Reaction to over-reaction

From Peter Hitchens’ blog: 

As for the response to the attack on Glasgow airport, I absolutely fail to see why cancelling dozens of flights, detaining passengers on their grounded planes, and forcing thousands of wholly innocent people to queue in the rain for hours did any good at all. On the contrary, it greatly increased the disruption caused by the attack. This is just trying to look effective, long after the event.

The same goes for the restrictions on vehicles approaching airports, introduced once more too late to do any good. Had it really never occurred to anyone before that airports might be targets, and that suicide bombers might drive up to them in cars? Well, of course it had.  It was a matter of proportion. It just hadn’t seemed worthwhile to do much about it, any more than most of us look up as we step out of our front doors each morning, to check that an eagle is not about to drop a tortoise on our heads.

While many readers will find themselves on the opposite end of the the political spectrum from Mr. Hitchens, it’s hard to argue with his logic here.   

Heathrow T4 evacuated

Heathrow’s Terminal 4 has been evacuated due to a suspect bag today, according to Reuters:

“In response to a suspect bag in Terminal 4, secondary searches are now being carried out on departing passengers,” BAA, which manages the airport, said in a statement.

“Contingency plans have now been activated,” it said. “We are working with the police to bring a swift resolution to the incident.”

A Reuters witness at the airport said the whole of the departure area of Terminal 4 had been evacuated and passengers were being told to go to the arrivals section.

Raise a pint to the baggage-handling hero

Who is John Smeaton? Only the toast of Scotland after helping police wrestle the airport carbombers who nearly turned the Glasgow airport into an inferno Saturday. He’s the subject of a fawning tribute website (which is a little hard to follow if you’re not Scottish) and worldwide media attention. You may never view baggage handlers in quite the same light again:

“As thousands of Glaswegians queued, moaned and sneakily sipped Buckfast on a rainy Saturday afternoon, one man stood vigilant outside the airport terminal. Baggage supervisor, hero, smoker. John Smeaton.

Little did he know, as he happily dragged on his fag, that two crazed al-Qaeda operatives were preparing to meet their maker. But they didn’t meet their maker. Instead they met BAA’s answer to Jack Bauer.

As the Jeep’s engine revved and the passenger started chucking the petrol containers out the windows like he was Santa in Shettleston, one man stepped in to help The Law take control.”

Don’t you love the Scots? The Scots love Smeaton. They’re campaigning to buy a 1000 pints of ale in his honor at the local airport bar. Our pint of Guinness is raised to ye John, with thanks that the traveler’s help often comes from the strangest places.

The BBC has a good story as well - fully in the Queen’s English. And click here for a selection of youtube videos.

Celeb chef prefers Big Macs, one bag

Celebrity chef and London restauranteur Marco Pierre White tells The Times that airline food is so bad he prefers McDonalds. Lack of fresh ingredients is the culprit according to White. And White is a onebagger:

“I have one little bag and if I need anything, I’ll buy it out there. I can’t stand the fact that you have to wait at the carousel for your bag. If I’m in the baggage hall, my luggage is always the last to come out. You pay for business class, but it doesn’t guarantee that your bag will come any quicker. I think that’s a real flaw in the system.”

So, stuff a Quarter Pounder into that carryon and fly like the rich and famous. 

UK incidents mean more air marshals

The US has stepped up security and added armed air marshals on flights to and from the UK in the wake of recent terror attacks acoording to the Financial Times:

‘Michael Chertoff, homeland security secretary, said: “Going forward we will be doing some elevated air marshal work and some other activities with res­pect to UK travel.” He said security would be increased at mass transit locations, ahead of the July 4 holiday.’

Obviously, travelers should be ready for anything — delay- and security-wise — if flying to or through the UK in the near future. One has to wonder if recent events will postpone the scrappng of the UK one-bag carry-on rule which was reported last week. The BAA may be reluctant to take any measure that might be seen as a relaxing of security at the moment.

UK lifting one-bag limit?

The one carryon/no personal item luggage rule that has plagued travelers transiting through the United Kingdom may be on the way out, according to The Times of London:

British Airways’ chief executive Willie Walsh believes the one-bag restriction on hand luggage is to be lifted within weeks.

In a speech yesterday morning to BritishAmerican Business Inc, an organisation that encourages trade across the Atlantic, Walsh said that the current limits on baggage are ineffective. “To be effective, security has to be credible. The truth is that the UK’s current one-bag rule is not credible. If it were felt to be a worthwhile security measure, it would be in force here in the US – and in the rest of Europe. It is not.”

“We recognise how irritating it is for people flying from the US, having carried on two items of security-cleared luggage at their home airport, to be told at Heathrow that they must check one item into the hold if they want to catch a connecting flight.”

Wow, a rare outbreak of common sense and reason! This is the biggest news for the carry-on/one-bag traveler since the liquid ban. My fear was that the “no personal item” rule would spread to other countries. Thankfully, this won’t be the case - for now.

Flying monkeys & customer service casualties

An airline consultant says that bad service, long delays, and cramped cabins won’t stop passengers from buying air travel on price:

“It doesn’t change the fact that consumers have the attention span of a monkey,” Boyd said. “The next time they go to Fort Lauderdale, they’re going to book whatever seat is the cheapest.”

This story explains what has become obvious to air travelers: Airlines are now profitable because they’re cramming more passengers into fewer planes on tighter schedules. And the “self-loading freight” finds itself all to often in the razor-thin margin of error. Read the Reuters story here. 

More legroom, mile squeezing for pond crossers

Roger Collis of the IHT has en excellent article which reviews the services of three air travel experts who specialize in trans-Atlantic carriers. For a premium they provide inside information on fares, upgrades, and creature comfort for pond crossers.

This flight STINKS!

Passengers on a Continental flight from Amsterdam to Newark last week experienced every traveler’s worst nightmare. No, not a terrorist with a bomb, but a river of raw sewage flowing through the cabin. “Lavatory overflow” are two words no flier wants to hear.

Said one passenger: “I’ve never felt so offended in all my life. I felt like i had been physically abused and neglected. I was forced to sit next to human excrement for seven hours.”

Flight attendants reportedly advised passengers not to eat or drink too much when they served them in the odorous cabin. Some passengers were given $500 vouchers to make up for the fiasco. Read the entire story here.

O'Hare? How about O'Heck

If you’re a US citizen arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare airport on an international United flight I have just one piece of advice for you: renounce your US citizenship and stay overseas. Or maybe hop a freighter. O’Heck made London Heathrow look like a garden of earthly delights. My experience this week was a train wreck at every stage: bad information, rude and unhelpful staff, long lines, flight delays, inadequate waiting areas and buck passing on a governmental scale. Customs was fine, security was OK, but everything else was bad by any standard. Avoid O’Hare/United if possible.

Flying cafeteria

As we mentioned last month, there’s a new US cut-rate carrier offering flights for as little as $10. Skybus brings the Ryanair concept to the US. USA Today reports that the Skybus “cafeteria” pricing plan has some odd twists:

“Skybus charges $5 for each checked piece of luggage. Like Southwest, flights are open seating, but you can pay $10 for the privilege of boarding the plane first. Food and beverages may be purchased on board, including soda and snacks. Outside food is forbidden – seriously! And nothing is free: You can purchase a blanket and pillow (and carry them home after the flight if you so desire).”

More on the Skybus menu here. 

The Skybus carryon weight limit is a very European 22 pounds. It’s not clear whether that’s a total weight of the carryon and personal item or if they are weighed individually. And there’s a twist: the carryon size is limited (according skybus.com) to 9”x16”x19”. Most popular carryons are at least 20” long. It will be interesting to see if this rule is designed to make an extra $5 off traditional carry-on travelers.

22 lb/10 kg - the magic number

For international flying there’s a magic number: 22. Pounds that is; or 10 if you count in kilograms. That’s the most common carryon weight limit for international carriers. Some, like the smaller (mostly British) airlines have even lower limits, but 22 is the mark to shoot for. To be on the safe side make sure that your “personal item” is included in this weight and that it fits inside the larger carryon, since some countries - most notably the UK - allow no additional personal item unless it will fit in one larger bag. The dimensional limits have not changed: 45” combined still works almost everywhere, some allow a bag up to about 50”.

If you’re committed never to check a bag it’s never been tougher. But, given the mounds of checked luggage (and 1000’s of pieces lost every day) the rewards of going one-bag/carry-on have never been greater.

 This link has information on international luggage limits for various airines. It’s not 100 percent accurate (it assumes you usually are allowed the extra personal item, which is no longer always the case). Always check the website of your airline. Some carriers allow fudging, but the safest bet is to assume they will follow their own rules when it favors them.

Litmus testing carry-on liquids

First the little baggie, now the litmus paper. Carry-on liquids will now be pulled randomly from travelers’ carryon zip-lock bags and checked with litmus paper in UK airports, assumedly to ensure that no explosive chemicals leak through the security checkpoints.

The London Times:

A spokesman for Heathrow said that the airport had been trialling the testing process, which involves placing litmus paper in the liquid under test, since January. “We have been running the trial as if the DfT’s (UK Department for Transport) rules had already been implemented. We are already geared up for testing and there should not be any impact on passengers.”

In a letter leaked on a pilots’ discussion forum, the DfT told airports: “It is anticipated that this introduction will cause inconvenience to customers, airport staff and crew travelling through UK airports and will potentially impact the speed of security processing.”

Commentary from the Times reporter: 

I’m not against reasonable security but this seems to be going too far. Next thing we know we’ll all be having to get to the airport four or five hours in advance to go through all these different security checks.

The DfT should listen to the concerns of regular travellers and not take disproportionate measures that will do little to catch real terrorists who must, by now, have realised that there are far easier targets.

As for what you put in the baggie - you can buy almost anything in TSA-approved travel sizes here.

Ryanair puts finger on scale, wheezes

The Times of London loves Ryanair, Britain’s cut-rate carrier. First, a story from the Times accusing Ryanair of having “faulty” scales which add around 2kg to passengers’ carryons - causing them to be checked with additional charges:

“One piece of baggage that was weighed by The Sunday Times at 14.8kg registered 17kg on Ryanair scales as it was checked in for a flight back to Britain last week. It meant it was levied with an excess charge of £11.”

Nice. Then a few days later, this from the Times:

“Has anyone else caught on to Ryanair’s latest money-making wheeze? Go to book on its website and you’re asked how many bags you will be checking in. Wanting to travel light – and avoid the airline’s charges for checking in your bags – I went to click “none” … only to find that there wasn’t a zero option.”

Wow. Those Brit MBA’s are really something. 

Heathrow heck part two - and hope ahead

In an article about a new Heathrow terminal which will open in 2008, the Times of London correspondent quips:

“Heathrow has been a Third-World experience, pretty gruelling all round. But Terminal 5? When it opens next March Bartlett can hereby confirm that you will not, repeat not, be treated like cattle. What, no cramped queue lines to herd behind? No ceilings so low they scrape your pate? No more shovelling us through with cattle-prods?”

In the meantime, just grin and say “moo”…. Seriously, this is a fine, honest article about the challenges of building a modern airport.

International liquidity

This page from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration lists those countries with 3-1-1 carry-on liquid rules for air travel. The list is long and growing. The Washington Post travel blog reports that Hong Kong has joined the list. Banning liquids is less common in Asia - only Japan and South Korea did so previously. The entire EU is on board with the liquid ban.

 More about 3-1-1 here.

$10 flights...really

That sandwich at the airport bar may cost more than your next flight. Skybus has non-stop flights between several US cities for as little as $10. Checking two bags (@ $5 each) can double the cost of your flight!  This carrier is made for the light traveler: You get one carryon up to 22 pounds plus the standard personal item. Read more here from the IHT.

Perfect storm

The light traveler who has resolved NEVER to check a bag faces a stiff challenge in the UK. Let’s say you fly to London, drive to Scotland, then take a short hop on low-cost carrier BMI back to London or over to Europe. Guess what the carryon rule is for British Midland if flying coach? Try 7kg/15 pounds (6kg if flying out of Manchester), and the stated rules say you get only ONE piece and NO personal item - your personal item must fit in the carryon.Your 20-pound carryon PLUS your six-pound messenger/camera/briefcase bag that you flew over the pond with are no longer allowed. According to this the Brits enforce this rule rather stringently.

This changes everything for the light traveler. And this is the trend: Lower weight and piece limits for all baggage, more fees for checked bags, and higher overweight penalties. Add to this the 3-1-1 liquid rule and you have a perfect storm for the light traveler. And don’f forget - there are others who want ban luggage altogether!

Bumping and bag loss

This story says bumping, delays, and bag loss - the markers of air travel quality - are getting worse for US air travelers.

A discouraging quote (and another reason to go light/one-bag):

“We’re going to see more delays and those delays translate to cancellations, mishandled bags and unhappy passengers,” said Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for the major U.S. carriers. “It’s not a pretty picture.”

And the trend is towards extra baggage charges:

‘The increase in lost bags comes as at least one domestic carrier - Spirit Airlines - plans a new fee for passengers who check their bags. Come June, Spirit will charge $5 each for one or two checked bags if the ticket was booked online and $10 each for passengers who do not book online.

(Dean) Headley said he did not think the idea will fly with consumers who long have expected their ticket prices to include a checked bag or two.

“It will set off an absolute atomic bomb,” he said.

Heathrow heck

Switchover to a new control tower is causing major delays at Heathrow. Ah, Heathrow. You haven’t lived ‘til you’ve run a couple miles through its concourses. My son left his passport in the hotel in east London, and we realized it about an hour before our departing flight. That little experience convinced me to shave about ten pounds off my bag.