Entries from May 1, 2007 - June 1, 2007
Brad
Here’s a pretty objective look at a couple of Patagonia products (including the Maximum Legal Carryon) — from the Patagonia corporate blog - maybe not totally objective, but seemingly very honest and thorough. It’s worth checking out if you’re shopping for carryons. I handled an MLC recently and was not blown away with the materials or construction, but it is a Patagonia product with a good warranty and reputation behind it. I’m also intrigued with their One Bag which is an undersized two-compartment carryon/laptop bag. My current packing list means I can’t quite fill up a near-maximum size carryon - even when I tuck my briefcase inside it.
Leave a Comment
Email
Print
Upstart cut-rate carrier Skybus (of $10 ticket fame) has incentivized your hunger. Flight attendants will get commission on sales of foods and other items on Skybus flights - and remember, you’re not allowed to carry any food or drink on to this “Flying Greyhound”. From the USA Today air travel blog (quoting Forbes.com):
“Skybus flight attendants will be hawking not only food and water but also such sundries as suntan lotion and jewelry to an extremely captive market. And the attendants will have incentives aplenty to tap you on the shoulder. Paid only $9 an hour, or $16,000 a year, they’ll get a 10% commission on any merchandise sold in this flying souk.”
You could always try the Napoleon Dynamite trick and stuff some tater tots in your cargo pants…
Here’s a great story on the ‘Bus by ABC NEWS. Some highlights:
Before the plane even took off, Skybus was tempting me to open my wallet. Flight attendants passed out catalogs, offering watches, necklaces, pens, sunglasses, makeup, perfume.
Flight attendants told us about the merchandise long before anybody gave a safety lecture. It was like the Home Shopping Network at 35,000 feet.
The airline’s witty “rules of flying” state: “Oh, and don’t sneak food onboard unless you brought enough for the whole plane.”
“We’re discouraging that because that’s part of our profit model,” Diffenderffer (CEO) said. “But we’re not food Nazis. Nobody’s going to take away their sandwich.” - the entire story here.
Check out the official Skybus Rules of Flying.
Here’s a serious look at jet lag by Jane Brody of the IHT:
“The biological disruptions of jet lag are made worse by the fatigue induced by a long flight - the many hours spent in a cramped, dehydrating environment where the air is bone-dry and low on oxygen, the food can be worse than dreadful, and the opportunity for on-board exercise is ever more restricted, in part by security concerns.”
Read the entire article which examines several coping strategies here.
The TSA will begin deploying handheld “sniffers” this summer to test carry-on liquids at US airports:
The handheld machines will not ease restrictions that limit passengers to carrying small containers of liquids and gels on board aircraft, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said. They will primarily check bottles holding medicines, baby formula and other items that passengers can carry on board in unlimited quantities.
“It may not necessarily mean any specific benefit to the traveling public other than enhanced security,” Howe said. - USA TODAY
The Times of London reports that tests on jet-lagged hamsters suggest that doses of Viagra ease the effects of time zone trauma.
“One group of hamsters was injected with a very low dose of Viagra, also known as sildenafil, on the night before the induced time change. These animals recovered from jet lag between 25 and 50 per cent more quickly than those that did not receive an injection.” -
(Insert your own joke here - I’ll refrain since my wife may read this )
Read the whole story here. And more from Nature.com here.
But wait there’s more: forget the pills, try electro-shock for jet lag. And here’s advice on how to sleep well at 40,000 feet - which might lessen the lag.
“New X-Ray scanners at British airports could be exposing passengers to potentially dangerous levels of radiation, according to one senior radiologist.
The machines are designed to “strip search” passengers by using low-level X-Rays, which produce an image of their bodies, revealing whether they are secretly carrying weapons, explosives or illegal drugs.
But the scanners may not be safe for certain people, particularly children and women in the early stages of pregnancy, according to Dr Sarah Burnett, who works as an independent radiologist in London.” - read the entire story from thisislondon.co.uk/The Evening Standard
Here’s a better weather site for travelers myforecast.com. It offers up to 15-day forecasts worldwide. Is it accurate? I’ll let know in few weeks…
Travel is both a means to an end and an end in itself. The point is to get somewhere and to be there. Traveling lightly makes it all easier and more enjoyable, but in the end it’s not all about luggage and laundry, flights and fares. Tyler Brule suggests how the traveler should experience a city: take to the streets and wander - thoughtfully and without itinerary.
The forums at flyertalk.com are a great traveler/frequent flyer resource - once you learn to navigate and search them. For luggage advice it’s best to search (must be registered) for brand names - which will find threads comparing and rating different models. There’s lots of love for Tumi and Red Oxx it seems.
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.
Here are some fresh ways of dealing with the the TSA’s carry-on liquid/gel/aerosol restrictions (three ounces or less, must be contained in quart-sized ziplock bag):
- Solid shampoo from J.R. Liggett (thanks to Adam)
- More sold shampoo from lush.com (thanks to Jim at Red Oxx). This exotic selection should satisfy anyone.
- Shaving oil - dump the can and get a better shave!
- Go Euro - don’t use any personal care products (just kidding - please use them).
- MINIMUS - find nearly anything in sub-3 oz. sizes here.
We’ve added a new link: www.travelgearreview.com. Adam has a nice-looking site with insightful reviews. His emphasis leans slightly more towards backpacking, but there’s a lot of overlap between backpacking and light travel gear. In fact, many of the light traveler’s tricks come from packers. He’s even managed to snare one of the most elusive beasts in the luggage world: the MEI Voyageur convertible carry-on backpack and can tell you how to get one. This pack’s most notable features seem to be rugged construction and very comfortable straps. I don’t care for the one-compartment design, but if you’re going to carry a pack comfort is all-important. I believe Doug Dyment is also a fan of this pack.
The light traveler can save some serious bag space and weight by taking only one pair of shoes. This may not be practical if you expect lots of wet conditions or if you plan ten-mile hikes and trips to the opera, but sticking with one well-chosen pair of shoes is a great way to simplify and lighten your load. With no fall-back pair, making sure your shoes are comfortable and fully broken-in is all important. Walk at least a couple of miles in your shoes before a big trip and wear them all day for several days. Otherwise you’ll curse the fool that suggested leaving home with only one pair!
The Weather Underground site has a cool new online trip planner. Tell it where you’re going and when and it will provide average temperatures, cloud cover, wind, humidity, plus weather charts covering you date range and location for the previous ten years. From the planner page you can reach current conditions and short-term forecast with one click. A good forecast is a must for the light traveler — since he’s not packing the entire closet.
Why does OBOW include so much travel news? Because the light traveler is more affected than most by rapidly changing regulations and restrictions. Weight limits and liquid bans hit the onebagger hardest, so OBOW tries to share up-to-date info drawn from the best international sources. Travelers should not be too trusting: don’t rely too much on any one source and be suspicious of dated information. Always go to the sources (airlines, government agencies) for the latest, but take even that with a grain of salt.
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.
I inspected an Eagle Creek ES Tarmac 20” roller over the weekend, and it is an impressive bag. It’s lightweight (7.5 lb), has nice hold-downs for folded clothes, and has well-thought out compartments. The molded grip on the bottom of the case really makes it easy to hoist. With 43” combined dimensions it fits comfortably as a carryon by nearly any standard. I’m not a roller, but I can recommend this bag to anyone who is. At $225 with a lifetime warranty, it’s a good value for the frequent traveler.“Several years ago I half-jokingly remarked in a column that the then secretary general needed to create a permanent post for a secretary of transport. Pulling together a variety of international agencies, this post would address everything from environmental issues to passenger rights and take a strategic view about the mass movement of people and goods around the planet….In the months to come tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people across the Northern Hemisphere will be mobilizing for some form of summer vacation. Many will be first-time travelers, many more will be unfamiliar with the changing landscape of what is supposed to pass for civil aviation. The impact that such a mass movement will have on everything from potential World Heritage sites to a fragile environment to creaking road, rail and air networks is enormous.” - Tyler Brule, International Herald Tribune
Brule compares the effects of the annual summer migration of travelers to a refugee crisis and traveler’s conditions to those of refugees. I’m no huge fan of the UN, but Tyler Brule’s point that the world’s travelers need help — from the UN in his opinion — is well taken. The tangle of security regulations and widely-varying quality of airline service are serious issues. One hopes that market forces and informed consumers will eventually sort things out. I’m doubtful that a world body will do a better job regulating the travel system than our national governments do.
USA Today reports on little-known, cut-rate Euro carriers now offering trans-Atlantic flights to and from the USA. Some are not impressed:
Because of their limited capacity and spotty brand identity, the low-fare carriers are likely to appeal mostly to what aviation consultant Michael Boyd calls the “backpack lunatic fringe.”
“You might find (a deal), but you have to go out of your way to do it,” he says.
Gosh, why didn’t he just go ahead and say Euro trash? Shouldn’t there be a similar term of derision for us low-class Americans who would jump at the chance to save $300? I say lighten up, and welcome to the low-cost carriers who may help keep prices low for everyone.
According to Travel Weekly (registration required) the liquid ban will be with us for a while:
Kathy Kraninger, director of the Dept. of Homeland Security’s Office of Screening Coordination, said she thinks the restrictions are “here for the foreseeable future, at least.”
Responding to a delegate’s question following her speech to the Association of Corporate Travel Executives’ conference here earlier this week, Kraninger said the DHS has not identified technology up to the task of identifying liquid explosive materials.
Automated technology may not be available, but the Brits have resorted to litmus paper to randomly test carry-on liquids.
Thanks to the liquid rules not checking luggage is a greater challenge than ever. For the latest rules:TSA (USA) and DfT (UK). Links to our posts on the liquid issue: UK litmus test, worldwide rules, 3-1-1 tips, TSA info with link to downloadable PDF.
