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

August 17, 2004

InterContinental, Expedia Part Ways
Intercontinental Hotels Group, which has North American headquarters in Atlanta, has severed ties with Expedia and Hotels.com and joined with Travelocity. Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), has certified Travelocity and Travelocity Business as third-party distributors of its more than 3,500 hotels worldwide, including Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites hotels. In May, IHG adopted a new standard for its portfolio of brands for selling or re-selling hotel room inventory via any and all online travel companies. Under the new standard, IHG is committed to only working with distributors and their affiliates that do not engage in confusing and potentially unclear marketing practices, respect IHG's trademarks, ensure reservations are guaranteed through an automated and common confirmation process and clearly present fees to consumers. Business Journal | Posted 6:30 a.m.
• Expedia Refused To Comply With Standards (BTN)
• Euro Sites Not Worried About Intercontinental (Times)

Anyone who isn't confused by the displays on Expedia, please raise your hand.

A Solution to ORD Mess? Milwaukee
Milwaukee airport officials hope O'Hare's mess is Mitchell's gain. Chicago's busiest airport recently got the attention of the feds because of its overwhelming congestion. Now, officials here boost their marketing efforts to try to win some of the passengers and airlines fed up with overcrowded conditions to the south. Mitchell officials recently made a deal with Orbitz. When passengers request a trip through O'Hare, an Orbitz window pops up informing the customer about cheaper fares and parking fees ninety minutes north at Mitchell. They've also created a web site called: "avoidthechicagoordeal.com." CBS 58| Posted 6:35 a.m.

Government Takes Over No-Fly List
Homeland Security officials said today that they planned to begin screening airline passengers against a list of potential terrorists, taking over a responsibility now carried out by the airlines. Advocates for tougher screening requirements as well as civil libertarians have sharply criticized the current system, under which airline employees check passenger names against government watch lists to ensure that terrorists do not board airplanes and that law enforcement officials are promptly notified of potential security risks. The New York Times | Posted 6:45 a.m.

UK Air Travel Chaos Looms - Travel chaos looms for air travelers at the end of the month as a union at British Airways set strike dates over a pay row. The GMB said thousands of check-in and other staff would walk out on one of four days – August 27, 28, 29, or 30 – unless the long running dispute is resolved. Herald | Posted 7 a.m.

US Airways Seeks Pension Payment Delay - US Airways Group Inc., which is desperately seeking new labor deals with its employees to avoid a second trip into bankruptcy, said Monday it is seeking to conserve cash by delaying required payments to its machinists' and flight attendants' pension plans. The airline said it would ask the Internal Revenue Service for permission to defer about $68 million in funds for those plans, making those payments over the next five years, rather than the next 18 months. AP | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Delta Buys Baggage Finder - Delta Air Lines will invest up to $25 million in a new system to track lost luggage using radio frequencies, becoming the first airline to roll out technology nationwide as others in the industry also explore such techniques to reduce costs, improve security and reduce traveler aggravation over lost baggage. Business Travel News | Posted 7:10 a.m.

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• Off the Record ... many thanks to all of you who expressed your concern about our safety during last weekend's hurricane. The eye of Charley passed almost directly over our office in Winter Springs, Fla., and we were without power until yesterday evening. But we survived, and are bracing what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season. Posted 7:15 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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