Life in the family lane

TSA press release -

TSA Expands Popular Family Lanes to Every Airport in America

Specially Designated “Green” Lane for Passengers with Larger, Medically Necessary Liquids as Well

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced the expansion of its popular family lane concept to every security checkpoint in America. This expansion comes weeks before the busy Thanksgiving travel season and will be complete by Thursday, Nov. 20.

The lanes, part of TSA’s Diamond Self-Select program currently at 48 airports, allow families, individuals unfamiliar with air travel procedures and travelers with special needs to go through security at their own pace. Individuals carrying medically necessary liquids, aerosols and gels in excess of three ounces will also be directed to these popular lanes. Individuals traveling with liquids, gels and aerosols within 3-1-1 limits will experience no change to their screening procedures.

The introduction of lanes that will serve as both family lanes and dedicated lanes for passengers carrying medically necessary liquids strengthens TSA efforts to build a network of technology to detect liquid explosives.

“Passengers have clearly demonstrated their preference to go at their own pace,” said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley. “Expanding these lanes to every airport and directing families and passengers with medically necessary liquids to them, increases passenger convenience and security.”

Officers manning these dedicated family lanes will use their training and explosive detection technologies to work with passengers to quickly and efficiently complete the screening process. Individuals traveling with medically necessary liquids, gels and aerosols like baby formula, insulin, cough syrup, contact lens solution and prescription medications will undergo additional screening that will usually take less than two minutes to ensure these items do not pose a threat.

Liquid explosives are still a relevant security concern. Restrictions on quantities of liquids, gels and aerosols carried onboard aircraft were implemented in August 2006. Technological innovations will allow a review of current procedures by the Fall of 2009. For more information on checkpoint security, please visit www.tsa.gov.

Spirit shakedown

Andrea Sachs at the Washington Post travel blog is seeing red over the airlines quest for green - at the expense of travelers who follow the rules:

During my travels, my bags did not expand; in fact, they shrunk, as I finished one 900-page book and several celebrity mags. (So glad Jen dumped John.) However, when I approached the gate agent, I was told that — not again! — I had to check my bags. I went through the whole mime of how my bag fit in the container adding that I flew down with them as carry-on and I should be allowed to return with them as carry-on. The agent was curt and unforgiving, continuing to push me to check them. Eventually, I was tired of arguing and just walked on, tossing out the same rejoinder: If they don’t fit, I’ll check them.The plane was nearly empty; I could have carried-on an elephant and found bin space for it.

I am only speculating, of course, that the Spirit agents were pressing me to check my bags for monetary reasons. And I know this reads cynically; maybe they were just concerned about my leg space. But I have flown this airline pre-baggage fees and received no comments about my carry-ons.

 All I can hope is that we who travel light don’t get penalized for going carry-on only. - entire post here

Stuffing? No thank you.

USA Today says air travelers can expect a regular diet of that most unpleasant of airline treats - stuffing, possibly followed by the carry-on traveler’s old favorite, Gate Check Surprise:

Checked-bag fees recently imposed by airlines to increase revenue are squeezing business travelers out of their most precious real estate: the overhead bins.

Frequent business traveler Jeff Brown was boarding his US Airways flight at Hartford, Conn., when he was told that the overhead bins were full, just after passing the first-class cabin.

About 20% of the passengers were still in line to get on board, says Brown, a machinery manufacturing company executive from Kansas City, Mo. “Around 20 bags had to be gate-checked. It was so packed, there were people sitting in their seats holding small to medium-sized bags because they couldn’t go either way in the aisles.”- USA Today

Short hops in Europe (cheap)

Venere.com offers a helpful post on budget European airlines that can save you money and time after you get to the continent:

Many travellers end up settling for the well known names because the price seems low and it then saves them the hassle of searching the market for other options. The first problem with this is that you may end up paying more than you have to, although in the cut-throat market conditions of today any price differences are likely to be slight. The real problem is that by narrowing the choice of airlines passengers are also limiting the options of airport they can fly to and from. This often means people travelling many miles out of their way on the ground to get to an airport from which their chosen airline flies when they could have travelled from an airport closer to home. - click here to read the breakdown from venere.com

Liquid turnabout in the UK?

The word just days ago - in the aftermath of a UK terror trial -  was that the liquid carry-on restrictions would be around for years to come. Yesterday the The Independent  suggested something completely different: 

The government is in discussions with security companies and Britain’s airports to lift the ban on liquids being carried in hand luggage as early as next year, The Independent has learnt. 

Technology already deployed at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 can automatically detect the presence of liquids in carry-on bags. Now, government scientists are running tests to see if the scanners can be adapted to pick out those that are harmful. 

“The technology is there, which will allow these scanners not only to test for liquids but also to determine if those liquids are dangerous or not,” said a security industry source. “At the moment, that technology is being tested by the security services and when they are happy that it works, the ban will be lifted.” 

Update on September 12, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

Don’t expect the US to follow suit even if the UK ever drops the ban. The UK has a small number of airports and might be able to deploy the liquid-capable scanners at all of them. It woud take years and many millions of dollars to put these scanners in all the US airports.

Venezuela advisory

TSA Travel Advisory for Venezeula
Press Release

September 8, 2008

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced that the agency has been unable to assess security measures at international airports in Venezuela that serve as the last point of departure for nonstop flights to the United States. Venezuela has refused multiple requests to allow for such assessments, which are required by U.S. law, and the agency is taking action to warn travelers of this security deficiency.

Air carriers issuing tickets for travel between the United States and Venezuela are directed to notify ticket purchasers in writing of the situation. TSA also directed that this advisory be displayed prominently at all U.S. airports and published in the Federal Register, pursuant to Title 49 U.S.C., Section 114. The order is effective immediately.

Under Title 49 of the U.S. Code, Section 44907, the Department of Homeland Security is required to assess security at foreign airports with direct service to the United States to determine compliance with standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

There is a critical need for TSA officials to visit Venezuela’s airports to determine both the full compliance with ICAO standards and the ability to maintain the standards. The agency will continue to work with the authorities in Venezuela to schedule visits in a timely manner.

For more information about TSA, please visit our Web site at www.tsa.gov.

"It's you or your bags"

That’s essentially what the pilot of an under-fueled jetliner told his passengers:

Moments before their plane was due to take off, passengers on a flight to Crete were issued with an extraordinary ultimatum.

The captain told them the plane did not have enough fuel to carry all of them and their luggage.

They were told that if they wanted to fly with their bags, 70 passengers out of 151 would have to be booted off. - dailymail.co.uk

In your face?

“Failsafe” facial scanners in the UK:

Facial recognition machines are to be installed at airports to replace passport officers under border control plans announced today.

The machines will scan a travellers’ face to compare them with the images on their biometric passports and open an automated gate when a match is registered.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who unveiled details of the scheme today, claims it will shorten immigration queues and boost border security.  - thisislondon.co.uk

At least it’s unlikely you’ll leave this form of indentification at home.

Hurray for Ryan, bless his bins!

…but they’d better be big ones:

Ryanair is considering the introduction of a hand-luggage only rule on some future flights in a bid to cut costs.

Any such proposal is likely to affect early morning and midweek departures which normally contain a high proportion of business travellers.

“Should the idea be introduced, it will be confined to non-tourist routes and flights,” said Daniel de Carvalho, a spokesman for the budget airline. “It is part of our general policy to encourage passengers to travel with just hand luggage.” - Telegraph.co.uk

Obviously there’s more than one way to skin the airline cat. Or maybe this shows that none of the carriers know how to remain profitable. You’ve got to think there would be far fewer flight delays with no checked bags.

Fly the flag, lose the bag...

…that’s the unofficial, passenger-generated motto of British Airways, whose new Heathrow Terminal 5 was proposed as a panacea then panned as a pitiful failure. More evidence from the Times of London:

HEATHROW

British Airways loses more bags and operates more delayed planes than any other big airline in Europe, a confidential report seen by The Times has found.

On the day that BA launched its first advertising campaign to rescue the reputation of Terminal 5 at Heathrow using the tag line “Terminal 5 is working”, it emerged that BA customers were 80 per cent more likely to lose their luggage than average in the first half of 2008.

Britain’s third largest airline, bmi, also had one of the worst records for lost luggage this year, beaten only by BA in a table of 29 European airlines. Nine passengers traveling on a typical BA jumbo jet flight between January and June found that their bags were missing when they arrived at their destination…

Simon Evans, chief executive of the Air Transport Users’ Council, the official passenger watchdog, said: “All we can do is express disappointment that Terminal 5 has not been the answer to all of BA’s prayers. We are seeing some improvements but not that significant in terms of where BA is featuring in European airline league tables.”  - full story

Heathrow is quite a trip - the crossroads of the world in my opinion - and a real cultural experience if you survive it. To think the old LHR terminals are actually preferable to the new one is incredible.

(Thanks to Mike in Bristol, UK for the tip)

Update on August 6, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

Read how tough LHR can be, even for a one-bag traveler.(and note how nicely his Aeronaut fits in the BAA luggage gauge).

Getting ahead of the TSA

A little company called Aerovation claims to be first-to-market with a checkpoint-friendly laptop bag. Just one problem, some TSA screeners never got the memo that laptops can stay in these approved cocoons:

But Mr. Bosma’s little company had already quietly claimed the title. Being first, of course, can have a price. Some customers complained to Mr. Bosma that some airport screeners had told them they knew nothing about the new rule and required owners of checkpoint-friendly bags to remove their laptops just like everyone else.

So Mr. Bosma posted a disclaimer on the Aerovation Web site (www.aerovation.com) that says, in part: “We’ve had customers who’ve been told to remove their laptops from the bag for screening. This isn’t the fault of the bag. T.S.A. is moving as quickly as possible to deploy signage and new standard operating procedures to their screeners.”

Agency officials were amazed that a retailer could get the bags produced so quickly. “We’ll get the word out,” Kip Hawley, director of the agency, told me the other day. The agency is now accelerating training and other procedures to be ready by mid-August. - New York Times

note: TSA now says they’re ready…

TB working on "checkpoint friendly" bags, pack

Tom Bihn iw working on new bags and packs designed to meet the TSA’s “checkpoint friendly” standards. The end result will be that with one of these bags you won’t have to remove them from the bag for screening which minimizes hassle and damage risk. Last week Tom flew to a west coast airport for a run-through with the TSA. This post from the Tom Bihn blog explains a few things about the checkpoint friendly program that I was unaware of:

The results? The prototype briefcase is a success: in multiple configurations, it provided x-ray images that met the TSA screening standards. Tom continues to refine the design of the as-yet unnamed prototype checkpoint-friendly briefcase. We expect the briefcase to be available for pre-order within weeks. Tom also has designs in process for a “checkpoint friendly” backpack and messenger bag. These bags aren’t and won’t be just checkpoint friendly: they will offer the same tough materials and handsome, cleverly engineered design that you’ve come to expect from a TOM BIHN bag. We think that you will also appreciate that your TOM BIHN checkpoint friendly bag, specifically designed to go through U.S. airport security, was also designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. under the watchful eyes of our Seattle factory crew. Two current TOM BIHN laptop cases — the Archetype molded laptop case and the Soft Cell laptop sleeve — are already “checkpoint friendly.” That means that sometime in August/September — when the TSA officially initiates the “checkpoint friendly” program — you can leave your laptop in your Archetype or Soft Cell while it goes through the x-ray machine, protecting your laptop from scratches and bumps. (Note: these bags will meet the new TSA requirement as long as you put *only* your laptop in the case, no accessories.) Our experiences testing Tom’s prototype “checkpoint friendly” briefcase revealed the potential this program offers that will save you, the traveler, both time and hassle as well as protect your laptop.

Read more at the Tom Bihn blog.

A black hole called Terminal 5

Checking a bag with British Airways is like rolling dice: 

Terminal 5 came in for renewed criticism yesterday after it emerged that passengers transferring between planes at Heathrow’s troubled new £4.3bn building are losing more than 900 bags a day.

Trade union officials said T5’s baggage handling system still needed improvement and travellers on connecting flights have a one in 12 chance of being separated from their luggage…932 bags miss their onward journey from the terminal on a daily basis.

But BA calls this improvement 

BA said T5’s overall performance had improved significantly since the March 27 opening and the airport’s overall missing baggage numbers had fallen since last year, with eight bags a thousand going missing. A BA spokesman said: “All major hub airports have issues in making sure that transfer bags travel between flights in the same way that transfer passengers do. This is due to the complexities of baggage procedures and how bags are moved through a series of security systems to get loaded on to their next aircraft.” - The Guardian, London

The recent word was that Heathrow Termimal 5 was improving after its disastrous opening several mothis ago, but figures don’t lie. BA is in no danger of losiing its unofficial slogan: “Fly the flag, lose the bag.” 

(Thanks to OBOW reader Mike for referring this one) 

Bin there, done that

Get ready for fuller overhead bins and more gate stress - Northwest has joined US Airways, American, and United on the charge-to-check bandwagaon. NWA will charge $15 for a single piece of checked luggage. The fee will apply to tickets sold after today for departures of August 28 or later in the United States or flights to Canada.

I"M OUTTA HERE!

More first-class rage:

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyanese authorities say a first-class airline passenger was so angry at seeing economy passengers leave a jetliner before him that he yanked open an emergency hatch and slid down the chute. - USA Today

And more from the airborne (or, in this case, stuck-at-the-gate) summer of love:

MYFOXNY.COM  —  A flight from Florida to New York Sunday night never got off the ground. That’s because after the flight crew arrived late, angry and impatient passengers got verbally agitated and hostile. Apparently it was so bad, the crew wasn’t comfortable working the flight so they refused to take off.

Paying not to check

The predictions keep coming and they aren’t good:

Now that the airlines have hiked their checked bag fees — and have gotten away with it — prepare to pay for carry-on baggage.

That’s right. Carry-on baggage…

With delays inevitable with all the people fighting for overhead space, the airlines will be forced to start charging a carry-on fee for anything larger than a paperback novel. While the new fees have just been implemented, many are predicting chaos both during boarding and at the security lines.

Mark my words, this new fee will be spun as a way to speed up boarding time. The airlines will claim they are doing this to ensure on-time departures. - Ron Goltsch on Tripso.com

Free and easy no more

Another opinion piece if favor of fees for carry-on luggage:

It might make sense to limit the size of the checked bags or to charge for additional checked baggage — or even charge people for carry-on luggage. Checked baggage is considered pretty safe, whereas carry-on luggage has to go through extra screenings. It makes more sense to charge for carry-on bags than checked baggage. - EnidNews.com

More on the squeeze

American and United airlines “will station airline employees or hired contract workers at entrances to security screening lanes to intercept customers exceeding the carry-on limit of one bag small enough to fit in an overhead bin and one “personal item” like a purse or briefcase. That could slow passengers trying to get through security, and collecting the fee at ticket counters and airport curbs could make lines longer. Boarding airplanes could be slower, too, with heightened stress as customers maximize carry-ons to avoid fees and then push to board early enough to find space in overhead cabin bins.

American plans to more aggressively pull customers aside at boarding gates if the airline thinks they have too much carry-on baggage, as well as step up announcements about size limits in gate areas and on airplanes. United says it is still formulating its plans, but may try to gate-check bags for customers in later boarding groups before boarding begins for fully booked flights.

All three airlines say it’s possible that metal templates - which prevent larger bags from making it through X-ray machines - will be reintroduced. That’s a tactic that angered many customers in the past and was eliminated when the Transportation Security Administration took control of screening after the 2001 terrorist attacks.”It’s something we’ve looked at in the past and may look at again,” says Mark Dupont, American’s senior vice president of airport services planning.’ - eTurboNews (underlinging my own - Brad)

Carry-on coping strategy

If you’ve read the posts below you know that the trends in luggage policy for the carry-on traveler are all in the wrong direction. Policies like American’s are going to drive unprepared novices to stuff checked-luggage loads into carryons of every size. This means full bins and persnickety gate agents - and even talk of the TSA taking over luggage enforcement. And you know that can’t be good. So, how to prepare? The light must get lighter. Be prepared to arrive at the airport one day soon to find a UK-style one-bag rule (no personal items). So, though it’s not required yet, plan as if your personal item has to fit in your main bag. That’s a start. Also, because the bins are filling up your legal carryon may not fit. Consider an undersized bag. Go soft-sided, no-wheels if you can. Rigid rollers are hard to stuff. These are trying time for the traveler. Be ready for anything in 2008.

And now for something completely different

A different take on the luggage squeeze:

Instead of charging for checked bags, airlines could probably raise more revenue and improve the quality of the flight experience by doing just the opposite: charging for carry-on luggage.

Under this arrangement, flyers determined to keep their bags within arm’s reach can pay a premium to do so. And those who want to save money can do so by checking bags free of charge.

Such price incentives would shorten security lines, bring order to boarding, and help bring out the humanity in all of us at airports. Imagine: Even late boarders (who are willing to pay) could find space in an overhead compartment – perhaps even the one above their own seat. -  opinion piece in the Christian Science Monitor

Update on June 19, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

Another voice calling for carryon charges - not checked charges.