Luggage Express chairman Richard Altomare wants to ban luggage on airplanes - not all airplanes, mind you, just passenger planes. He’s quite happy to load your luggage (for a not-so-small fee) on his cargo delivery planes and is lobbying in Washington to end the traveler’s right to carry luggage. And he’s kind enough to support the “Coalition for Luggage Security”. One look at this group’s website would convince you that Lady Liberty, the founding fathers, and Uncle Sam himself approve of this ridiculous intrusion on travelers’ liberty. More from Mr. Altomare:

“We’ve moved 31 million suitcases and we’ve never misplaced or lost one,” he claims. “The suitcases are picked up by one of 4,000 companies that we contract, including UPS, FedEx and DHL. The luggage is barcoded and tracked from the beginning and tracked the whole way.” He says the company is moving “300 to 500 orders a day … More and more people are using us. This is an alternative. I’m not saying it’s a replacement for the existing system yet.”  — from ATWonline.com

…YET? How about NEVER! A  luggage ban would hurt everyone except cargo companies like Altomare’s. Travelers may be in for a real fight in coming years.

 MORE - How about this from the Coalition for Luggage Security’s blog:

“The Coalition for Luggage Security was created to help create safer skies by separating luggage from passengers. Creating a new concept where by things are done differently is often a challenge, but a worthwhile one. Being active as an organization, and as a member can help create positive change in all areas including luggage security, passenger security, airline security and airport security.”

Separating luggage from passengers - I thought that was the airlines’ job…