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Random Thoughts
Cheap Charlie · April 30, 2001

USAirways/United

It looks like the US Airways/United merger will being going through. But there is still hope that common sense prevails and keeps US Airways separate from United. Keep writing to your congressmen. When bureaucrats are involved there is little hope for consumers in the field of airline regulation.

Orbitz

Another word of airline pain is the news that the Department of Transportation has apparently given Orbitz the green light for its new, airline-controlled, online ticket-selling site. Personally, I find it hard to believe that the government would give the go-ahead to open collusion between the airlines, but it appears to be the case.

The airlines can now control their own ticket distribution and cut out travel agents, travel agency sites and all the middlemen. The airlines claim that they will save money, but I'll wager that when all is said and done, the costs to sell a ticket through Orbitz will be about the same as selling through Travelocity or Expedia. The real benefit will be their airlines' ability to use another avenue of potential collusion. Time will tell. Get ready for fireworks.

British Airways (BA) seating

I just returned from a transatlantic trip on BA. I was faced with the first case of airline personnel letting me know in advance that I would not fit in the seat assigned to me - 37B. It seems I am too tall and that there is so little distance between the seats in the rear of the BA 747s that most over six-foot tall will not be able to sit comfortably.

I guess there is some sort of good news/bad news component to this situation. At least, they warned me. I normally would have boarded the plane and squeezed into my seat before discovering the lack of space. This time I was warned.

Remember that with the touted BA service comes a real negative - very, very cramped space. I was amazed. Concerned flight attendants found a couple of center seats in the rear of the plane so that I at least had an empty seat next to me allowing me to sit sideways. It would have been a bummer if all seats were filled.

I haven't personally experienced the 747 seating on other airlines, but if BA is the norm, passengers should be booking American Airlines flights. I know the extra space in coach is real. It makes a big difference.

Rick Steves' Guidebooks

These have become my favorite guidebooks. I am a person who travels "very affordably." Well, you might say, "cheaply." But I love good food and decent accommodations. Cheap prices and good value are not exclusive.

Rick Steves has listed hotels and restaurants that are excellent in terms of providing good value for your money. The only problem is that these places are getting filled with Rick Steves' readers. Call ahead and make reservations.

Rick's hotel selections are normally very comfortable and not dirt cheap. They are are, in my experience, much better than those found in the Let's Go guides.

I have used his guidebooks in Paris, Madrid, Rome and Sorrento and in every case they have been on the money. Basically, Rick and his researchers can be trusted to have visited these places and what you read is what you get. You can trust these books to present the truth.

That is more than I can say for many other so-called guidebooks. Most are a sorry compilation of outdated materials coupled with plagiarized descriptions and phone updates that do not provide more than a verification of prices.

Another benefit of the Rick Steves' Guidebooks is the excellent walking tours and museum tours he provides. I love his book titled, Mona Winks. It provides museum tours of the most important museums in Europe. The city-specific guide books also include the same museum tour and art explanation materials for each city.

The only drawback to the Rick Steves approach is that the information is a bit sketchy, however you can augment his descriptive materials with the Michelin Green Guides that provide more sites and basic historical details.

Rick also has an excellent web site that include many places not include in his guidebooks as well as a valuable travel newsgroup. Visit it at http://www.ricksteves.com

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.