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

October 31, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Pamper Yourself
* Has Your Mileage Account Ever Been Audited?
* So You Don't Like My Politics?
* This Week in Travel
* Luxury Ships, Lower Prices
* The Tourist is Back!
* Shut Up!
* Keep Your Penis
* Virgin's Artificial Reality * Just Following Orders
* Flashback: Five Stars, Please
* The Lure of Luxury Adventure Online
* The Price is Right
* Best First-Class Cabins
* Home, Suite Motor Home

>> First Off <<

** Pamper Yourself
Charlie Leocha's column about Virgin Atlantic's incomparable Upper Class experience couldn't have come at a better time this week. We'll all need a vacation after the upcoming election, and what better way of getting there than in the front of the cabin? I've also got a story about this fall's secret bargains on luxury cruises, plus a retrospective on columns about upscale travel. We also have all-new features from the Occidental Tourist (remember him?), Joel Widzer, James Wysong and, of course, a brand new troubleshooter case. Finally, there's a little note for those of you upset about last week's newsletter.

>> 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.

>> By The Way <<

** Has Your Mileage Account Ever Been Audited? Has your frequent flier mileage account ever been "audited" by an airline? If so, what was the outcome? Were you awarded more miles? Were miles deducted from your account? How long did it take, and what did you think of the process? 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.

** So You Don't Like My Politics?
In last week's newsletter, I said I didn't like either of the major-party U.S. presidential candidates and that I had voted for "none of the above." I also suggested that the current administration's travel industry policy - in particular, the way in which it subsidized dying legacy carriers - is flawed. I noted that you should consider yourself fortunate if you weren't an American and didn't have to choose between the two candidates. Boy did I hear back from readers. A few took my statement to non-Americans - "lucky you" - out of context, as if I weren't comfortable with my U.S. citizenship. That's unfortunate, and of course, untrue. Many supported my position, which I found gratifying. But a small and unmannered minority expressed outrage that I would dare to express a political opinion, and demanded to be unsubscribed. Although it's my policy not to read or respond to flames, I'd like to point out that the unsubscribe process is automated and that directions are at the bottom of every newsletter.

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> Dot-Travel Domain Approved (10/29)

> Report: Screeners Improperly Trained (10/28)

> ATA Files For Bankruptcy Protection (10/27)

> Travel Industry Recovers - Finally (10/26)

> Mystery Illness Strikes Vegas Hotel (10/25)

> 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 <<

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>> On Elliott.org <<

** Luxury Ships, Lower Prices
The cruise industry must believe that loose lips sink ships. Otherwise, they'd share their secret with the world: This fall, prices on luxury cruises are better than ever--and they're not likely to plunge this low again for a while. It's "a price anomaly," says Daniel Kwoh, chief executive of cruise specialist 7 Blue Seas. "Major cruise lines are selling out and raising prices. But luxury cruise lines have inventory and are surreptitiously lowering prices." Harold Lockwood discovered the luxury loophole when he was looking for an alternative to the buffet lines and predictable ports of a standard Caribbean cruise. He found a 12-night Viking River tour to China, with stops at the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City. The price for the once-in-a-lifetime getaway: about $3,600 per person, double occupancy, all meals and airfare to and from China included. > Details in US News & World Report.

>> On Ticked.com <<

** The Tourist is Back!
Ahh, another year, of travel for the Tourist. So, as Donald Trump says on his TV ad campaign ... did you miss me? Hah! The Tourist didn't miss you either. He was too busy with more tales of horror, mistreatment and devastation on the road. (Yes folks, the Tourist returns for his very special annual column. Read it here!) > Get the details in The Occidental Tourist.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** Shut Up!
The day is coming when the last vestige of serenity - the aircraft cabin - will become polluted with ring tones and annoying conversations. While making bothersome mile-high phone calls still requires approval from The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, it widely expected to come in 2006. That's almost enough time educate passengers on when to talk - and when to shut up. > In Joel Widzer's column.

** Keep Your Penis
He was Michael by day and Michelle by night. Our airline had hired him as a male and would not recognize his preference to be female until specific surgery was completed. Apparently, he was unsure of his commitment to go through with it, so he took some time to think it over. Even if it did interfere with the big picture, I can also imagine that he may have been a little more than sentimentally attached to the member in question. > In James Wysong's column.

** Virgin's Artificial Reality
We've all seen those airline ads that tout splendid service. They're good for a few laughs. But the rhetoric in the magazines and on TV never seems to match the reality in the sky. Normally, this disconnect is something that I let roll off my back. It has never really bothered me. Until recently. I subscribe to many business and travel magazines and have been bombarded with a series of Virgin Atlantic advertisements for their Upper Class service that are bound into the publications. They're cleverly designed to appear to be emergency information cards normally found in airline seatback pockets. > In Charles Leocha's column.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** Just Following Orders
What's travel insurance worth? If you booked your airline ticket through Priceline and Uncle Sam comes calling, not much. Even though one traveler takes out a cancellation policy to cover a possible change in his fiancée's schedule, the site won't budge after he's redeployed. Should it? How can you prevent this from happening to you? And what, exactly, is in the fine print of those insurance policies? > In Fix My Trip.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

** ProTravelGear.com
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>> Flashback: Five Stars, Please <<
Luxury travel is making a comeback. Or so they say. But haven't they been saying that for years. A look at previous columns reveals that yes, they sure have.

** The Lure of Luxury Adventure Online
Can adventure travel be luxurious? Can you rough it and be pampered at the same time? Are activities like deep-sea fishing and tennis compatible? Can hiking through the jungle be followed by a five-course meal or a massage? Is it possible to conclude a hard day of Scuba diving with a cocktail reception? For years, luxury adventure travel has been a favored pastime of trust fund kids and eccentric overachievers and the almost exclusive domain of high-end tour operators like Abercrombie & Kent - in other words, a niche within a niche. Although there are no reliable figures on the size of this highly specialized market, there's evidence that the Web is now giving it a boost. Or, at least, that it could be. > In The Online Adventurist.

** The Price is Right
Mina Soares envisioned a 40th birthday bash with her pals in an exciting locale. But as the big day drew near, the Baltimore financial analyst faced a midlife booking crisis: pay full price for a trip or gamble on a last-minute cut-rate deal online? "I was afraid I'd be stuck with a plane ticket with five stopovers," she recalls. "I was afraid I'd have to stay in a seedy motel." But she couldn't resist the deal on site59.com, a purveyor of discount travel: 3 nights at the historic Le Pavillon Hotel in New Orleans for only $238 per person, double occupancy, including roundtrip airfare with just one stop. > In US News & World Report.

** Best First-Class Cabins
The closest most air travelers will ever come to a first-class seat is the humiliating "perp walk" to the economy-class section during boarding. No, we aren't criminals, but we sure feel like second-class citizens when we shuffle past the already boarded elite passengers, who glare at us between sips of their mimosas as if we're no better than cargo. Squeezing our frames into the tiny steerage seats is arguably the final insult. Yet a fortunate few - by luck or through the miracle of frequent-flier miles - will one day ascend to the coveted front of the cabin. > In Power Trip.

** Home, Suite Motor Home
What do you buy when you already own a house in River Ranch, Fla.; another in Newark, Ohio; and a campground in Ruidoso, N.M.? A luxury motor coach. At least that's what retired oil engineer Ed McCauley did when he paid $297,000 for his 33-foot-long 2004 Country Coach Allure, which has a living room so spacious "you could have a dance in it," says his wife, Phyllis. Luxury motor coaches - don't you dare call them campers - are the latest craze in upscale vacation abodes. Demand for motor homes has doubled in the last decade, to about 320,800 units a year, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. > In US News & World Report.

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** FrequentFlier.com
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** 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.

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

* Demographics
* Elliott's E-Mail newsletter circulation - 30,307
* Travel Notes by E-Mail newsletter circulation - 3,771
* Last month's total unique visitors
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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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