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

June 9, 2004

US Airways Passenger Attacks Cop
A US Airways passenger slapped a federal air marshal after refusing to sit down and repeatedly ignoring orders to get off her cell phone, which she said would be "rude,'' federal prosecutors charged Tuesday. A public defender was appointed to represent Lilia Belkova, who will remain in jail pending a bail hearing Thursday. Belkova was charged with assaulting a federal officer and interfering with a flight crew after her Miami-Philadelphia flight returned to the gate last Wednesday to drop her off. The trouble started when she refused orders to turn off her phone while Flight 26 was taxiing for takeoff, saying: "It is rude to hang up on people. I don't have to turn my phone off.'' AP | Posted 6:30 a.m.
-- Post: Ex-CEO Siegel gets job at Gate Gourmet
-- Biz Journal: Airline cuts fares to Florida, Caribbean

• What a circus. I'm almost tempted to run with a colleague's idea to start publishing a US Airways "deathwatch" feature. But I don't think the airline needs to be reminded of its many shortcomings. Or that the proverbial clock is ticking. Send us your comments.

Looking for a Cheap Hotel? Better Call
If you usually book your hotel room online in hopes of saving some cash, a new Consumer Reports study suggests you pick up the phone instead. After getting hotel prices on-line, Consumer Reports researchers were able to get better prices, three times out of four, by calling on the telephone and haggling. Consumer Reports assigned one of their reporters to call hotels for their lowest rates. When the hotel gave the reporter a room rate, the reporter would then use a rate found on the Web as leverage for a better price. If the reservation agent couldn't go lower, the reporter asked for a different sort of discount, such as reduced parking or a room upgrade. When discounts were offered, the difference between hotel's standard room price and the price offered over the telephone was $83 per night. For travel sites, the average difference was only $61. CNN | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Pentagon Ticket Scandal, Part 2
The Defense Department spent an estimated $100 million over a six-year period for airline tickets that were not used and failed to seek refunds, even though the tickets were reimbursable, congressional investigators say. The department compounded the problem by reimbursing employee claims for tickets bought by the Pentagon, the investigators said. To demonstrate how easy it was to have the Pentagon pay for airline travel, the investigators posed as Defense employees, had the department generate a ticket and showed up at the airline ticket counter to pick up a boarding pass. Congress' General Accounting Office (GAO) issued the findings in two reports on the Pentagon's lack of control over airline travel, copies of which The Associated Press obtained yesterday. A prior report, issued last November, found that the Pentagon bought 68,000 first-class or business-class airline seats for employees who should have flown coach. AP | Posted 7 a.m.

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• And finally ... of all the columns this site has ever had the privilege of hosting, Joel Widzer's has had the most controversial launch. "It's so biased toward the old style airlines that it reminds me of the scene in 'Caddyshack' where Rodney Dangerfield slips Brian Doyle Murray some cash while asking him to 'Keep it fair - keep it fair'," says reader Tom Lace. I agree, but I also think what Widzer says is important. I may not always agree with it, but it's important. By the way, speaking of contributors, check out Terry Riley's new book, The Complete Travel Diet. Posted 7:10 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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