• What's elliott?
• About elliott
• Contact us

t o p i c s

• Business
• Commentary
• Destinations
• Help
• Leisure
• Technology
• Vault

Copyright Elliott Publishing. All rights reserved. For more information, call (305) 453-4781 or send e-mail to us.

E L L I O T T ' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

August 13, 2004

Charley Takes Aim At Tampa Area
Hurricane Charley bore down on the Tampa Bay area late Thursday, packing winds of more than 100 mph and a potentially deadly storm surge that prompted hundreds of thousands of residents to clog highways and bridges as they fled the coast. More than 800,000 residents in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties hit the road in the largest evacuation in the region's history. In all, 1.9-million people in 11 counties, including coastal areas of Hernando and Citrus, were told to evacuate. That was the right response, said Gov. Jeb Bush, who witnessed the power of Hurricane Andrew when it hit South Florida in 1992. Bush called it "a scary, scary thing." St. Petersburg Times | Posted 4:30 a.m.
• Tampa Airport To Close This Afternoon (Tribune)
• Orlando Braces For Tornadoes, High Winds (Sentinel)

Obviously, this isn't the weekend to visit Florida. For the latest storm updates, I recommend checking the National Hurricane Center site.

Report: Airlines Cut Costs By Less
The biggest U.S. airlines cut costs by $12.7 billion -- far less then they planned -- at the most turbulent point of the industry downturn while discount carriers boosted expenses and attracted substantially more business, a government report showed on Thursday. While much of the industry and U.S. transportation officials have aggressively touted the rebound in air travel this year, a separate report by a transportation watchdog noted an uneven recovery. Acting at the request of lawmakers who have given the industry $7 billion in cash and billions more in loan guarantees, insurance backing, and pension and tax relief since the 2001 hijack attacks, congressional investigators reviewed self-help measures taken by the airlines. Reuters | Posted 4:35 a.m.

US Airways Bankruptcy Imminent
An investment banker for US Airways' pilots union said the airline's finances could collapse within a month, prompting the union to accelerate contract concession talks. "As a result of various financial pressures, it is highly likely the company will seek bankruptcy protection no later than mid-September," said the report prepared by Glanzer & Co. The airline, which emerged from Chapter 11 protection in March 2003, had previously said it might return to bankruptcy if its various employee unions don't approve $800 million in contract concessions before then. The airline said the contract concessions are crucial to its goals to cut $1.5 billion in costs; and said it could default on a federally guaranteed $900 million loan if unions don't ratify the concessions by then. AP | Posted 4:45 a.m.

Need a Low Fare? Check Out This Airport Site - At a time when travelers are flocking to low-fare air carriers - and Internet use by air travelers is at record levels - Norfolk International Airport is directing more marketing resources to the Internet. The airport has become the first in the area to build a Web site for the sole purpose of showcasing low fares. AP | Posted 5 a.m.

Delta's Slide Continues - Delta Air Lines' stock fell for the 15th consecutive session as the price of oil continues to spike amid fear the company is a mortal lock to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. With a net loss of $2 billion in the second quarter and management scrambling to get $1 billion in wage concessions from pilots, time is running out for the nation's fourth-largest carrier -- and with the price of oil passing $45 a barrel on Thursday, the pressure is growing. TheStreet.com | Posted 5:05 a.m.

More Travelers Swapping Homes - When Carol Powers and Harold Eisley of Mesa decided to take a European vacation earlier this year, they didn't scour the Internet for discount hotel rates. In fact, they didn't pay for a hotel at all. Instead, they spent a month for free in a stranger's house outside London. In return, they are letting the English homeowners stay in their Leisure World house next February. Republic | Posted 5:10 a.m.

-----------------------------------

• Off the Record ... what's your wait time going to be at the airport security checkpoint? That used to be something of a mystery. But now, thanks to a new TSA Web site, it isn't. The site, launched just this week, lets you calculate your average wait time, based on the time of day and terminal you're using. And while it's helpful, it's only an estimate - actual wait times may vary. Posted 5:15 a.m. | Send us your comments.

>> Yesterday's Notes | Tomorrow's Notes <<

E-mail Elliott | Other bloggers | About this blog

Latest Travel Notes | Complete Archives