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http://www.elliott.org

September 12, 2004

>> Inside <<

* Remembering 9/11
* Question of the Week: Dealing With Airline Bankruptcies?
* This Week in Travel
* That's The Spirit
* Unsung Heroes
* Panhandlers in Pinstripes
* The 'Sign Here' Scam
* Crescent City Confections
* Flashback: 9/11
* How Will This Change Travel?
* Traveling With a Conscience After 9/11
* Something For Nothing
* 9/11 Saved Business Travel

>> First Off <<

** Remembering 9/11
Since this newsletter broadcasts on Saturday - which happens to fall on Sept. 11 - I found myself with a choice to make late Friday. Should we obsess about another 9/11 anniversary - or should we ignore it? After all, it's been three years since the terrorist attacks. Shouldn't we be getting on with our lives? Then Charlie Leocha sent me an e-mail late Friday night. He asked if wouldn't mind posting a link to "Unsung Heroes" in this edition. Then I looked through the archives. We've written so much about 9/11, and reading the columns helped me understand how far we've come since then - and, in a sense, how far we still have to go. Not that we were preoccupied with 9/11. This week, we also have new stories from James Wysong and a troubleshooter column, plus a new destination feature about praline-hunting in New Orleans.

>> Underwritten By <<

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>> By The Way <<

** Question of the Week: Dealing With Airline Bankruptcies?
United Airlines is bankrupt. US Airways is expected to file for Chapter 11 protection soon. So is Delta Air Lines. How are you protecting yourself against an insolvent airline? We need your tips, strategies and tactics for flying the bankrupt skies. Are you booking away from the airlines? Canceling your trips? Taking out travel insurance? Send us an e-mail at and include your full name, city, and what you do for a living. Remember, your story could mean free luggage.

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

>> This Week in Travel <<

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

> Jamaica Braces For Hurricane Ivan (9/10)

> Ivan 'The Terrible' Grinds Caribbean (9/9)

> U.S. Warns of Indonesia Hotel Attacks (9/8)

> Frances Leaves Dent in Tourism (9/7)

> 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 <<

** That's The Spirit
Spirit Airlines, the no-frills carrier headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, shocked the travel industry this week when it offered free tickets to fly on Sept. 11. "The sky should be full of Americans on that day," said its defiant chief executive, Jacob Schorr, who estimated that the move would cost the airline $500,000. Spirit's move stands in sharp contrast to the major airlines, which are reducing schedules on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. American Airlines and United Airlines, the nation's two largest carriers, announced that they would pare the number of Sept. 11 flights because of weak bookings. Delta Air Lines is reportedly reducing its schedule for the entire week. British Airways announced it is canceling around two dozen flights to the United States. > In an archived Opinion.

>> On Ticked.com <<

** Unsung Heroes
Airline flight attendants are the country's unsung heroes in our current "War on Terrorism." Immediately after the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorism events, the media was filled with stories about "real heroes" - rescuers, police and firefighters who risked their lives to save workers in those buildings. Those gallant emergency workers were racing up stairs into harm's way while the office workers were filing down the stairs away from danger as quickly as possible. The firefighters, EMTs and police deserve every accolade they receive. Flight attendants are another unstudied group of workers who, as we are discovering, are faced with potential danger every time they go to work. > In Charles Leocha's archived column.

>> On Travelcomment.com <<

** Panhandlers in Pinstripes
Who are the airline executives responsible for running an entire industry into the ground? How do they get the job, and who arranges their generous pay packages? For the past few years, the U.S. aviation industry has seen tough times. But have their paychecks suffered? I was shocked when the airline I previously worked for closed its doors. The company didn't have enough money to pay the employees' last paychecks or for the fuel to get their airplanes back home, but they did have enough to pay off the golden parachutes for the top brass. While the employees scrambled for their pensions, the fat cats at the top got paid first. > In James Wysong's column.

>> On Triprights.com <<

** The 'Sign Here' Scam
You've pre-paid for your rental car, but the agent still wants to swipe your card. It's just in case of an accident, she promises you. But when you get home, you discover your card was charged to the tune of $605, for insurance that you didn't order. That's the problem facing one Avis customer who rented a car in France. Can we write this one off to a language barrier - or was this motorist scammed? Plus, find out how you can make sure this doesn't happen to you. > In Fix My Trip.

>> On Not2far.com <<

** Crescent City Confections
On a French Quarter morning as subdued as the previous night is unrestrained, the aroma of coffee and fresh baguettes, of beignets and powdered sugar, of a muddy Mississippi river churning its way toward the Gulf, fill the sultry air. But take another whiff. What's that? Something sweet. Something sinful. It must be the unique confectionary creation known as the praline. > In Not2far.com's Destination of the Week.

>> Also Underwritten By <<

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>> Flashback: 9/11 <<
Since it's the Sept. 11 anniversary today, we're taking a look back at some of the stories written about the subject since then. Flashback is sponsored by Dream of Italy, the award-winning newsletter about Italy.

** How Will This Change Travel?
The tragic terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center in New York and punctured a hole in the Pentagon have changed the way we will travel forever. But how? The government froze commercial airline travel as a first response-an unprecedented measure that practically guaranteed no further air assaults, but also grounded passengers and hampered an ailing airline industry. When planes start flying again, everything is likely to move at a dramatically slower pace. Lines at the airport will be longer, delays more protracted than before, and freedoms that we once took for granted may no longer be available to us. > In The Travel Troubleshooter.

** Traveling With a Conscience After 9/11
We aren't the same travelers we were a year ago. How could we be? The September 11, terrorist attacks affected us like nothing else. The changes that have taken place, though subtle, are important. We've developed a deeper awareness of ourselves and our role in the world. We've refocused our priorities, abandoning short-term, save-a-buck attitudes to ones emphasizing long-term sustainability. Saving money still matters, but not as much as it used to. In other words, we've become travelers with a conscience. > In The Travel Tightwad.

** Something For Nothing
United Airlines wants $1.8 billion. US Airways is asking for $900 million and Amtrak needs $100 million. And who are they hitting up? You. The airlines are going to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board while the National Railroad Passenger Corporation is requesting the money from Congress, but the bottom line is: that money could come out of your pocket when you pay your taxes. And here's a question that's gone unasked in the debate over whether the government ought to salvage these carriers. What's in it for us? What are United, US Airways and Amtrak doing in exchange for our help? Apparently nothing. > In Opinion.

** 9/11 Saved Business Travel
Did the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 kill business travel? Conventional wisdom suggests that the attacks inflicted massive damage on corporate travel, grounding frequent fliers such as Brooks Hurd. "If you fly on short business trips, your travel time is sometimes doubled by security checks," says Hurd, a consultant for the San Luis Obispo, Calif., semiconductor industry. "Why bother?" The numbers appear to support that assertion. The Travel Industry Association of America predicts business travel will remain flat this year and rebound only to 2000 levels by next year. In Opinion.

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