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

May 6, 2004

Hidden City Case Picks Up Steam
A federal judge says millions of passengers on Northwest Airlines, US Airways and Delta Airlines will be included in a lawsuit over a disputed cost-saving practice known as "hidden-city ticketing." The practice of "hidden-city ticketing" is one in which travelers seek to save money by using only part of a multi-stop ticket. Airlines say it constitutes fraud and penalize travelers who do so. A traveler using the practice would buy a ticket for a flight with an intermediate stop, then get off at that stop, in cases where the price for the two-stop trip would be lower than the one-stop. The Free Press | Posted 6:30 a.m.
-- Lansing Journal: Flier suing for $1 billion in damages
-- Detroit News: Covers 12-year period of activity

• The airlines will lose. Why? Because rules against hidden-city ticketing aren't just unfair, their unenforceable. I know - I've been on the case for a long time. Send us your comments.

TSA Screening Fines Are a Surprise
The next time you fly, make sure you're not carrying a sharp object in your carry-on luggage. If security screeners find you with something, the government may make you pay for it. The government is beginnig to issue citations with fines that begin at $200. Earlier this year the government began enforcing a new guidelines, and new fines for passengers who bring banned items to the airport. And in some cases, passengers have no idea those fines are being levied until long after their trip is over. Volunteer medic Michele Dunlap no idea the 4-inch bucknife she forgot to remove from her medical bag would land her in so much trouble. Ever since September 11th, screeners have been confiscating countless objects, but only recently has the government become more aggressive in issuing fines."I'm gonna fight it, I did have it in my bag, but I'm not an evil person." KVBC | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Online Travel Stocks Lose Altitude
Online travel giants are ratcheting up their spending to attract more customers. And that has Wall Street worried. "2004 is setting up to be the year where the leaders in online travel are going to establish themselves. And the way they will have to do it is by promoting their brand, spending on marketing," said Peter Mirsky, an analyst with Oppenheimer. InterActive, which owns industry leading online travel sites Expedia and Hotels.com, reported a better than expected first-quarter profit Monday. But the stock fell 3.7 percent that day due to lower than anticipated profit margins in its travel business. Analysts attributed the margin erosion to rising marketing expenses. CNN | Posted 7 a.m.
-- Business News: Orbitz, TravelWeb settle dispute

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• And finally ... Is the airline industry really recovering. Its trade association, the Air Transport Association, say it is. But its own figures cast doubt on that assertion. And as I pointed out on public radio yesterday, people remain reluctant to take to the skies. Posted 7:10 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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