Top travel writers have the information you need

Back in the early 1600s, when English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon proclaimed that "Knowledge is power," he probably wasn't musing about business travel.

But Bacon's quote still rings true for the intrepid road warrior. Simply put, one who knows about the twists, turns, ebbs and flows of business travel, and understands what it takes to skirt the chaos has a greater chance of getting there and back with a minimum of delays, detours and downright disasters.

The internet is populated with a number of newsletters and a sizeable smattering of business travel columns, blogs and forums written by business journalists, travel industry experts and business people who travel frequently.

Latching on to these epistles is easy: Simply log on or subscribe online, and with regularity the missives will land in your e-mail box. The trick lies in getting to the good stuff, those consistently reliable sources of business travel savvy that dish up useful and reliable information with a minimum of overload and a maximum of brevity.

In my opinion, the best in the business among business travel journalists is Joe Brancatelli, a tell-it-like-it-really-is former executive editor of Frequent Flyer magazine, regular columnist at USAToday, Cond? Nast's Portfolio, Orbitz's "On The Road" and publisher of the highly-regarded, oft-quoted "JoeSentMe" noncommercial weekly newsletter (www.JoeSentMe.com) for business travelers. Joe's real credentials, though, have been earned the hard way, during the 30-plus years he has spent as a globe-circling business traveler.

His pithy comments and regular skewering of the "dunderheads" who run the world's biggest airlines offer a frequently funny, always enlightening read every Friday morning along with uncensored insights into the quirks of a very volatile industry.

Brancatelli also offers up a treasure trove of business travel resources and links along with regular commentary by several nationally syndicated columnists including Joe Sharkey (www.joesharkeyat.blogspot.com), veteran business travel columnist Chris Barnett (syndicated by the Copley News Service), San Diego Transcript technology guru Phil Baker (blog.philipgbaker.com) and other industry experts who volunteer their content. Annual memberships cost $49 and $89, depending on content.

The Official Airline Guide (OAG) puts out a comprehensive newsletter that's free and filled with travel briefings about destinations, airports and airlines, hotels and more. You'll find it at www.oag.com/oag/website/com/en/Home -- scroll down to the "Free Travel Newsletter" box in the left margin and click to sign up.

Travel writers

Travel writer Christopher Elliott (www.elliott.org/about-christopher-elliott.php) collects useful travel news from several sources and sends it along to e-mail boxes daily under the banner "Tripso Today." While some of the information is geared toward leisure travelers, the collection gives broad insight into current goings-on in the airline, hotel and rental car industries.

Longtime business traveler David Rowell (also known as "The Travel Insider") serves up a weekly newsletter that can run to several pages of commentary and speculation about travel industry happenings. While you might not have time to dive into the latest rising (and/or falling) fortunes of airlines, Rowell's Web site and newsletter (www.thetravelinsider.info/) is also loaded with in-depth analyses of the latest travel and technology gadgets, luggage for business travelers and other road warrior resources. The weekly newsletter is free, although Rowell does ask regular readers for voluntary financial contributions to help keep the information flowing.

You don't have to carry an American Express card to take advantage of their regular and useful business travel information. Sign up online for the free Executive Traveler SkyGuide e-Alert Newsletter (www.eskyguide.com/about.cfm) and receive useful information about airport security issues, route changes, and just about anything else that's worth a business traveler's time.

Business travel columnists

Business travel columnists writing for major U.S. and international newspapers are a good source of information too. Here are a few worth finding:

• Paris-based Roger Collis is considered the dean of business travel journalists in Europe, writing regularly for the International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com -- use the "search function to locate his columns). His business travel essays and nuts-and-bolts Q&A are also frequently carried in their parent publication, The New York Times.
• USAToday's David Grossman ruminates regularly about the foibles and frustrations of business travel in his "Business Traveler" column. You'll find the current version and archives dating back to 2003 at this USAToday Index site: www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/grossman/index.htm.
• Also at USAToday, look for Ben Mutzabaugh's "Today in the Sky" column at the "Travel" (www.usatoday.com/travel/default.htm) tab. He compiles current news about travel industry happenings.
• Steve Huettel writes about business travel from a Florida perspective at the St. Petersburg Times. Look for his regular offerings at www.sptimes.com/columns/huettel.shtml

Internet travel blogs, forums

Internet blogs and forums can be a good source of tips and tactics for better business travel, but it's important to remember that the opinions expressed are generally personal ones. Check the "road warrior" credentials of the author whenever possible.

Among the better ones are Will Allen's "Allen on Travel" (www.allenontravel.blogspot.com/) and "View from the Wing" at FlyerTalk.com (blogs.flyertalk.com/blogs/viewwing/). And for a funny audio take on a flight attendant's onboard observations, check out "Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase" at betty.libsyn.com/.

Douglas H. Everett once wrote, "The mark of a well educated person is not necessarily in knowing all the answers, but in knowing where to find them."

No word on whether Everett was a business traveler, but he was on target with this observation. The best of the business travel newsletters, columns, blogs and forums can be the ticket to de-stressing life on the road.

Betty Stark is a Madison travel industry consultant and business travel writer with 25 years' experience.