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

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September 27, 2004

Storm-Battered Florida Wants Visitors
As Florida recovers from its fourth hurricane assault, the tourism industry worries that cleaning up the Sunshine State's image could prove the hardest task of all. Hurricane Jeanne brought the latest wave of grim media accounts from storm-weary Florida, and churning radar images of a fierce storm once again seemed to cover the entire peninsula. To counter the negative publicity, Florida's tourism agency wants a $30 million emergency marketing campaign -- more than it spent after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks sent the travel industry into a tailspin. And hotels are pressing conventions to return to Florida next summer and fall amid concerns that meeting planners won't risk letting the weather ruin their events. ''Because of what transpired this year, people will be a little more gun shy about booking during hurricane season,'' said Barney Lusina, a meeting planner based in Santa Ana, Calif. Miami Herald | Posted 6:45 a.m.
• Jeanne Kills 4 in Florida, Now Tropical Storm (Reuters)
• 2.5 Million People Without Power After Cyclone (AP)

As someone who weathered this storm, I can tell you this was the scariest one yet. I hope this is the end of hurricane season. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

Cruise Lines Cope With Storm Delays
Anyone who books a cruise to the Caribbean during hurricane season is taking a chance that the ship may have to be rerouted because of high seas and strong winds. This year, those late-summer bookings have turned out to be a particularly bad bet. Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan have wreaked havoc on Caribbean sailings, forcing at least a half-dozen cruises to be canceled as of early last week, while dozens of others have sailed with modified itineraries. That has meant visiting ports other than those scheduled to steer clear of bad weather or shortening some cruises, while some were actually lengthened waiting for Florida ports to reopen. The New York Times | Posted 6:35 a.m.

Network Airlines Must 'Adapt Or Perish'
The biggest players in the aviation industry increasingly are running on fumes and are being overtaken by their smaller, more nimble competitors. That's become even more apparent now that yet another airline, US Airways, has filed for bankruptcy court protection. While the old-line airlines draw up fantastic plans to whisk passengers around the world in minutes in the thin ether at the borders of space, they can't seem to develop a business plan that makes money. Although impressive in scale, the sheer size of many U.S. carriers may render them powerless in their contest against relatively small, low-cost companies. How will they survive? What changes will airlines need to make to stay competitive? What will the industry look like in five, 10 or 15 years? Courier | Posted 6:35 a.m.

US Airways: 'High Probability' Of Liquidation - US Airways, seeking $38 million per month in temporary labor concessions, faces the "high probability" of liquidation by mid-February 2005 if the cuts are not approved by US Bankruptcy Court. The nation's seventh-largest airline made that disclosure in documents filed late Friday with Alexandria, Va., bankruptcy judge Stephen Mitchell, asking him to rule on the temporary request by Oct. 14. Without the emergency concessions, which include an across-the-board 23 percent pay cut and a host of changes to employee retirement plans, US Airways told the court that it has enough cash to last only another four and a half months. Post-Gazette | Posted 7 a.m.

Hawaiian Settles With SEC - Hawaiian Airlines Trustee Joshua Gotbaum says the airline has a reached a settlement with federal regulators over a $25 million stock buyback two years ago. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also reached a settlement with the airline's former chief executive officer and the company's majority stockholder over charges stemming from the buyback. KPUA | Updated 9 a.m.

New York Bans GPS Tracking Of Rentals - A new law prohibits rental-car companies in New York from using global positioning systems to keep track of their customers. Gov. Pataki yesterday announced he signed the law, which grew out of concerns that companies were using GPs finders to track whether drivers were violating the terms of their contract. The satellite technology can tell whether a car leaves a contractually designated area and even how fast it is traveling. Lawmakers say a company in Connecticut was found to be charging drivers extra who were found to be speeding. Post | Posted 7:10 a.m.

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• Off the Record ... Charlie Leocha wedges himself into the tiny seat. His knees are jammed into the back of the chair in front of him. No room for a Knee Defender. Uh-oh, is he on another flight from hell? Hardly. In a just-posted column, Cheap Charlie reports from Fenway Park, where he's finally found seats that are less comfortable than those in economy class. Posted 7:15 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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