbitz, or T2 as it was known before it launched. Let's just say my coverage was never neutral in any way. Flashback is sponsored by Dream of Italy, the award-winning newsletter about Italy.

** Ten Things Every Travel Site Should Avoid
Mistakes are made all the time in the online travel business. A strategic blunder here, a bad investment there. But the first half of this year has seen more than a fair share of flubs by marquee travel brands. These aren't simple missteps, but full-blown blunders that leave us utterly baffled. What am I referring to? Let me offer a few hints. Try to think of the worst mistakes a travel Web site could possibly make. In no time at all, you'll have guessed the identity of this mysterious start-up. > In Inside Interactive Travel.

** Can 'Purple Demon' Avoid Orbitz Errors?
An indignant e-mail about my last column on Orbitz criticized me for suggesting that "announcing your intentions almost a year before you're prepared to take your first booking" is a mistake every online travel company ought to avoid. "You are assuming there was no strategic reason to do this," quipped the reader. The note was signed, "Alex 'the monopolist' Zoghlin." All of which brings us to last week's news: the revelation that six major carriers have been toiling away in secret for the last year to form a Web site that will sell distressed airline inventory. Is it possible that Hotwire, which was known in the airline business as Project Purple Demon, learned something from Orbitz' premature announcement? > In Inside Interactive Travel.

** Airlines Double As Travel Agents
The Department of Justice is investigating it. Southwest Airlines is suing it. Consumer groups are attacking it. And it hasn't even opened business. What's all the fuss about? A controversial travel site called Orbitz. After a string of embarrassing delays, the venture backed by five major U.S. airlines is scheduled to launch this week amid a promotional blitz that will reportedly cost $100 million. That makes it the highest-profile travel dot-com to debut since Microsoft flipped the switch on Expedia in 1996. > In US News & World Report.

** Pull The Plug On Orbitz?
These aren't the best of times for highflying Orbitz, the low-fare travel site owned by the nation's major airlines. The Justice Department is investigating the dot-com to determine whether its agreements with suppliers are anticompetitive. And a survey recently revealed that some of its airfares were up to $2,000 cheaper than those quoted by rival online travel agencies Expedia and Travelocity, suggesting that the government has every reason to be concerned. Should someone just pull the plug on Orbitz? Closing down the site would delight a long list of critics. Travel agents who are worried about what they call "disintermediation" - or being eliminated as middlemen - regard Orbitz as a poster child for the process. Orbitz competitors Expedia and Travelocity and their lobbying arm, the Washington-based Interactive Travel Services Association, want it gone, too. Never mind the journalists who cover Orbitz and have been put off by its arrogant corporate culture. > In Opinion.

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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.

** 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.

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

* Demographics
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* Travel Notes by E-Mail newsletter circulation - 3,771
* Last month's total unique visitors
Elliott.org - 56,883
Ticked.com - 27,541
Triprights.com - 8,832
Not2far.com - 3,040
Travelcomment.com - 11,053
Total network visitors - 105,296

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