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

January 4, 2005

Rental Tracking Case Goes to Court
The state's highest court will hear arguments tomorrow over whether a rental car company was allowed to use satellite tracking to slap customers with hefty penalties when they're caught speeding. American Car Rental says it was within its rights when it used G-P-S tracking software to spot drivers going over 79 miles per hour for more than two minutes. Each time they did, the company fined them 150 dollars. In 2002, the state's consumer protection commissioner ruled that those fines were oppressive and violated Connecticut's Unfair Trade Practices Act. The company was ordered to refund all the speeding fees it collected. (AP) Posted 5:35 a.m.
• 'Golden State' of Privacy in California (Wired)
• Full Text of GPS Tracking Law (CA Legislature)

This case is potentially as important as the California GPS tracking case of a year ago. If the high court sides with customers, we will all benefit.

LA Sues Sites Over Room Taxes
Internet travel sites are cheating cities on taxes by pocketing the difference between the hotel room tax they pay and the amount collected from consumers, the city of Los Angeles said in a recent lawsuit. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, alleges that companies including Priceline.com, InterActiveCorp.'s Expedia, Cendant Corp.'s Orbitz and Sabre Holdings Corp.'s Travelocity have underpaid so-called transient occupancy taxes. "The lawsuit has no merit," said Kendra Thornton, a spokeswoman for Orbitz, adding that the company plans to aggressively defend itself against the allegations. (Reuters) Posted 5:45 a.m.

Skies Are Safer For Air Travelers
Only 34 people have died in U.S. commercial airline crashes in the past three years, making it one of the safest periods in aviation history even as more Americans than ever travel by air. On Oct. 20, a Corporate Airlines twin-engine turboprop crashed into the woods on approach to the Kirksville Regional Airport in Missouri, killing 13 people. Those were the only fatalities aboard U.S. scheduled airlines for the year. (AP) Posted 5:50 a.m.

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Lost in Translation
Accents are wonderful; they are the variables that make the English language interesting. They are the ingredients that seem to spice up this plain, but popular, way of talking. It's when a person has a different comprehension of a common saying that things can get really interesting. (Travelcomment.com) Posted 6:55 a.m.

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Airline Unions Resisting More Cuts
The unexpected sick calls that management says caused hundreds of US Airways flights to be canceled and thousands of bags to be mishandled Christmas weekend could be a sign of things to come as angry workers across the airline industry fight further cutbacks. There's little evidence of an organized resistance. Leaders of the flight attendants and bag handlers unions at US Airways strongly deny management's claims that there was an organized sickout by their members. (USA Today) Posted 6:05 a.m.

US Airways Machinists: No Deal
Mechanics at US Airways Group Inc. don't expect to reach a voluntary agreement with the company on labor concessions, a union executive told Reuters. That could increase the possibility a bankruptcy judge will throw out the union's contract this week, which would allow the airline to impose new terms. Randy Canale, president of the International Association of Machinists unit at US Airways, told the news agency the union will return to the bargaining table Tuesday. However, he said the concessions under discussion are unacceptable and he was not optimistic an agreement could be reached. (Biz Journal) Posted 6:10 a.m.

El Segundo Sues LA Over Airport Expansion
El Segundo on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging Mayor James Hahn's $11 billion-plus modernization plan for Los Angeles International Airport, becoming the first of four public and private agencies that have indicated they will sue by week's end. The Superior Court lawsuit alleges that the project's environmental review violates the California Environmental Quality Act by failing to analyze or lessen its noise, traffic and air quality effects and by providing no assurances that LAX's growth will be constrained. (Daily Breeze) Posted 6:15 a.m.

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