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

February 24, 2004

Business Travelers Bend the Rules
As far as Wendy Shear is concerned, airline rules are meant to be bent, if not broken. Ms. Shear, a documentary filmmaker who lives in Los Angeles, routinely checks in luggage that weighs more than her free allowance. She waits for her flights in the United Airlines Red Carpet Club, drinking free bottled water, even though she is not a club member. "And I can't remember the last time I sat in economy class," she said. Like a growing number of business travelers, Ms. Shear believes that for every new rule or restriction that the airlines devise, there is a way around it. The New York Times | Posted 6:20 a.m.
-- Post: At hotels, charm can open the door

• Hmmm, that byline looks familiar, doesn't it? Send us your comments.

Columnist Boycotts Delta Air Lines
You know, when you fly a lot, as I do, you need to have thick skin. Things happen. I waited out a five-hour delay in Orlando last summer because the crew didn't show up. I didn't make a peep. Things happen. But 99 percent of the the time, you're treated with some kind of common decency, even in the longest of delays. And here are two uncommunicative, unresponsive, totally unprofessional slugs, who can't spend 10 seconds explaining what happened but who can threaten to call security and mock our anger.(Story is halfway through column.) SI | Posted 6:30 a.m.
-- Read the boycottdelta.org Web site

Car Rental Rates On the Rise
Rental car prices are up about $5 a day nationwide, and it appears that the trend will continue, industry experts say. Rates for midsize cars rented at airports rose an average of 10 percent two weeks ago, according to Abrams Travel Data Services, a Long Beach, Calif., firm that studies car rental rates. "Some of the major companies think the time is right for an increase," said Neil Abrams, president of Abrams Travel Consulting. Industry analysts said the increase will affect leisure and small-business travelers the most because many large companies negotiate corporate rates that would not be affected. The average daily rate nationwide for a midsize car last week was $53 compared with $48 during the same week in 2003. Weekly rates were up $20. Miami Herald | Posted 6:40 a.m.
-- WSJ: Car rates steer higher

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• And finally ... the buzz on the bulletin boards is about the state of security at our airports. In particular, the highly-guarded state of Washington, D.C.'s airports, is making travelers feel as if they're living in the old Soviet Union, not the capital of the free world. Posted 6:50 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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