End of 3-1-1? Not!

I’ve seen posts like this one before touting new scanners that would obviate the need for 3-1-1 carry-on liquid restrictions. I’ll believe it when I see it. Deployment of the miracle scanners would take years (and how would the broke USA pay for it?). Also, security measures are like taxes: easy to implement, almost impossible to repeal. Nevertheless, here’s what the Fox blog post says about the liquid-sensitive x-ray scanner:

ScanTech’s “Sentinel” system goes beyond detecting visual threats. As bags go through the scanner, a computer analyzes how their various contents react to the X-rays and compares those reactions to a database of hazardous materials (including PETN, the explosive suspected in the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt against a Detroit-bound jetliner).

When the scanner detects a dangerous substance, it sends a warning to the operator’s screen — indicating the type of item in question and its location in the bag.

We watched one Sentinel device correctly discern between identical bottles — one filled with a popular soft drink, the others filled with flammable fluids. That particular unit is about to be shipped to Abu Dhabi, UAE. ScanTech officials say they also hope to begin testing with the TSA for possible deployment of Sentinel units at U.S. airports. - FOX

Sign the SAVE THE CARRY-ON petition

The hysteria caused by the Christmas Day incident as preciptiated a real crisis for the carry-on traveler. Register your opposition to the banning of carry-on luggage by signing the OBOW petition here. Please forward to friends and post on other message boards you visit (like FlyerTalk or Rick Steves). Our goal is 10,000 signatures. The petition text:

We, the undersigned, do petition and urge US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to allow no policy that bans airline passengers from traveling with at least one reasonably-sized item of carry-on luggage and a personal item. Banning carry-on luggage would impose an unjust, undue, and unnecessary burden on a traveling public already under great stress. - sign here

Obama the profiler?

Who saw this coming?

All travelers flying to the United States from other countries will face increased random screening, and all passengers from more than a dozen terrorism-prone nations will be patted down and have their carry-on bags searched, under new rules the Obama administration said will take effect Monday morning…

The Transportation Security Administration notified airline carriers Sunday of the changes for all flights entering the United States — with an emphasis on a “full body pat-down and physical inspection of property” for all people who are citizens of or are flying through or from nations with significant terrorist activity. TSA officials declined to name all the “countries of interest” on Sunday, but confirmed that the directive applies to the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. - Washington Times

TSA statement:

January 3, 2010

Today, the Transportation Security Administration issued new security directives to all United States and international air carriers with inbound flights to the U.S. effective January 4, 2010.

The new directive includes long-term, sustainable security measures developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and our domestic and international partners.

Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening. The directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening for passengers on U.S. bound international flights.

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

“Swabs better than body scanners” - buy Q-tip stock…

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

“Inhuman” conditions?

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Text of leaked TSA security directive at Gizmodo

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Ignoring it internationally:

“Everything is the same. There is no extra security,” said an aviation official in Lebanon, one of the countries on the list. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The Obama administration ordered the changes after what authorities say was a failed attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a jetliner bound from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. - AP MyWay

Update on January 5, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Joan Rivers, terrorist. I always thought she was scary but this is a bit much.

Security queen of the world

The US is so good at efficient, enlightened, effective airport security that Secretary J’Nap is going to spread our wisdom around the world. DHS press release:

Secretary Napolitano Dispatches Senior Department Officials to Review Security Procedures With International Airport Leaders

 

Release Date: December 31, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary

Secretary Napolitano to travel in the coming weeks to build on these efforts

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today announced that she is dispatching Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman and other senior Department officials on a broad international outreach effort to meet with leaders from major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America to review security procedures and technology being used to screen passengers on flights bound for the United States.

“As part of the ongoing review to determine exactly what went wrong leading up to Friday’s attempted terrorist attack, we are looking not only at our own processes, but also beyond our borders to ensure effective aviation security measures are in place for U.S-bound flights that originate at international airports,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Because I am fully committed to making whatever changes are necessary to protect the safety of the traveling public, I am sending Deputy Secretary Lute and Assistant Secretary Heyman to work with our international partners on ways to collectively bolster our tactics for defeating terrorists wherever they may seek to launch an attack, and I will follow up on these efforts with ministerial-level meetings within the next few weeks.”

Click to read more ...

Repost - War against the carry-on

From OBOW - April 12, 2007 (the links are dead, hopefully the “organization” is too … UPDATE - Yes, the guy’s company went into receivership):

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…

Security Theater 'R' Us - Daily roundup

The TSA is expected to release another round of security changes today in the wake of the terror scare.

The flight crews on individual airlines can decide if they’re going to enforce some of these rules TSA put in effect since the Christmas Day bombing attempt…

Among the precaution, once the flights take off, airlines have the option of taking the following precautions:

Requiring passengers to remain in seats 1 hour before arrival

Disabling on-board communications services

Not announcing flight path or positions

Banning any items in laps 1 hour before arrival. - WABC-TV, NYC

 —

Queue for up to three hours to be “patted down,” go through additional scans and physical searches of hand luggage, one hand carry item only, be told to stay in your seat for an hour before a plane lands, note that flight trackers are switched off (along with all other IFE which is integrated, no pillows to be hugged, no blankets to be worn on top, and no crew announcements to hint as to location or landing schedule. This is how the USA has responded to a lunatic who set himself on fire in a plane. But the over-reaction is already wearing thin.

The USA’s Transportation Security Administration or TSA has said that the new rules - at least insofar as they relate to what happens on an aircraft - are now to be regarded as a matter for the discretion of the crew. - Chief Officers Network 

—

NYT “Room for Debate” on the Israeli security model.

NPR on roughly the same subject: behavioral screening/analysis as opposed to “profiling.”

Daily Tech: Obama Could Decree Wider Use of Full-body Scanners in Airports

—

Obama’s options:

But broader policy changes have greater ramifications — tradeoffs that the Bush administration was well aware of. And while increasing security may seem like a political no-brainer, some frequent travelers have become so incensed at what they call “security theater” that they are recoiling at steps already taken, such as banning the use of blankets and personal items in the last hour of some flights.

 “I flew 265,000 miles last year,” said Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and security analyst. “You know what really pisses me off? Making me check my luggage. Not letting me use my laptop, so I can’t work. Taking away my Kindle, so I can’t read. I care about those things. I care about making me safer much, much less.” - Politico

(Schneier implies on his own blog that this quote is a little misleading as to emphasis)

—

Was the crotch bomber a loner? It gets curiouser and curiouser, as Alice was wont to say in Wonderland. Wouldn’t she have loved security theater?

Update on December 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Update on December 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Thinking outside the bag

I’m not endorsing all of it, but this blog entry displays some original thinking on airport security:

Another way to limit risk is to provide approved carry-on luggage at the airport and sell reusable bags (like the green shopping bags) that could be turned in at departure and then reissued on arrival. Security personnel would do the transfer themselves as part of the hand search and the resulting bags would be assured to fit in the overhead space and assure hard limits on carry-on luggage were enforced. This seems vastly better than what Canada recently did by banning carry-on luggage outright.

Get used to this sort of thing: carry-on luggage - for some reason - is the scapegoat in all this.

Defying logic, not terror

The WSJ Middle Seat Terminal’s Scott McCartney has put together one of the better summaries of the measures in place since the “pants bomber” lit up.

TSA has a long history with the flying public of little communication, scant explanation and seemingly mind-boggling rules. The same mistakes are repeating. The flying public deserves clear, logical rules about air travel and enough information to understand why steps are being taken. - complete post

Update on December 30, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

NYT - “For security ideas, ask business travelers”



Update on December 30, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Easing up already, pilot discretion? - NYT

Gale D. Rossides, the acting director of the Transportation Security Administration, said her agency had given airline captains discretion in determining when passengers could move about the cabin during a flight and whether they could have blankets or pillows on their laps.

More changes in security measures will take place in coming days, Ms. Rossides said in an interview Monday.

Some airlines and their passengers have been critical of the measures, which were hastily imposed after Friday’s terrorism attempt by a 23-year old Nigerian. But Ms. Rossides said the agency was intentionally trying to make immediate, simple changes even if they were to be revoked later.

Ban underwear

I just heard a story on CNN about the advisability of banning carry-on luggage altogether. And it said Canada, for now, has already done so! Banning underwear makes more sense than banning carry-on luggage. If you haven’t heard, the Christmas day bomber’s explosive was “anatomically correct” and concealed in his jockey shorts — so would it have been detectable even by the “virtual strip search” scanners? Probably not. Stay tuned.

Update on December 29, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

“Flailing panic”

Those responsible for these omissions (security failures leading to the Christmas day “bombing”) should be located and disciplined, and the gaps plugged. But I fail to see why airline passengers should be punished, as planned, for the failings of the authorities. A ban on more than one piece of hand luggage seems to me to be wholly unrelated to this event, and mere opportunism. I am not quite sure why security is being stepped up at British airports, which were not even involved in this incident (unless it is security for passengers arriving from Lagos, in which case we need to ask why this needs to be stepped up). A ban on in-flight maps (and in some cases in-flight movies) seems to me to be verging on the insane. Are we also to be stripped of our watches, so we can’t work out roughly where we are anyway? I take it that matey flight-deck announcements about speed and weather will also be banned, so as not to give terrorists help in working out the plane’s position. Why not black the windows out, in case we recognise a lake, a river, a coastline or a mountain range?

And then there’s the plan to strap bursting passengers, bloated with the water they’ve drunk to try to stop dehydration, and unsettled by pressurisation, into their seats for a whole hour before landing, with the lavatories locked. Pursue this unhinged logic a little further, and all passengers should be issued with giant nappies, blindfolded, shackled and tranquillised, Guantanamo-style - and not told where the plane is going, either. This is presumably the securocrats’ dream, a wholly safe world where only officials can travel.

Airline security seems to me to have reached a point where it resembles collective punishment, and punishment of the wrong people. It wasn’t the flying public that caused this mess. On the contrary, it was a passenger (as did those aboard United 93) who bravely tackled Mr Abdulmutallab. And I’m still anxious to know if this bomb was a real threat. The culprit, as I’ve said, presumably thought it was and so deserves everything he gets, if found guilty. - Peter Hitchens, dailymail.co.uk (underlining mine - ed.)

Explosive reaction

Word is that the new, emergency security measures instituted in reaction to the Christmas Day bombing attempt are “deliberately” unpredictable (as opposed to accidentally unpredictable for the last several years?). This is bad for carry-on travelers who always bear the brunt of security measures. Some snippets from a nightmare travel weekend:

• “Hand baggage restrictions last imposed in the wake of the liquid bomb plot in 2006 were back in place on most flights to America while security staff were ordered to conduct full body searches for every passenger at departure gates.”
• “as aircraft entered US airspace, with passengers confined to their seats for the last hour of their flight, banned from having access to books, newspapers or even blankets or pillows.”
• The term of the new restrictions: “indefinite”
• In-flight maps, phones, and wi-fi - switched off
• Carrry-on luggage limted to one and only one from the UK, zero from Paris with only a clear plastic baggie allowed!

(Source - UK Telegraph)

Update on December 27, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

From the TSA:

Q: What additional security measures is TSA taking domestically?
A: TSA has a layered approach to security that allows us to surge resources as needed on a daily basis. We have the ability to quickly implement additional screening measures including explosive detection canine teams, law enforcement officers, gate screening, behavior detection and other measures both seen and unseen. Passengers should not expect to see the same thing at every airport.

Q: What additional security measures are being taken for international flights to U.S. destinations?
A: TSA issued a directive for additional security measures to be implemented for last point of departure international flights to the United States. Passengers flying into the United States from abroad can expect to see additional security measures at international airports such as increased gate screening including pat-downs and bag searches. During flight, passengers will be asked to follow flight crew instructions, such as stowing personal items, turning off electronic equipment and remaining seated during certain portions of the flight.

Q: Do passengers need to do anything differently to prepare for checkpoint security procedures? Has anything changed in terms of what passengers can bring in their carry-on or checked bags?
A: At this time, security checkpoint requirements for passengers departing U.S. airports remain the same. Passengers do not need to do anything differently, but they may notice additional security measures at the airport.

Q: Should passengers plan to arrive at airports earlier than normal?
A: Passengers traveling within the United States should give themselves extra time to check in and proceed through the security checkpoint before their flight, especially during the busy holiday travel season. TSA advises that passengers traveling on international flights to U.S. destinations allow extra time for security and arrive an additional hour earlier.

Q. How long will these measures remain in place?
A: TSA will continuously review these measures to ensure the highest levels of security.

One bag = suspect?

The botched Christmas Day bombing was disturbing enough. The suggestion from this news story even more so for one-bag, no-check travelers:

Police know that the KLM ticket that Abdulmutallab travelled on was purchased on 16 December, with cash, in Nigeria. The departure airport was changed from Accra to Lagos shortly afterwards. When he took his window seat, number 19A, he had only one piece of hand luggage and none in the hold – unusual for someone who was allegedly planning a two-week stay in Detroit. - independent.co.uk

Ouch. What onebagger hasn’t gotten some suspicious glances on international departures? But we must hope it doesn’t become a guaranteed red flag. More on the failed attempt and why it is likely to make the security experience more unpredictable and likely more draconian:

Officials with the federal Transport Security Authority in the US said that while enhanced security measures had been imposed at airports across the country and abroad after the attempted bombing, it had no plans to alter basic procedures or requirements for passengers. But at least one US senator said she intended to convene urgent hearings on what new steps might have to be taken to protect international air travel. Senator Susan Collins of Maine said: “This incident is a disturbing reminder that the terrorist threat is still very real.”

Some airlines will be introducing tough new security checks.

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, said: “With the full support of the Prime Minister, Transport Secretary, Foreign Secretary and ministerial colleagues, we will ensure that the UK continues to have in place the most appropriate security measures to protect the public from the terrorist threat, wherever it originates from.”



Update on December 27, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Tougher measures worldwide were demanded yesterday by the US Transportation Security Administration as it sought to prevent a repeat of the lapses that allowed a bomber on to flight 253 on Christmas Day.

New measures immediately put in place at Heathrow and other British airports included stricter security checks such as more frequent body searches just prior to boarding, and a strict limit of one item of hand luggage. Some airlines will now compel passengers to sit in their seats for the last hour of a flight. - independent.co.uk

—

After checking in and going through security as normal, passengers can expect extra bag checks and body searches at the departure gate before boarding flights.

And travellers were being told to remain seated for the final hour of the journey, with no access to the bathroom or overhead lockers, and nothing on their laps. 

Airport operator BAA said: “Passengers travelling to the United States should expect their airline to carry out additional security checks prior to boarding.

“To support this important process, which will take time, we would advise passengers to leave more time to check in and limit the amount of baggage being taken on board the aircraft. - independent.co.uk



All cattle class, all the time

You know the overheads will get packed in the “all cattle class” Airbus:

The two airliners, all-economy versions of its giant A380 passenger plane, will start flying from Paris in 2014, the company said.

The cram-them-in configuration, known euphemistically as “high-density”, has been certified for use by civil aviation authorities after a fire test in which 873 people, 853 “passengers” and 20 crew, were safely evacuated in under 80 seconds. - telegraph.co.uk

The passenger-to-mileage ratio is said to make this the most environmentally-friendly airborne cattle hauler. Hopefully the onboard environment for the “self-loading freight” will be equally friendly. I have my doubts. An Australian newspaper calls it the “flying sardine can.”

BLOATED, BULBOUS WONDER

Light on your feet

The future of (cheap) flying may involve  new postures — stiffly standing or precariously perching on an ottoman-like seat, face to face with fellow travelers:

Having passengers face each other is not an ideal situation,’ he said. ‘But this will see increased revenue for the operator and more economical tickets for the passenger - so by keeping both happy, this concept makes an attractive alternative.

‘Sure the passenger can choose a flight facing forward in a traditional seating position, but he or she will have to pay more for the luxury.’

Mr Guy predicts that the design could see a 50 per cent increase in the number of passengers on board and a 30 per cent reduced cost per seat. - Daily Mail

Where exactly would the carryons go? Maybe under the little seats? I could see a good deal of trippng going on. I love stretching my legs on trans-Atlantic flights, but this might be a bit much.

And from FlightGlobal - are you ready for stacked sleeper compartments? This site says the Asian airlines are at the forefront of the non-traditional seating movement. No surprise there.

WiFly future

This New York Times headline is why you may want keep a weather eye open for those netbook deals:

Airborne Wi-Fi May Soar Despite the Doubters

One interesting stat revealed by the story - half of all business travelers polled said they took red-eye flights because flying in the daytime rendered them incommunicado. Back to the netbooks. If you’re flying  first-class you can use that 17’ widescreen, but if you’re crammed in coach a netbook is the ticket.

Update on September 1, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Wall Street Journal Middleseater Scott McCartney offers this on the FlyFi.

NPR on Lipinski's luggage bill

You can listen here to an NPR story on the problem of oversized carry-on bags and one possible solution - Congressman Lipinski’s luggage bill. Here’s what ohmygov.com thinks of it:

Trying to cut down on carry-on clutter is definitely a legitimate concern for anyone who regularly travels by air; the question is just whether or not it is a legitimate concern for congress. The greatest concern, especially at times like these, might just be how much this whole plan would cost. Lipinski’s bill would require TSA representatives to inspect and check any baggage that would exceed the federally mandated regulations, all at taxpayer expense of course.

Most people can agree that the waiting involved with boarding a flight is already interminable, adding on the layer of federal agents inspecting and checking baggage would probably result in more stops and starts than a Minnesota recount. In the wake of 9/11, most travelers embraced the added security as “the price you pay” for feeling and being safe on a commercial airliner, but there is such a thing as overkill. Lipinski’s bill would surely qualify for that label. - more here

Update on August 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Cast your vote for or against the Lipinksi bill here.

Left behind laptops

This is weird. And disturbing.

Last year Dell computers commissioned a study that found that 12,000 laptops are lost each week at U.S. airports. Los Angeles leads the pack with 1,200 laptops reported lost or stolen at LAX weekly. Incredibly, most laptops are left behind at security checkpoints, with only 33 percent ever being recovered (17 percent before the flight, 16 percent after).

Now, part of our shock about these numbers comes from the absent-mindedness of travelers who lose sight of a valuable piece of luggage — and one that they probably need to conduct their business or lives at the other end of their flights. But another thought comes to mind: Why don’t the TSA screeners call after people who have left their notebook computers behind — are they themselves too busy? do they assume such left luggage is dangerous and immediately dunk the laptops in a bucket of water?

…”We get belts,” says McFarland who works in Bob Hope’s lost and found department. “Everyone leave their belts, cell phones, clothing items, thumb drives, keys, watches. I’ve read about the laptops, but I don’t get those — TSA has them.” (LA Weekly)

This Yahoo Tech blogger was skeptical and claims he has verified these astounding numbers:

That’s not a mistake in the headline. I checked it twice…

Blame it on the harried and fragile mental state of the modern traveler, so rushed to get to his flight on time that key belongings are left behind. TSA often tries to alert passengers that they’ve left something behind — and it’s much more than just a bunch of laptops; wallets, belts, keys, and everything else is often forgotten — but that people rarely make it back once they’ve left the checkpoint.

Notes LA Weekly: “TSA screeners will page travelers by name when their identities are known. Still, [one] employee says, travelers will often later admit they heard their names on the public address system after leaving the security checkpoint — but somehow didn’t make the connection that they were being asked to recover lost items.” The story calls modern travelers universally “spaced-out.”

Standing on planes, blood clots

Maybe these stories go together, as in what’s described in one might reduce what’s described in the other…

From jolly old Ryanair: The London Daily Mail reports that the Ireland-based Sam’s Club of the Skies will offer the equivalent of standing/bar stool-type seats if regulatory agencies will allow them. Seems they got this brilliant idea from a Chinese airline. Yikes. I do enjoy standing on long flights though. When I first saw the headline I feared that Ryan, who have floated the idea of pay-to-pee on their planes, was going to make all the toilets standing only.

And…standing might reduce this nasty bit of bad news: Reuters reports that people who spend a lot of time traveling - by car or plane - have the triple the risk of sustaining dangerous blood clots with the risk rising significantly for every two hours the traveler is constrained. This makes Ryanair’s scheme look better already. My small bladder insures that my legs get lots of stretching on those long flights. See, it is important to drink lots of fluids on the plane.

Ryanair going carry-on only

Does flying without checked baggage save time and money? One European airline thinks so. Low-cost Irish carrier Ryanair is moving ahead with plans to allow only carry-on luggage on its flights. Ryan’s think-outside-the-cabin approach also includes abolishing airport check-in (transitioning to online check-in only) and maybe charging for toilet use (this idea has been raised again, it was first called a publicity stunt/hoax).

More on the baggage issue: It sounds more like glorified gate checking:

O’Leary told reporters that Ryanair plans to proceed early next year with a ban on all passenger check-in luggage while offering unlimited carry-on baggage for free, subject to airport regulations. He said the move will lower airport costs, speed up baggage processing times and allow Ryanair to offer lower fares.

O’Leary envisages a system that allows passengers to carry their baggage through the airport, check it into the cargo hold at the steps of the aircraft and collect it as they disembark at their destination. - read the entire story from the Wall Street Journal

Update on June 25, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Mr O’Leary (Ryanair exec) said: ‘I do believe we will start charging for toilet access.

‘We are flying aircraft on an average flight time of one hour around Europe. What the hell do we need three toilets for?

‘If you get rid of two [toilets] you can get six more seats on a 737. They will all be scurrying to the toilet before the departure gate.’ - Daily Mail

Update on June 25, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

(Ryanair) yesterday revealed they were scrapping luggage check-in desks.

And passengers will take their own bags through security, departure lounges and across the runway to their plane.

They will then be able to carry on one piece of hand luggage but leave any other bags beside the aircraft to be loaded into the hold - and picked up the same way on arrival.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “What it means is no more waiting at the carousel, no more losing your bags, no more wasting your life in overpriced airport terminals.

“Sometime in the spring we will go to 100 percent carry-on bags. You can bring unlimited bags as long as you can get them through security.” - Scottish Daily Record

Note the caveat. Baggage allowances will be subject to airport rules. Some gullible travelers will be disappointed when they have to re-check bags for connecting flights, maybe with hefty charges.

Quick hits

Value-subtracted: USA Today on a la carte airline fees

Engadget on new Asus 1005HA netbook: Info and Amazon pre-order pricing.

Thanks to Practical Hacks for pointing out this clearinghouse of airline luggage info (downloadable PDF).

Also from USA Today’s Harriet Baskas, Penn & Teller go Borat on the TSA:

Once it’s established that the metal detector is working, the always-innocent-looking Teller walks through it and sets off no alarms. But then, from somewhere inside his coat pocket, he pulls out a metal pan that’s on fire. Next, he produces a fire extinguisher and, after that, a full-size shovel. “The point we’re making,” says Jillette, “is that if two goofball magicians can slip this stuff by with full lights shining on them and the full attention of the audience, then what could a really bad person do?”

It’s definitely something to think about next time you’re waiting on line at the security-checkpoint, isn’t it?

Will US standardize carryon sizes?

Maybe, if a Congressman Lipinski gets his way. The proposed standard is 50 inches max, which would curtail the current sizes of only a few carriers.

The bill would set the maximum dimensions at 10 inches by 18 inches by 22 inches. It would also require the Transportation Security Administration to install templates at airports to check the bags to make sure they weren’t too big.

AFA-CWA international (ed: flght attendant union) president Patricia Friend says that “the lack of uniformity in carrier programs and effective enforcement makes carry-on baggage a multi-faceted problem onboard aircraft today.” - AIRLINE BIZ

Cranky Flier also has a take on this. It’s hard to see what this would accomplish except to cost the TSA (and by extension, US taxpayers) some money. I’d be surprised if any new rule would be honored any more than the current rules.

Update on June 19, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Not sure anyone knows what to make of this.