LAST CHANCE TO SUPPORT OUR ADVOCACY
Our fall fundraiser ends at midnight
33% raised
Let me be direct, because diplomacy isn’t my thing. We’ve raised only one-third of what our nonprofit advocacy organization needs to keep going.
That keeps the lights on, but it doesn’t keep us moving forward.
Here’s what’s riding on the next few hours:
An expansion of our customer service database to 3,000 companies from our current list of 2,000.
A buildout of our free Backchannel forum to include a wiki/knowledge base on how to fix the most common consumer problems.
Our November surprise, a secret project to improve customer service.
Without funding, these projects are frozen.
At midnight, the fundraiser closes. Make a donation by then and you’ll get your name on our list of underwriters as a fall supporter. It’s the last chance this season to get on it.
You read this newsletter because you hate getting stuck, stonewalled and overcharged. This is how we help the next person who is. Please make a tax-deductible donation today. Every penny goes directly to the advocacy.
Aren Elliott, Christopher Elliott and Iden Elliott on Lufthansa flight 713 from Seoul to Frankfurt last month. The author is hogging the armrests. (Photo by Christopher Elliott).
💺 Armrest diplomacy — Jacket weather is coming, and millions of passengers are about to spend hours wedged between strangers in a seat nobody picks on purpose. A pilot, two etiquette experts, a hip surgeon and a physical therapist all have rules for it. Here they are.
On Backchannel, John Clark can’t work out why the bumping rules cap his compensation at $2,150 when his international fares start around $4,000.
For Members Only: The Venetian will pay $1.6 million to settle claims its website handed visitors’ guest records and messages to outside companies, and I read the agreement looking for a promise to stop. It isn’t in there. So how do you book a hotel without being followed? — Christopher Elliott
FEATURED ARTICLE
Surviving the middle seat: A field guide to aviation’s worst conflict
Alex Gervash, a commercial airline pilot, says the middle seat sets off a psychological mechanism called perceived loss of control, and your fight-or-flight system runs at a low simmer for the whole flight. Etiquette experts agree that both armrests belong to you, though knowing the rule and enforcing it are two different jobs. A Hawaii attorney who has spent years refining her kit now boards with two inflatable lumbar pillows, a carabiner water bottle and a jacket engineered out of pockets. What are the new rules for surviving the middle seat?
OUR UNDERWRITER
Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Learn more about Global Rescue.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
Surviving the middle seat: A field guide to aviation’s worst conflict
A commercial airline pilot explains why the middle seat keeps your nervous system on alert for an entire flight, and etiquette experts settle the armrest question for good. A Hawaii attorney who has spent years refining her kit now boards with two inflatable lumbar pillows, a carabiner water bottle and a jacket engineered out of pockets.
Guilty until proven innocent? You are if you rent a car.
Howard Gross photographed a tire pressure warning light minutes after collecting his Alamo rental in Nice, France, and a manager later put the warning light in writing. Alamo billed him $752 for the flat tire that followed, and a Hertz customer got a $4,567 scanner-generated claim with a repair estimate listing zero days of work.
How a French château became a modern art spa — minus the clichés
Monique Pignet didn’t want a castle. Her family bought one in the Loire Valley anyway, restored it by hand over 17 years and turned it into a wellness resort with more than 40 resident artists, a spa inside ancient caves and a former fire juggler running the place.
StubHub told me to sell my Lady Gaga tickets elsewhere, then they charged me for it
Tony Rogozinski called StubHub to cancel his Lady Gaga listing before selling the seats privately, and an agent assured him no further action was needed. The listing stayed active, the tickets sold on the site a second time, and StubHub charged him $864 for an order he couldn’t fill.
Holland America canceled my cruise because of a pricing error. Can it do that?
Cindy Woodring booked a 10-day Zuiderdam sailing at $479 a person, applied a $200 credit and paid the $758 balance in full. Three days later Holland America called the fare a pricing error and billed her $1,530 more, then offered a complimentary stateroom upgrade to anyone willing to pay it.
Hells bells! How did these AC/DC tickets go from front stage to the worst seats in the house?
Jerry Auer paid $506 for AC/DC tickets at Notre Dame Stadium after StubHub’s seating chart showed Section 121 beside the stage, and the official venue map put those seats behind it. StubHub fixed the flipped map the day after he reported it, then used the corrected version to tell him he had bought precisely what he ordered.
Triple-stacking and high-low tracking: New strategies for preventing luggage loss
Virgin Australia scanned my son’s purple Peak Design rollaboard in Queenstown and again in Melbourne, then lost track of it for almost 48 hours. Travel experts now recommend stacking trackers on separate networks, adding a battery-free QR tag and photographing the 10-digit barcode on your bag tag at check-in.
OUR UNDERWRITER
INFplans.com is a specialized travel medical insurance platform dedicated exclusively to non-U.S. residents traveling outside their home country, including to the United States, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, and other global destinations. Key differentiators include coverage for travelers up to age 99 and unique options for pre-existing condition coverage, benefits that are rarely available in the visitor insurance space. With a simple online experience and a seasoned support team, INFplans.com makes it easy for non‑U.S. residents to secure the travel medical protection they need to explore the world with confidence. Travel with confidence with INFplans.com
💬 What you’re asking on Backchannel
These DOT rules are confusing.
John Clark flies international routes where the cheapest ticket he has bought in decades ran about $4,000, so the wording of the federal bumping rule stopped him cold: 200% of your one-way fare, capped at $1,075, or 400%, capped at $2,150. He read that as losing most of his fare. Does a cap on denied boarding compensation mean the airline keeps your money? Here’s our team’s answer on Backchannel.
OUR UNDERWRITER
International Citizens Insurance helps expats, travelers and anyone far from home find the right insurance plan. Our knowledgeable agents will help you find the best plan at the right price and be your advocate for the life of your policy.
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