4/11/2008 at 10:18 AM
Tags: Frontier, Richard Branson, Virgin America, Chris Elliott, Airlines, Airline Bankruptcy (all tags)
So now Frontier has filed for bankruptcy, though the carrier won't be shutting down operations during its "restructuring." That means it's time for people on the WWW to start the guessing game as to who's next. Chris Elliott leads the way this morning with a few ideas--complete with odds of bankruptcy. (Sorry, Sun Country, but 2 to 1 is pretty bad.)
Noticeably absent from the list is Virgin America, which some industry analysts say is a candidate for closure. But maybe Elliott left VA off his list because Richard Branson is making the media rounds, talking up his American carrier:
They're doing well ahead of budget and we're very happy with the performance... If you sit here in three or four years time, it'll be flying to all the major American cities.
Well. We'll see.
Given how rapid the Skybus implosion was--and how up-and-down all this renewed Delta merger talk is--we're gonna sit out this round of speculation. If you've got any real info on what's next, you'll find us at the airport bar.
Related Stories:
· Airline Deathwatch: Place Your Bets Please [Elliott]
· Branson Says Virgin Will Not Fail [Reuters]
· Airline Investors Find They're Losing Altitude [Houston Chronicle]
by pbb
1/08/2008 at 5:01 PM
Tags: Disney World, Disney, Restaurants, Chris Elliott (all tags)
Tired of kids ruining your Disney World vacations? You're in luck! Tireless consumer advocate Chris Elliott, who visits Disney, like, all the time, says Victoria & Albert's restaurant will stop letting in tots under 10.
But rather than give knee-jerk criticism, Elliott realizes that this is actually a great move by Disney, which gets plenty of adult guests along with all those kids:
I've been to Victoria & Albert's, and it's a first-rate, five-diamond establishment where men are required to wear jackets and women must wear dresses or pantsuits...Saying "no" to kiddies isn't such a bad idea. After all, the adults need their own playground, too.
Related Stories:
· Victoria & Albert's [Official Site]
· WDW's Swankiest Restaurant Bans Kids [Orlando Sentinel]
· Kiddies Verboten at Disney World Restaurant [Elliott.org]
· Disney World Restaurant Bans Children [AP, via Google]
· Disney Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Vortech]
by pbb
11/26/2007 at 3:50 PM
Tags: Jaunted, Chris Elliott, Websites, Travel Websites (all tags)
Chris Elliott rocks. Are we just saying that because he named us one of the most influential travel bloggers of 2007? Nope. On more than one occasion travel's true ombudsman helped crack Skybus, serving up the executives' phone numbers so stranded passengers could at least call someone.
Chris serves dutifully as the arbitrator of travel customer service queries daily in every media imaginable. Television, radio, Interwebs and even print. He's the Diddy of travel, with his hands in a bit of everything, and the bottom line is if you aren't listening to his conversations you're probably missing something.
Related Stories:
· Skybus Contact Phone Numbers Revealed [Jaunted]
· Skybus Has a Phone Number [Jaunted]
· Skybus coverage [Jaunted]
by Jaunted
11/13/2007 at 4:00 PM
Tags: Skybus, Low Cost Carriers, LCCs, Chris Elliott (all tags)
Calling Skybus? When pigs fly...
Yesterday, after giving it considerable thought, Chris Elliott published the phone numbers of Skybus' top executives. His thinking went that if the airline asks that people email rather than phone in complaints, the company should respond to those emails. Chris says Skybus wasn't doing that, and went ahead with giving consumers the contact info they needed to resolve problems.
Until the Skybus people changed their phone numbers.
So stranded and wronged passengers were stuck again, and Chris stepped up with more ammunition: cell phone numbers for the same five Skybus execs. There's no telling how long until they change these, too, but for now it's Chris 2-Skybus 1.
Related Stories:
· Skybus Contacts Revealed (Updated) [Elliott]
· Skybus Has a Phone Number [Jaunted]
· Skybus coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: InterAir Media]
by pbb
8/13/2007 at 5:15 PM
Tags: Travel Media, Chris Elliott, Wendy Perrin (all tags)
When it comes to the travel media these days, you're more likely to get a list of quick bite-sized info than a lengthy essay expounding the virtues of some far-away land. But then again, sometimes all you want are the down and dirty facts. These five lists would do Sgt. Joe Friday proud.
· 130 Travel Gurus [Concierge]
· 3 Ways to Stay Healthy in the Air [WorldHum]
· 10 Great Small Towns [USAT]
· 5 Road Trips to Avoid [Elliott]
· 50 Places to Live and Play [NG Adventure]
[Photo: NG Adventure]
by pbb
5/09/2007 at 12:07 PM
Tags: Skybus, Chris Elliott, Airlines, Flight Attendants, Skybus-Flight-Attendant-Tryouts (all tags)
We wonder, if Emirates Air, an airline that is all about high class, is hiring "hot, young flight attendants", does that mean Skybus, an airline about no-frills, the exact opposite of Emirates, is hiring the inverse of hot young flight attendants? Looks like we will find out on May 11.
Skybus will be interviewing for flight attendants between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. this Friday at the Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corp., 1111 E. Broad St. in Columbus, Ohio.
Furthermore, Skybus will be hosting interviews for flight attendants beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Fort Rapids Holiday Inn, 4560 Hilton Corporate Dr., on the East Side.
Skybus Airlines' low fares have already resulted in 200,000 bookings since the Columbus anchored carrier started selling tickets April 24.
Oh, and if you go to the tryouts, send along photos and reaction.
Want to contact Skybus directly, travel super sleuth Chris Elliott tells you how in the comments here.
[Photo: rick]
Related Stories:
· Skybus [Jaunted]
· Skybus hires employees as it gets ready for departures [Columbus Dispatch]
by markj
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