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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
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December 5, 2003

Good News, Finally — Things are looking up for beleaguered airlines such as United. It's shaping up to be a decent holiday travel season, and there have been no major incidents such as weather delays or labor unrest. United reports that in November it had only one flight cancellation out of 7,614 departures, while overall traffic was up from last year. Not bad. > Did I jump ... or was I pushed? That's the question many of you are asking, now that I've decided to stop writing for all of USA Today, including its op-ed page. To be honest, a little of both. My relationship with USATODAY.com started heading south months ago, when my editor expressed misgivings about the direction of my online Troubleshooter column. It was just too opinionated, he said. On at least one occasion that I can recall, I offered to resign. No, I was told — we can work this out. But we couldn't, and since the newspaper is part of the same happy family, there was really no point in continuing a relationship with it, either. > And finally, for all you conspiracy theorists out there: Why did a US Airways VP call one of my news outlets before I parted company with USA Today, breathlessly reporting that I had been "fired" from the paper? Please don't ask me to connect the dots.

December 4, 2003

Withdraw Orbitz IPO? — The "quiet" Orbitz filing for an initial public stock offering I reported last week is proving to be a dog with the Wall Street press. And that's before the dog-and-pony "road show" where institutional investors and analysts are given a polished, oh-to-hell-with-the-quiet-period presentation. "Will Orbitz's IPO fly?" asked a skeptical Forbes magazine. "There’s no guarantee its losses are over," adds Crain's Chicago Business. So, should Orbitz just call it a day and wait until it is profitable for a stock offering? It may be the right thing to do, but it's unlikely. Lack of profits and shaky future prospects aren't enough to stop a stock from being sold on the street. > Thank you: Of all the reaction I've received in the wake of the USATODAY.com implosion, one has left me speechless. It was a concerned call from a publicist for a major airline who I've worked with on Troubleshooter columns, but who I've also been extremely critical of in the past. "We appreciate the job you do," he said. "Even though you are an advocate for the reader, we think you are fair, and if you want us to call USATODAY.com and tell them that, we will." I politely declined the offer. No one there is listening, anyway. (By the way, the Troubleshooter will continue to be published on this site.) ALSO: Hear my story on hotel surcharges for NPR.

December 3, 2003

Double Trouble — My "in" box is overflowing with e-mail from the US Airways/USATODAY.com fiasco. "Didn't even know you wrote for USA Today," mused one reader. (Well, that really puts this non-event into perspective.) "USATODAY.com sucks!" wrote a former US Airways employee — a comment I don't agree with entirely. I mean, I kinda like the sports section. One current US Airways employee responded: "I have to admit that after reading what happened to you, someone was definitely upset about your comments towards US Airways. I work for the godforsaken company and can tell you that since Siegel came on board, the last thing they want to do is please a customer." And here's another note, from reader Bill Lamb: "Just read about your column getting axed, and your reply, which pretty well gutted them. Looks as if they have all the PR savvy of Baghdad Bob, but at least Bob became a celebrity through his bumbling. Their reply will be interesting ... if they reply."

December 2, 2003

Dropped — Insisting that US Airways had absolutely nothing to do with its decision, USATODAY.com late yesterday notified me of its intention to discontinue the Travel Troubleshooter. In an e-mail, the site's editor-in-chief said he did it because my column contained unsupported opinions, left readers with a perception that I had an ax to grind with US Airways, and that this blog gave viewers the impression I could no longer be objective. Ouch. But the letter raises more questions than it answers. If my opinions were unsupported, then why didn't an editor ask for the needed documentation? Why did all of my comments get past two editors? Why didn't anyone from USA Today ever ask me to stop blogging? And, most important, why did every one of the articles he cited as examples that "crossed a line" involve US Airways, when I've been even more critical of other travel companies in the column? I asked, but got no answer. > Let's put this into a little context: Everything I've ever written for USA Today has been 100 percent accurate. No corrections have ever been run on any of my stories. Essentially, USATODAY.com is jettisoning an opinion columnist for having — good heavens! — an opinion.

December 1, 2003

Happy Thanksgiving! — Travelocity has some good news for us: Airport wait times were shorter than expected last weekend. All those predictions of chaos, I guess, were completely off the mark. At airports around the country, average wait times were consistently below 20 minutes from the curb drop-off all the way through security, the dot-com reported. So I wonder if any of those media outlets who warned us of all the doom and gloom last weekend will run any corrections? > Oh no, not again: Just when US Airways thought the Rosemary Daly case would go away, here she is on public radio. And here I am again, trying to help her. LATE UPDATE ... I got a call and e-mail from USAToday.com late this evening, telling me my services were no longer required. I'll post the details tomorrow.

Note: This Web log represents my personal views at the time of their writing. My views are subject to change without notice. Further, I can't vouch for the accuracy or integrity of links to source information.

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