New word: pre-reclined

Pre-reclined - adj., (2010) - obfuscatory budget airline spin control jargon, formerly non-reclining…

Spirit simplifies your life further. The stressful decisions - do I recline my seat or not, if so, how much??? No more. Their new seats are pre-reclined!

Spirit’s two new Airbus 320 aircraft feature “pre-reclined” seats, spokeswoman Misty Pinson said Tuesday. That means even Spirit passengers who want to pay for reclining airline seats won’t have that option.

The Miramar-based airline put the first A-320 into service on March 14 for the Fort Lauderdale-Washington, D.C., route. The other arrived last week and currently is being used on flights between Fort Lauderdale and New York’s LaGuardia airport. Two more A-320s will join the company’s fleet this summer, and both will feature the “pre-reclined” seat design, Pinson said. - sun-sentinel.com

Imagine the Sprit executives shocked delight when they learned this comfort-enhancing approach allowed them to install more seats. Will wonders never cease?

One bag = recipe for stranded survival

The Eyjafjallajökull eruption and the ensuing flight-grounding chaos demonstrates at least one thing: A one-bag travel strategy is the ticket for travel survival. I wasn’t stranded in Heathrow but if I had been, here are the one-bag benefits I would have reaped:

• Airport camping made easy - How many pieces luggage would I have had to keep up with? Let’s review the math: one, meaning I could loop the strap around my torso as I fitfully snoozed on some vinyl bench with no worry of someone rolling away all my possessions.  I’d need a much smaller piece of lounge real estate as well. Laundry might be more problematic. Sure you could wash in the bathroom sinks; finding a place to hang-dry your undershirts might be tough in Terminal 5 - no, there’s always the hot air hand dryers!

• Fleeing the airport made easy - I pity those who have to board a tube or train from Heathrow with a large load of luggage. Heading into the city is a breeze if it all rides on your shoulder or back. Big bags tempt the traveler to spring for an expensive cab ride, and remember we’re stranded in Heathrow and running out of money.

• Hotel shopping made easy - OK, so you’re back in London still stranded and trying not to become penniless. You can kill time by doing cheap museum sightseeing (mostly free) and keep your luggage with you. You can shop for a hotel instead of taking the first available. You can bounce from one to another from night to night based on rates and availability. It’s less hassle since you have one light bag. No lockers or daytime storage required.

• Escaping the island - It goes without saying that hopping a train, boat, or whatever for your ultimate escape will be that much easier with one bag. Aren’t you glad you thought of it?

Let’s face it - most people consider one-bagging a form of roughing it. If that’s so, who’s better prepared for being marooned by a volcano?

Update on April 21, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Case in point:

One woman I met had no luggage while stranded at Heathrow because her bags were being transferred when the airport shut…

I for one will carry on more clothes and not put credit cards in checked bags. - CNN Business 360

Not a personal problem, poll

Chicago Tribune travel editor goes personal-only with help from a ScottEVest jacket:

When Spirit Airlines broke new ground by announcing that it will charge passengers $45 for carry-on bags starting Aug.1, I took it as a personal challenge. I had to prove I could travel without even a carry-on.

The answer is in what the airlines call a “personal item.” That typically is a briefcase, purse or, in Spirit’s case, its Web site even shows a small backpack. To prove my case, I used a Case Logic bag measuring a mere 13 by 9 by 4 inches and an SeV/Scottevest Pack Windbreaker, with its 17 pockets ($75 from scottevest.com). — full story

And, yet another editorial in favor of carry-on fees, accompanied by an online poll you can weigh in on.

Ash: map and live updates

Click map for BBC story, click here for BBC’s live update page.

Beltless bummer?

I received a message on twitter that said the new backscatter x-ray scanners will mean even non-metallic belts must be removed. Anyone know about this?

Charge $100 to carry-on, he says

The Federal Aviation Administration likes to make rules, so here’s a suggestion. Ban carry-on bags. Exceptions only for items that you need during the flight, such as computers, snakes, books and magazines, diapers. If you absolutely must have a carry-on bag for whatever reason, you get charged Spirit’s $45, or better yet, $100 for the privilege. If you absolutely must have a carry-on bag because you can’t let your bag out of your sight, you should see a shrink. If you must have a bag because you don’t want the inconvenience of waiting at the baggage carousel like everyone else, tough; you pay for the luxury just like first class passengers do for their extra benefits. - Dennis Byrne, Chicago Now

OBOW’s Man of the Year, 2010?

Ban all carry-ons, says one more pundit - yet another candidate for Man of the Year.

Five say no fee, carry-ons free!

From MSNBC:

“We believe it is something that’s important to our customers and they value, and we will continue making that available to them at no charge,” American Airlines spokesman Roger Frizzell said.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday that American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways and JetBlue Airways each have committed to him that they would not institute fees for carry-on bags. He said he was hopeful other carriers would follow suit.

Notably absent from the list was Continental Airlines, which is said to be in merger talks with United.

(Thanks to super traveler Monte for the heads-up.)

Update on April 18, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Announced by a Senator? Political arm twisting involved? I suspect we’ll learn more at the week unfolds. Maybe this is an opportunity to set some standards — a uniform weight & size limit in exchange for the no-fee pledge???

Update on April 18, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Cranky’s Carry-on Guide for Misinformed Senators

Touching an iPad

At a party Friday night with my wife’s professorial colleagues I had my first hands-on in with the vaunted iPad. I was disappointed. The “big Touch” moniker seems more fitting than I expected. The screen is nice but not as good as I expected - closer to my netbook’s quality than the incredible depth and sharpness of my wife’s MacBook Pro display. The lack of anything like a full keyboard is also unfortunate. Typing, I found, was little easier than with my Tiny touch. I’m sure the Apple tablet would grow on me, but how much?

I believe this Gear Diary post has it right: iPad- Like A Rorschach Ink Blot You’ll See In It What You Want To See…

Flight attendants vs. carry-ons

Update on April 15, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

And they have a website: http://www.endcarryoncrunch.org/

Unfortunately, they pin their hopes on the goofy Lipinsk bill which, as far as I can tell, would do nothing to alleviate the problem. Maybe they should get behind the 10/22 idea…

Check out the survey they base their concerns on. It’s obviously a weight thing, not a size thing.

Update on April 15, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Appealing to OSHA:

“The lack of OSHA protections has real consequences for flight attendants and it is time that these basic protections that are extended to almost every other worker in the United States be applied to flight attendants as well,” said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. “Our goal is to work with the FAA and OSHA in order to ensure that once and for all, strong and comprehensive regulations are enacted to protect the workplace safety and health of flight attendants.” — PR Newswire

Is the solution 10/22?

Ten kilograms/22 pounds. That’s a common international carry-on weight limit. Would not many of the issues surrounding carry-on crowding and abuse be addressed by imposing this simple limit? Continue to allow one under-seat personal item and you have a reasonable allowance by almost any standard. The weight limit for overhead stowage would enhance passenger and crew safety. It would also encourage smaller, softer, lighter bags, which would naturally free up bin space. Enforcement mechanism: a scale.

Update on April 15, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

And one other thing: The real aim of any luggage policy (checked or cabin) should be to encourage the pax to bring less total weight. That’s what would happen if the goal is less fuel burned/less pollutants emitted. No one contributes less to total aircraft weight than the one-bag traveler. However, if luggage handling is viewed as a profit center you’ll see any number of approaches, few of which will reward the light traveler.

That's NOT the Spirit

Yikes. Here’s part of a “modest proposal” from a fairly influential travel website:

In any case, the US Congress should back off. if Spirit or any other airline decides to ban larger-sized carry-ons for safety reasons or to charge for them for revenue-enhanhcement reasons or to discourage passengers from using the overhead bins altogether, then that’s their business. If the government were really consumer focused, they should recognize the health hazards of large carry-on luggage and encourage airlines to ban the practice altogether, following Spirit’s model of only permitting smaller carry-ons that fit under the seat. - airfarewatchdog.com via Yahoo News

He argues that banning all larger-than-personal carry-ons would increase airline efficiency by speeding loading and unloading. What about weather, runway backups, mechanical failure, and food trucks with flat tires? He also admits the increase in checked baggage would require more airline employees ($$$) and further assumes that checked bags would be free again in this future wonderland of no “large” carry-ons. I’m not buying it.

Carry-on fee ban: the bill

Two US senators have introduced a bill to ban carry-on bag fees and clarify à la carte fee schemes. 

Cardin and Landrieu’s “Free of Fees for Carry-On Act” would require airlines to:

• Not charge fees for carry-on bags that fall within their set rules on size, weight and number of bags;
• Make detailed information about the weight, size and number of carry-on bags allowed available to passengers before they arrive at the airport for a scheduled flight;
• Provide a public list of all passenger fees and charges, including ones for checked, oversize or heavy bags; food and drink; exit row seats and other preferred seats within a class; buying tickets from an airline ticket agent or a travel agency. - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about this. The intent is good. On the other hand, this is one more frontier of ineptitude and inefficiency for our growing-like-Topsy federal government.

Cool Coolmax jeans

These Alex Olson Coolmax jeans are meant for the skater and snowboarder crowd, but those at the younger end of the OBOW spectrum may be able to employ them advantageously. Here are several other types of Coolmax jeans from Quicksilver.

Travelsmith has the only square Coolmax jeans I know of.

WePad, wee chance?

David and Goliath? This time David wears a trendy red man scarf:

A new tablet PC called the WePad is hoping to rival Apple’s iPad with a bigger screen, a webcam and two USB ports.

The German company Neofonie GmbH said their new PC is a worthy contender for Apple’s gadget.

The WePad has an 11.6in screen compared to the 9.7in iPad. It is powered by an Intel chip and relies on a Linux software basis which is compatible with Google’s Android and all Flash applications. - Daily Mail

Neofonie’s founder, Helmut von Ankershoffen

Update on April 13, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Headline tweets

Even if you’re not a Twit you can check travel news headlines on the Twitter panel (third item from the top in the right column). I sometimes post links to news stories that don’t merit a full post or if I don’t have time to do a full post. If you are a Twit, follow me @1bag1world for automatic notifications of new posts plus a little bonus content.

Pay me, onebaggers

Though written from a different perspective, there’s a lot of sanity and wisdom in this column:

There is currently a bill before American legislators that would set one standard for bags carried aboard, as opposed to allowing airlines to make their own rules about sizes. It seems a ridiculous thing to legislate, but some sanity needs to be brought to the table. Passengers who check a modest bag and carry almost nothing aboard are contributing to the quick, orderly entry and exit of the airplane. For this, they ought to be paying us, not vice versa. - Kelly Egan in the Ottawa Citizen

NOT keeping calm, carrying on

Update on April 10, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Have a heart, send Bob a shirt.

Briggs & Riley @Nordstrom

High-end luggage maker Briggs & Riley has inked a distribution deal with Nordstrom that will put their products in the retailer’s 190 stores in 28 states.

Carry-on fee reax

U.S. TRANSPORTATION SEC. LAHOOD - “I think it’s a bit outrageous that an airline is going to charge someone to carry on a bag and put it in the overhead,” LaHood told Christopher Elliott, National Geographic Traveler’s ombudsman, and Charlie Leocha, president of the Consumer Travel Alliance, for an interview published Thursday. “And I’ve told our people to try and figure out a way to mitigate that. I think it’s ridiculous.” - seattlepi.com

AGAINST - “None of the major carriers claim to be contemplating charges on carry-on bags, but there is no doubt they will be looking at how the scheme affects Spirit’s bottom line.” - SF Chronicle editorial

JUSTIFIED - “The personal item is free. And the bag will be $20 or $30, but your fare is down by $40 or more, so the tradeoff is great…You know, the people who are outraged at this, Neil, you know who they are? They’re the people who fly other airlines and are used to being charged $500 to $1,000 for their fare. And they say, I don’t want my airline to charge me for a carry-on, when I’m paying them $600 to get on the airplane.” - Spirit CEO on Fox

AUSSIE CARRIER CONSIDERS - “Tiger Airways has refused to rule out charging for carry-on luggage after US-based Spirit Airlines became the first to slug passengers for the privilege.” - The Australian

SENATOR CONDEMNS - Low-cost U.S. airline Spirit’s “absurd” move to charge for some carry-on luggage shows the need for legislation to force full disclosure of all such fees and charges, a U.S. Senator said …“This is getting absurd. What will the airlines think up next, a fee for reclining your seat?” said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, lead author of a measure to require airline and travel websites to provide such information to travelers before they book their tickets. - China Post

OBOW, the shirt

With apologies to Tom and Ray, an addition to the Shameless Commerce Division:

Dark colors will be added soon. There are some quick-dry microfiber versions but they’re not cheap!

Update on April 10, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Dark shirts up by April 12.