Chicago O'Hare it ain't

This is not fiction or the product of the hallucinations of a jet-lagged victim of airline abuse, it’s USA Today:

If you could design the ideal airport, what would you include? How about free Internet access and free public access computers for those inclined to leave their laptops at home? Perhaps you might provide free showers and a clean place to change clothes between connecting flights. Would you consider a lounge accessible to any passenger with a tempting buffet of hot food and super comfortable lounge chairs, available for a nominal fee or free for premium credit card holders? How about a full-service hotel adjacent to the gates where you can rent a private room and bath for just $40 for up to six hours or $100 for 24 hours? Would it ever occur to you to offer connecting passengers an array of local one- to six-hour guided sightseeing tours or golf outings that whisk you away and back to the airport again in time for your next flight?

It refers to a real place. Read more from Skytrax/World Airport Awards.

Whole body imaging petition

If you don’t like having your soft tissue displayed on a TSA monitor, consider signing the Privacy Coalition’s petition:

The Privacy Coalition is engaged in a campaign to suspend the use of “Whole Body Imaging” — devices that photograph American air travelers stripped naked in US airports. The campaign responds to a policy reversal by the TSA which would now make the “virtual strip search” mandatory, instead of voluntary as originally announced. EPIC and others say that there are inadequate safeguards to prevent the misuse of the images. We are asking Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to suspend the program and allow for public comment. For more information, see EPIC’s Whole Body Imaging page.

Organizations, experts, and air travelers are invited to sign on to the letter below urging Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to suspend the program until the privacy and security risks are fully evaluated. - sign letter/petition here

(Thanks to Til for finding this)

Update on May 20, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

The TSA, gotta love ‘em. If you want avoid the virtual strip search just act like a hyperactive toddler and wiggle, alot:

“This question keeps popping up on our blog as well as other forums around the internet. Will children be screened by Whole Body Imagers (WBI)?

Yes and no.

Anybody can opt out of WBI screening. Adults, children, Klingons, etc… If you opt out of WBI screening, you will receive a patdown search in lieu of the WBI screening.

Children are allowed to be screened by the WBI if they’re able to stand motionless with their arms outstretched and feet shoulder width apart for 5 seconds. (If your child is like my 4 year old, they can’t stand still for a single second unless they’re watching that yellow sponge guy who shares my name)” - TSA Evolution of Security blog

Major TSA policy change

STAND BY FOR A MAJOR CHECKPOINT POLICY CHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE TSA BLOG:

Starting this week, officers will be asking passengers to put their shoes directly on the X-ray belt instead of in a bin at the checkpoint.

This will help to declutter bins and give officers a better view of shoes coming through, as well as everything else. Our officers are seeing some pretty packed bins with shoes, electronics, wallets and other items, and when they can’t get a good look, a cluttered bin is more likely to get pulled aside for additional screening. Nobody likes that.
If you don’t hear the directions or put your shoes in the bin by accident, fear not - you won’t be sent back to the end of the line for a do-over. - Evolution of Security blog

You won’t need to go back through the line because you misplaced shoes will be run immediately through a shredding machine! OK, I made this last part up.

Traveler, can you spare a bill(ion)?

Those pesky checked bag fees (including the occasional bogus gate check) made money-losing US airlines an extra billion dollars in 2008. That extra $1.15 billion (to be exact) in travelers’ pockets might have eased the recession a bit, but we’ll never know.

Swine flu screening hits travelers

Get ready for the long, hot, swine flu summer:

Governments in Asia _ with potent memories of SARS and avian flu outbreaks _ heeded the warning amid global fears of a pandemic.

Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines dusted off thermal scanners used during the 2003 SARS crisis and were checking for signs of fever among passengers arriving from North America. South Korea and Indonesia introduced similar screening…

India will start screening people arriving from Mexico, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Britain and France for flu-like symptoms, said Vineet Chawdhry, a top Health Ministry official. It also will contact people who have arrived from Mexico and other affected countries in the past 10 days to check for the symptoms, he said. - Huffington Post

Update on April 29, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

“Heat scanners give cold comfort during flu outbreak”

TSA's candid camera

From virtual strip search to virtual candid camera, the TSA has you covered. This slightly opaque post from the TSA’s nearly unbearably cheeky Evolution of Sercurity blog makes only one thing clear - you are being watched more than you thought. There are, at least, warning signs. This removes none of the creepiness though. I read the post a couple of times and still can’t tell you how SPO-7 works or what good it does. It either is or isn’t similar to the Millimeter Wave strip search technlogy. Maybe you’ll make more of it.

Update on April 27, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Similar technology is being used to screen international travelers who may be ill with swine flu.

Fixing the TSA

An interesting think tank article that proposes solutions - including privitization and expansion of the Registered Traveler Program - to improve the TSA:

“while the Department of Homeland Security may preach risk management, TSA, its largest operating agency, does not practice it. As a result, improved security comes with too much wasted effort, at a social and economic cost that is too high and ultimately unsustainable….TSA could deploy new technology in Registered Traveler lines and test it under real-world conditions— what the Pentagon calls operational test and evaluation. Under these circumstances, TSA should welcome rigorous GAO audits to identify system weaknesses and make adjustments before making a large-scale investment. Better technology that allows passengers to keep their shoes on and keep computers in their briefcases would increase system throughput and require fewer TSA employees at each checkpoint.” - entire article here

Wave to the scanner

Not creepy or anything….

“Transportation Security Administration (TSA) undated handout image shows a composite of 4 separate scans, a female in the left two and a male in the right two, from a whole body scan machine, or millimeter wave machine being used at a security check point at the Salt Lake International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new machine developed by New York based L3 Communications is in use for the first time today by passengers and takes a whole body scan penetrating clothing. This is a pilot program by the TSA to test the machines in a live setting for the first time at Salt Lake International Airport” - Yahoo/Reuters

Update on March 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

The TSA says “Smooth”

“The success story here is not that we kept a bottle of lotion off of a plane, but we found an intentionally hidden item on a passenger. We found a hidden item and knew exactly where it was without having the passenger undergo a hand-wanding or patdown.”

Update on March 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Screened and re-screened

You’ve made it through the TSA checkpoint. Whew, you think, that’s over. Think again - you may be re-screened at the gate, as this slighlty smarmy TSA blog post reveals:

“Many travelers have noticed that strange things are afoot at departure gates across the nation. Should you pack your tinfoil hats? Nope… Save them for December 21, 2012 when the Martians attack.

Anybody who keeps up with TSA knows that static security is not our cup of 3.4 oz. tea. We’re constantly evolving in an effort to make things more difficult and unpredictable for those wishing to do us harm. And that’s the case here. Over 2 years ago, we started an employee screening program that included unpredictable gate screening. Just recently, we strengthened our layers of security by increasing the frequency of gate screening. Travelers haven’t seen this much gate activity since TSA rolled out in 2002, so people are taking notice.

In some cases, travelers have become concerned about the safety of their flight after being selected for gate screening. There’s no reason to worry. It’s not being screened due to any specific threats.

Gate screening allows us to screen anybody who has access to the aircraft. Oh yeah, and there are signs at the checkpoint or at the gates informing passengers they may be subjected to gate screening.”

Oh, signs - well that makes it all OK. And the TSA is shocked (shocked!) that these measures should raise the fear and stress index. Round up all the usual suspects, I say.  Here’s an AP story about the issue.

TSA's birthday card list

A new TSA program - Secure Flight - will require more personal info from you. And don’t just tell them you’re, er, 29 - again…

You may have been patted down at airports or suffered the indignity of having your dirty laundry from a vacation searched at screening checkpoints. Now prepare yourself for security to get a little more personal.

Passengers making airline reservations soon will be required to provide their birth date and their sex in addition to their names as part of aviation security enhancements the 9/11 Commission recommended. The information provided at the time seats are booked must exactly match the data on each traveler’s ID.

The new program, called Secure Flight, shifts responsibility for checking passenger names against “watch lists” from the airlines to the Transportation Security Administration. Only passengers who are cleared to fly by the TSA will be given boarding passes. - chicagotribune.com

Secure Flight is set to begin soon (“early this year”) for domestic flights, late this year for international.

From the TSA:

The initial implementation phase of Secure Flight will result in the complete transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA from aircraft operators whose flights operate within the United States. The second phase of Secure Flight will result in the transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA for flights into, out of, and over the United States to TSA.

By assuming watch list matching responsibilities from the airlines, TSA will:

• Decrease the chance for compromised watch list data by limiting its distribution
• Provide earlier identification of potential matches, allowing for expedited notification of law enforcement and threat management
• Provide a fair, equitable, and consistent matching process across all airlines
• Reduce instances of misidentified individuals
• Offer consistent application of an expedited and integrated redress process for misidentified individuals via the Department of Homeland Security’s Travel Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP)

Update on March 11, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

And there are now one million names on the watch list.

Pay to pee/swipe to wipe on Ryanair?

DUBLIN — Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary insisted Thursday he’s serious about making passengers pay for the right to relieve themselves on flights — and is flush with interest in the idea of mounting credit card-operated toilets.

O’Leary, whose Dublin-based airline has pioneered the practice of filling air travel with extra charges, divided opinion last week by suggesting that his next target would be coin-operated toilets. Aviation analysts and the traveling public alike couldn’t tell whether O’Leary — a cut-throat operator with an entertainingly bombastic style — was poking fun at his own reputation.

The Ryanair boss told a dumfounded Dublin press conference Thursday the days of the unlocked potty are indeed numbered. - AP via USA Today

A commenter points out that Saturday’s Irish Times reports that the above was a PR (?) stunt. It’s at least obvious that they were thinking about it. The whole thing smells if you ask me…

3.4-1-1

TSA’s confusing issue that just keeps on giving. Don’t bet your life (or hair care product) on all the TSA officers getting the memo.

TSA & politeness - mutually exclusive?

MSNBC’s Harriet Baskas says the TSA is trying to wield a new weapon:

Don’t be surprised or alarmed if the next time you go through the security checkpoint at the airport you find TSA staff handing out smiles and warm greetings instead of barked orders, mean looks and stern commands. There may even be some TSA-approved hugging and high-fiving going on back there behind the X-ray machines.

It sounds farfetched, I know. Especially if you’re one of the many travelers who regularly ends up feeling demeaned and harassed at airport checkpoints and believes that the TSA only hires sticky-fingered miscreants who are missing the genes for courtesy and respect. - read the entire article here

Has anyone experienced one of these not-so-random, result-of-training acts of kindness?

A new use for the 3-1-1 baggie on RyanAir?

Maybe so. The Irish budget airline’s CEO told the BBC this morning that the carrier is considering installing a one pound coin slot on lavatory doors. Say it ain’t so Ryan!

And RyanAir has other ways of parting travelers from their money:

The carrier charges £30 to check in a bag, £10 to pay for flights with a debit or credit card (excluding Visa Electron), £60 to check in sports or music equipment, £15 for each kilo of excess baggage, £50 to change a flight and £100 to change the name on a ticket.

Last month, Telegraph Travel reported that Ryanair would receive £650 million in baggage charges and booking fees this year.

The airline has since introduced mobile phone use on 20 of its aircraft - at a cost of £3 per minute for calls and at least 40p per text - and proposed the removal of all check-in desks. - UK Telegraph

Millimeter wave - a virtual strip search by any other name...

Now playing Tulsa but coming soon to a TSA checkpoint screen near you - your virtually naked body:

The scanners aim to close a loophole by finding non-metallic weapons such as plastic and liquid explosives, which the TSA considers a major threat. The machines raise privacy concerns because their images reveal outlines of private body parts.

“We’re getting closer and closer to a required strip-search to board an airplane,” said Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Privacy advocate Melissa Ngo fears that passengers won’t understand that the scanners take vivid images that screeners view. - USA Today 

The random travelers selected for the scans in Tulsa  can opt out - for now - but the option is a human pat-down. 

US Airways joins the 45" club

Fifty one no more: US Airways now requires carryons to measure no greater than 45”. They had been the last to adhere to the old 51” standard. Will monetary considerations win out and drive the standards to be more restrictive (for more checked bag fee $) or can we expect the 45” standard to hang around for a few more years? I don’t expect much size constriction but weight and piece limits (no personal item/1 carryon) are another matter. They’re already here in some case and should propagate.

Extra carryon costs 3x the ticket

News Release 20.01.09

NO EXCEPTIONS TO RYANAIR’S CABIN BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE

1 MILLION €/£10 SEATS TO CELEBRATE 10KG FREE CABIN BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE

PASSENGER ATTEMPTS TO CARRY FIVE PIECES OF HAND LUGGAGE ONBOARD

Ryanair, Europe’s largest and most punctual low fares airline, today (20th Jan) confirmed that there will be no exceptions to its passenger Cabin Baggage Allowance in response to the growing number of passengers carrying more than one piece of hand baggage and after one passenger attempted to carry FIVE items of hand luggage onboard an aircraft.

Ryanair’s generous free cabin baggage allowance, of 10kg per passenger, is restricted to one bag into which passengers must place all handbags, laptops etc. This policy is enforced across the network, to ensure fairness to all passengers.

Ryanair passengers who do not comply and present with more than one piece of hand luggage will be charged €/£30 at the departure gate and have their bag placed in the aircraft’s hold. Passengers can half this charge by opting to check-in a bag at the time of their booking or before they travel.

Ryanair highlighted its generous FREE 10kg cabin baggage allowance by releasing 1 million €/£10 seats for travel across its European network in February and March which are available for booking on www.ryanair.com before midnight Sunday 25th January.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“Ryanair’s generous cabin baggage allowance permits passengers to carry one piece of cabin baggage of up to 10kg onto our aircraft. Due to the large increase in passengers abusing this allowance Ryanair will now charge passengers for each additional piece of carry on luggage.

“Passengers are made clearly aware of their cabin allowance at the time of their booking and it is also printed on their online boarding cards. Passengers who are unable to place items into one bag and refuse to make the additional payments will not be permitted to travel. We are highlighting our 10kg one bag baggage policy by releasing 1million €/£10 seats for travel in February and March.”

(from Ryanair.com)

NYT assesses baggage situation

The New York Times business section does a status report on airline baggage situation:

As obvious as it sounds, traveling light — the old-fashioned obsession of many a frequent flier to reduce frustration — can reduce fees as well. Some frequent fliers have gotten packing light down to a science.

“I had a trip to Germany and I was very proud of myself because I was able to do it with just a carry-on,” said Brian Lynch, who works for a manufacturer based in Elmsford, N.Y.

Since he has elite status, Mr. Lynch’s packing light has nothing to do with fees, but with fear. In 2004, his checked luggage was lost 17 times.

“I applied to the Guinness Book of World Records,” he said. “But I didn’t get it because until I recognized that this was an amusing pattern I didn’t save any of the receipts.”

Although he always got his luggage back, he became a convert to the carry-on-only credo.

Like many of his breed, he dreaded that the new luggage charges would cause cabin chaos but he hasn’t experienced that problem.

“Maybe the airlines have just insulated their best customers,” he said.

Perhaps not all their best customers. Nick Pandher, who works in sales for a technology company near Los Angeles, disagrees.

“The overheads are really crowded,” he said. “I’ve seen many flights where they’re ready to close the door but they have to deal with bags.” - entire story here

Thieves!

As if you needed another reason never to check a bag - how about organized rings of thugs working with TSA screeners? LAX is the chief offender:

They both say there are organized rings of thieves, who identify valuables in your checked luggage by looking at the TSA x-ray screens, then communicate with baggage handlers by text or cell phone, telling them exactly what to look for.

“This is a laptop here, VCR here and it’s located in this area of the bag. Here’s the color of the bag. They give them all the information they need to know.” - cbs2.com

Recession cures carry-on woes?

Maybe the overhead bins won’t be so full after all. Of course neither are our wallets:

Even though gas prices fell and airlines offered last-minute deals, many Americans appeared to be skipping trips this year. San Francisco resident Sharon McKellar called the Miami airport “shockingly quiet” after flying in overnight to visit family.

At Boston’s Logan International Airport, Alicia Kelly, 47, traveling with her husband and two children to Miami to spend the holidays with her family, said it was the lightest Thanksgiving travel she’s ever seen. “We have waited in no lines so far,” she said.

Security lines moved along briskly at under 10 minutes at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, travelers found parking spots in the front row of the lot and no wait for check-in and security. The Delta terminal was nearly empty. - AP via breitbart.com