• What's elliott?
• About elliott
• Contact us

t o p i c s

• Business
• Commentary
• Destinations
• Help
• Leisure
• Technology
• Vault

Copyright Elliott Publishing. All rights reserved. For more information, call (305) 453-4781 or send e-mail to us.

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

Underwritten By Cheapflights.com — Compare sales, specials and cheap flights to any destination.

September 29, 2004

Cendant to Buy Orbitz For $1.1 Billion
The Cendant Corporation, which owns Avis car rental and the Days Inn hotel chain, is close to a deal to buy Orbitz, the online travel service controlled by an alliance of airlines, for about $1.1 billion, executives close to the talks said yesterday. The boards of Cendant and Orbitz were meeting separately last night to approve the sale, the executives said, and are scheduled to announce the transaction this morning. The deal would end an online experiment by the nation's airlines. It comes at a time when consumers, as well as business travelers, are increasingly bypassing traditional travel agents in favor of the Internet. The New York Times | Posted 6:45 a.m.
• 5,000 Chicago Jobs Could Be Moved (Tribune)
• Quick Cash For Troubled Airlines (Telegraph)

Will somebody please explain how this is going to benefit travelers.

Hilton Cuts Ties To 'Rip Off' Agencies
Hilton joined the swelling ranks of hoteliers threatening to pull their services from online travel companies that they claim rip off their customers. David Michels, the chief executive of Hilton, hit out yesterday at websites that create "customer confusion and limit choice". He said: "Some distributors increasingly promote hotels that deliver them the highest margin, rather than offer full choice to customers. We will cut ties with any distributor that misrepresents our products in any way. Unreasonable practices regarding our customers and our hotels need to be nipped in the bud." Independent | Posted 6:35 a.m.

Fla. Hotels in Tatters After New Storm
The trio of hurricanes that hammered Central Florida damaged scores of hotels, with Jeanne being especially brutal on small, family-owned motels lining Brevard County's barrier islands. In Melbourne Shores in south Brevard, the storm surge overwhelmed soft sand dunes on which many of the motels are perched against the edge of the ocean. At the Surfcaster Motel, manager Teresa Marquez walked behind the small motel on Tuesday and stopped where the grass dropped off 4 feet to the beach below. "You see where we're standing?" she said. "Last week, we could walk out another 36 feet." Sentinel | Posted 6:35 a.m.

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Cruise Suit - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider whether foreign cruise lines sailing in U.S. waters must comply with a federal disabilities law requiring better access to passengers in wheelchairs. The case seeks to determine what Congress intended when it passed the landmark American Disabilities Act in 1990 barring discrimination against the disabled in the enjoyment of services in places of "public accommodation." AP | Posted 7 a.m.

Delta Announces More Cuts - Delta Air Lines' chief executive said Tuesday he is declining his six-figure salary for the rest of the year as he announced a 10 percent pay cut for executives, ticket and gate agents and other staff. CEO Gerald Grinstein also said in a memo to employees that the nation's third-largest airline will cut retirement benefits and increase employee contributions to health insurance as part of its plan to avoid bankruptcy. AP | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Burglar Targets Deep Blue - A gunman tied up a worker in a Kennedy Airport restaurant and made off with about $8,000 yesterday, authorities said. Around 12:10 a.m. yesterday, a worker in JetBlue Airways' restaurant, called Deep Blue, reported that as she went into a room in the back of the restaurant where the safe is located to deposit cash in it, she was confronted by a man with a gun. Newsday | Posted 7:10 a.m.

-----------------------------------

• Off the Record ... It's time to give your elite status a boost. Joel Widzer isn't talking about your frequent flier mileage statement - he's referring to the number of points or miles you have that will provide you elite membership with your preferred airline next year. In a just-posted column, he explains that elite membership is becoming more difficult to earn, so this is the time to think ahead. Otherwise, you could lose your status. Why worry? Here are a few reasons. Posted 7:15 a.m. | Send us your comments.

>> Yesterday's Notes | Tomorrow's Notes <<

E-mail Elliott | Other bloggers | About this blog

Latest Travel Notes | Complete Archives