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

August 19, 2004

After Storm, Fla. Hotels Turn to Scams
Florida's attorney general is looking into more than 1,000 complaints of price-gouging after last week's hurricane that left thousands homeless. Attorney General Charlie Crist said on Tuesday he filed his first round of civil complaints against two hotels for charging "unconscionable rates". Hurricane Charley's death toll rose to 20 after an 86-year-old man fell and died after being evacuated to a motel. More than 2,000 people are in temporary shelter and 639,000 are without power. The Florida attorney general said he had filed civil complaints over price-gouging against hotels in the West Palm Beach and Lakeland. BBC | Posted 6:30 a.m.
• Details of Charges Against Two Hotels (State of Florida)
• Gouging Complaints Are Pouring In (The Ledger)

The price-gougers have paid me a visit here in Winter Springs, Fla., too. One of them wanted $1,500 to remove a limb that had broken off a tree during hurricane Charley. Remember, price gouging is a crime. If you live in an area affected by the storm and witness it, report it to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at (850) 488-3022.

No Car Rental For You, Deer Motorist
She stood at the car rental counter a few weeks ago in utter amazement. Here Holly Aguilo was all ready to pick up a 12-passenger van to take on a family vacation to upstate New York and the clerk behind the counter was shaking her head no. "She said, 'We can't rent to you,' " Aguilo recalled. "She told me, 'Something came up on your license check.' " Speeding tickets? No - although Aguilo admits she's had a couple minor ones over the years. Accidents? Well . . . now we're getting warmer. Aguilo, who lives with her husband and four kids in rural Lyman, has become a habitual deer magnet. Press Herald | Posted 6:35 a.m.

Delta to Cut Jobs in Restructuring
Struggling Delta Air Lines Inc. plans additional job cuts as part of its effort to avoid bankruptcy, chief executive Gerald Grinstein said late Wednesday in a memo to all employees. "When our plan is successfully implemented, we will be the leaner, simplified, more productive airline we must be in order for us to survive and compete," Grinstein wrote. "Regrettably, one of the consequences will be fewer jobs and additional changes to pay and benefits for all of our employees as we make operational changes to achieve the necessary cost savings." AP | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Details of O'Hare Flight Cuts Released - Some U.S. airlines agreed Wednesday to cut or limit flights at O'Hare International Airport here after meeting with officials of the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration. To ease congestion at the world's busiest airport, domestic airlines will limit to 88 the number of scheduled hourly arrivals between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said in a prepared statement. Currently, as many as 132 flights per hour arrive at O'Hare during peak times. Dow Jones | Posted 7 a.m.

More Fuel Surcharges in Europe - Air France and its unit KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, as well as British Midland Airways, announced new fare surcharges on Wednesday as a result of higher fuel costs. They follow similar moves by British Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa. Bloomberg | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Perfume Shuts Down Fort Wayne Airport - A broken bottle of a perfume ingredient leaking from an unclaimed bag sickened an airport worker and closed down the Fort Wayne International Airport's terminal for nearly 10 hours Wednesday, delaying about 40 flights. The liquid was spotted leaking from a bag no one had picked up about an hour after an American Eagle flight arrived from Chicago at 1:50 a.m., airport officials said. AP | Posted 7:10 a.m.

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• Off the Record ... Charlie Leocha is known to most of us as a respected travel columnist. But he e-mailed me late yesterday with a breaking news story that needs no comment. Leocha had discovered a severe privacy breach the holidayautos.co.uk Web site that had the potential to reveal personal data and travel plans of hundreds of thousands of car rental customers. By changing the URL in a reservation, Leocha could access customer names and ages, phone numbers, fax and mobile numbers, addresses, dates of travel, flight information, partial credit card information as well as their basic car rental data. The company has admitted that there is a "loophole in the system." Posted 7:15 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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