Fodor's carry-on guide

Everyone’s talking carry-on bagsthis summer, even though they may be an endangered species. Travel super site Fodors.com has a carry-on buyer’s guide - wheeled and convertibles.

If your bag's heavy anyway...

Why not go the easy route? If you must pack an 80-pound monster and pay extortionate overweight fees you can now at least avoid dragging the beast. LiveLuggage mpw offers motorized luggage. From London’s Daily Mail:

Powered by a rechargeable 12-volt battery pack in the base, the case can cover a mile-and-a-half fully loaded.

Each has a laser-etched serial number, so that if lost, the finder can contact its makers, Live Luggage, who email or text the owner.

The case, which has a plug-in charger, similar to that of a mobile phone, works by providing varying power to the wheels, depending on how hard the user pulls it.

Pressure sensors built into the handle monitor how hard the case is pulled.

 

The wheel motors switch on the moment you tug on the handle

The engines then provide torque to compensate. So as the user walks, it follows them as though it weighs nothing.

 

Luggage police

MSNBC on Life after the $15 baggage fee:

Passengers will need to beware American’s newest employees: The Luggage Police. Anticipating resistance to the surcharge, American has wisely laid on extra bodies. These employees are, essentially, enforcers.

Their task will be to monitor strategic locations (security lines, for instance) to see that passengers aren’t toting more than their share of Louis Vuitton. Customers with too many items or bags too large to bring on board “will be assisted in checking their luggage,” the airline said.

This idea raises questions. For instance, how will American’s baggage employees “assist” passengers, exactly? (We can see it now: “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me …”)

The story goes on to reveal that those forced to gate check will get to pay the fee by swiping a credit card! I wondered how they were going to get the money at the last minute. Surely this won’t cause any delays. We’ve heard of air rage. Get ready for gate rage.

Read more about this issue at airfarewatchdog.com’s blog. An excerpt:

American spokesman Tim Smith is confident that that those required to pay the fee won’t have a prayer of getting around it.

     Unless, of course, you manage to sneak your contraband roller board past “curbside check-in, ticket counter check-in, self-serve kiosk check-in, our people stationed before security, the TSA checkpoint itself….without anyone noticing,” he says.

BB's Polyvore packing list

Update on June 25, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

From OBOW reader BB -  “Here’s my visual packing list for Europe. I prefer to travel shoulder season (April/May or Sept/Oct) so you can adjust based on time of year and planned activities.” Click on the image above to go to Polyvore and see the list.

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

Playing at an airport near you - Security Theater

A piot’s written rant:

“Unfortunately, the government insists that security theater, and not actual security, is in the nation’s best interest. If it makes you feel any better, our crew had to endure the same screening as the passengers. Never mind that the baggage loaders, cleaners, caterers, and refuelers receive only occasional random screening. You can rest easy knowing that I do not have a pair of scissors or an oversize shampoo bottle anywhere in my carry-on luggage.” - Reader’s Digest

Travel disobedience

AOL Travel’s Peter Greenberg says don’t take too literal an approach to airport information - or rules:

I’m one of those people who consciously disobeys airport signs and airline instructions — in most cases, because they’re either misleading, or wrong. And you should as well.

Consider the airport departure boards: they constantly lie. The words “On Time” are — as I think we would all agree — relative. Is the plane “scheduled” to leave on time? Of course it is. But that doesn’t mean it will.

Here’s what I do. When I get to the airport, I only look at the departure board to determine what gate my flight is scheduled to leave from. And then I immediately ignore all other information on the departure side. Instead, I go immediately to the arrivals board and check to see what is arriving at my supposed departure gate. If nothing is arriving there until next Tuesday, I now know I won’t be leaving from that gate. The key here is to get solid information and to retain as many options as you can in the flying experience. - AOL

Pocket scale saves $$

This cool digital pocket scale from Magellan’s could pay for itself if it keeps you from going overweight on one flight! It’s way cooler and more portable than my old analog model. Be careful though, everyone in line may want to use it!

Update on June 19, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

And they have a second version as well.

 

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)

Packing light primer

Know someone who doesn’t believe anything until they read it in the New York Times? Well, if they need help going light here’s a piece from the Old Gray Lady to help get them started:

True road warriors never check a bag if they can help it, bragging about their ability to go more than a week with just three pairs of underwear and four pairs of socks. Infrequent travelers tend to overpack, stuffing suitcases full of a different outfit for every day of the week, plus a few extras — just in case. But it’s possible to pack practically everything needed for a week’s vacation into that one carry-on and personal item airlines still allow onboard free.

Travelpack talk

Here’s a post on the Motley Fool board that constitutes a nice overview of some of the better travelpacks.

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.

2.2 pounds of mobile magic

It’s here and available: the 9-inch EEE PC.

Update on June 17, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

A recent comment on one of our ealier Eee PC posts:

Yay, the 9” EeePC is here, and with the larger battery. I’ll get one in a week or two (and take pics), depending on how the price drops - currently it’s at best $519 (Linux), which is pretty good. I doubt very much the 901 will be here before I leave.

Update on June 19, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

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.

2008: Year of the great baggage squeeze

It’s going to get worse. As baggage fees drive amateurs to carryon-only, get ready for the squeeze as the bins bulge. And watch the size of your bag - templates may be coming back:

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.

United is in favor of bringing back templates, says Senior Vice President Scott Dolan, and US Airways Group Inc. President Scott Kirby says a return of baggage templates is “likely” at some airports. While security checkpoints are controlled by the TSA, airlines can pressure the federal agency to allow templates if a checkpoint serves a single airline, or several airlines with the same policy on templates. - WSJ/The Middle Seat

Can we expect a new crop of undersized carryons like the Tom Bihn Western Flyer?

Check-in becomes weigh-in

Thanks to OBOW reader Kate for the heads-up on this story. I had heard a rumor of this a few weeks ago - weighing and charging for not just luggage but those who lug it as well:

THEY’RE actually talking about ‘fat levies’. Somewhere in North America, airline executives are mulling over the concept of weighing both passengers and their bags, and charging a combined ‘levy’ for both.

The musings come as carriers search desperately for a cushion against the unprecedented oil prices that threaten global airline losses of $6.1bn this year.

Airlines have already rolled out an exhaustive list of more conventional levies, covering everything from food to fuel to check-in. So when executives gathered around the brainstorming table this time round, more exotic measures were forced into focus, or so say industry insiders Stateside.  - Irish Indepedent

So be sure to pack your plate on the light side as well. 

AA's carry-on conundrum

American Airlines has apparently decided to get serious about carryons now that their “charge for checked” program has gone in to effect. How convenient.

At security: American will have employees monitoring customers carry-on bags to ensure that just one carry-on and one small item are being taken through the checkpoint. Passengers with too many items, or bags too large to carry on, will be assisted in checking their luggage.

At the gate: Employees will again monitor carry-on bags to make sure passengers are following the rules. If the airplane runs out of overhead space, travelers can check their carry-on bags at the gate without charge. Passengers who bring oversized luggage to the gate, however, will have to pay the fee to check the items.

As usual, the problem won’t be the savvy light travelers but the guy who wants to save $25 and still bring everything he can stuff into his 25-inch long rolling case. As the bins fill up, soft-sided carryons of the proper (or smaller) size are more important than ever.

Update on June 6, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

It’s worse than I thought - see Matt’s comment below. Sounds like a de facto one-bag rule!

New York Times does OBOWville

The NYT has hit OBOW’s little city - Knoxville, TN -  for a “36 hours in…” feature. I can’t recommend that anyone make a special trip to see Knox Vegas but It does seem to be improving, I do reommend that you subcribe to the NYT travel feed. It is excellent.

OBOW goes light on the highway

My 66-mile round trip commute just got a lot lighter on the wallet thanks to my new/used Toyota Echo (41 mpg vs. 17 mpg). It has a nice sized trunk but don’t try to throw a big suitcase in the back “seat”. I believe the TB Western Flyer will suit it perfectly.