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

August 25, 2004

Northwest, United Add New Fees
Northwest Airlines Corp. plans to begin charging customers and travel agents extra fees for domestic tickets that are not booked through the airline's Web sites. The airline said Tuesday the new fees will lower the airline's cost of selling all tickets to about $5, or the same as it now spends selling them through its Web sites. The changes will save the airline about $70 million annually, bringing Northwest's distribution costs in line with those of low-cost carriers such as JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and Independence Air, said Tim Griffin, Northwest's executive vice president of marketing and distribution. AP | Posted 6:30 a.m.
• Fees May Nudge Travelers to Web (Knight-Ridder)
• Sabre Fights Back; Northwest Responds (PR Newswire)

Northwest's reasons for doing this, which are to bring its costs in line with that of the low-cost carriers, don't make any sense. None of the other airlines charge a fee to buy a ticket in person.

Two Jets in Suspected Terror Incident
 A Russian airliner crashed and a second disappeared from radar about the same time Tuesday night after both planes took off from the same Moscow airport, raising fears that terrorism was involved. A distress signal was activated on the second plane, a Russian news agency reported. An emergency officials said that all 43 people aboard the first plane were killed in the crash and that what were believed to be pieces of wreckage from the second plane carrying 46 people had been found. The planes left Moscow's Domodedovo airport 40 minutes apart, news agencies reported. AP | Posted 6:35 a.m.

Florida is a Cruisin' State
 Cruise lines spent $4.6 billion on direct purchases in Florida in 2003, generating 130,750 jobs that paid $4.7 billion in income, an annual study by Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) said. The study, commissioned by the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), shows Florida as leading the nation in cruise industry economic benefits. In 2003, the study shows Florida accounted for more than 35 percent of the entire North American cruise industry's direct spending and 44 percent of all cruise-related jobs. Biz Journal | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Hidden Cost of Using Mobile Phones Abroad - Consumer groups say holidaymakers are being ripped off because of the huge and confusing variation in cost between phone companies and packages. An Evening Standard inquiry shows some phone owners are charged almost £15 every time someone from home calls them for 10 minutes. Evening Standard | Posted 7 a.m.

Survey: No Loyalty to Travel Sites - The newly released "Consumer Survey Report, Travel 2004" from JupiterResearch revealed that travelers don't display allegiance to any particular vendor, shopping 2.5 online vendors on average. Online travel services that are likely to secure return trips from consumers are those that offer "best-rate guarantees," the report found. Clickz | Posted 7:05 a.m.

EDS Blamed For Reservation Snafus - When a computer glitch delayed hundreds of American Airlines and US Airways flights around the country earlier this month, the blame fell squarely on Electronic Data Systems Corp. An EDS-run computer system had gone haywire. The timing couldn't have been worse for EDS. AP | Posted 7:10 a.m.

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• Off the Record ... I've heard from numerous travel agents since Northwest's "pay in person" announcement yesterday (or, to them, the "agency tax"). I've tried to imagine what it would be like if another business did this. What if your favorite pizza restaurant added $5 to your bill if you ordered take-out instead of eating in (you know, all that lost revenue from tips)? But the more I think of it, the harder it is not to conclude that this is purely a money grab by Northwest. And here's another prediction: there's no way this is going to stick. Posted 7:15 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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