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

February 16, 2004

United's 'Ted' Takes Off
United Airlines' low-cost carrier Ted deposited a hundred or so bleary-eyed passengers from San Francisco in Las Vegas just after sunup last week on the first flight of a new service that industry analysts say is a roll of the dice for United. United, the dominant carrier at San Francisco International Airport, is hoping that Ted, its latest try at running a carrier-within-a-carrier, will help pump up revenues for its struggling parent company, UAL Corp., which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. SF Chronicle | Posted 6 a.m.
-- Tribune: Ted takes off in "low fare land"
-- Sun-Times: New airline is getting "star-Ted"

• Sure, Ted's a gamble. And OK, it might just be nothing more than a paint job and new attitude, as I've observed in a previous blog posting. But I do like the fact that Ted is embracing a one-class configuration, making for a more egalitarian flight experience. Send us your comments.

Need a Room? Try Silicon Valley
The hotel industry in Silicon Valley will miss out on an expected 2004 nationwide upward trend in occupancy and room rates as business people continue to stay away from high-tech's Mecca. While the rest of the Bay Area begins to dig out of a nationwide drop in business and leisure travel, Silicon Valley hotels will see more empty rooms and lower prices through 2004 and into 2005 because of the lack of business travel, says Tom Callahan, an analyst for PKF Consulting, a hotel consultation service. "Things are getting better in San Francisco, but it is a long way from good," Mr. Callahan says. "The closer you get to San Jose, the worse it gets. We think the area is bouncing on the bottom." San Jose Business Journal | Posted 6:15 a.m.
-- Reuters: Marriott swings to fourth-quarter profit

Run-in With TSA Screener Appealed
Officially, it is a classic he-said, she-said. Legally, it has resulted in the arrest and conviction of Diane Williams Paul for disorderly conduct, a case that has been appealed from Davidson County General Sessions Court to the county Criminal Court. The events took place in the same type of pedestrian-clogged corridors traversed daily by America's weary air travelers, many filled with worries about airborne terrorists intent on turning airliners into cruise missiles. These are the corridors where government agents poke through the flying public's underwear. People go through metal detectors and are subjected to wands. Their stuff is X-rayed; their papers are checked. The Tennessean | Posted 6:20 a.m.

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• And finally ... it's a holiday here in the States. Not much happening, except that US Airways' employees are mulling what's known as the plan - a last-ditch management effort to pull the moribund carrier back from the brink. Interestingly, the plan is something the airlines' critics have been suggesting for months, if not years. Why did it take them so long to get it? Posted 6:30 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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