The Travelite® FAQ

The Wall Street Journal has a new article out today called “What It Costs An Airline to Fly Your Luggage,” which concludes that it costs the airlines about $15 to carry your check-in luggage for you.

However, it’s not until you scroll well into the article that you see a couple of whoppers.

First, take a look at their chart.

Wall Street Journal’s at-a-glance chart showing current luggage fee charges by major U.S. airlines.

Currently, only Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, and AirTran charge nothing for the first bag (although Delta charges a whopping $50 for the second bag; and that will change on December 5 when Delta starts charging for the first bag, and lowering the price for the second), and Southwest is the only airline that doesn’t charge for a second bag. If you are flying any of the other airlines, checking in two bags can easily set you back $40.

There’s one more whopper in the article, though:

This summer, Delta Air Lines Inc. Chief Executive Richard Anderson said he thought it was fair for the airline to haul one suitcase free for passengers.

But earlier this month, Delta said it, too, would begin charging $15 one-way to haul the first bag, effective Dec. 5. (At most airlines, elite-level frequent fliers, first-class ticket-holders and international passengers are exempt from many of the fees.)

What changed? Customers were paying the fee at other airlines without a backlash. Delta said it wasn’t getting any benefit from not charging the fee. So why not charge it?

Can you believe the gall of these people? How much research did they do? Did they do any market surveys to find out if people were choosing to fly Delta because the first bag was free? That’s not the kind of thing crew members would hear, so I’m really curious how they came up with this cockamamy notion.

And does anyone remember all the big whining excuses the airlines gave earlier this year about why they needed to charge for check-in luggage? Because oil prices were spiraling out of control. When’s the last time you filled up your car in the U.S. for over $3.00? Even in the expensive San Francisco Bay Area, prices are amazingly below $3.00. Has even one single airline used it as a marketing tool to say, “Hey, we want your business back; don’t drive, fly with us for the holidays and you can check in your bags for free!” Nope, no such policy change. We knew they weren’t going to remove those fees, didn’t we? I’m just waiting for airline executives to go begging for relief money from Congress just like the automotive industry CEOs did last week. Let me tell you, they are simply out of touch with the public.

I don’t know about you, but this just raises my hackles.

Of course, the best way to counter this is to travel light! Lift up your fist, stick out your chin, and give those luggage fees the old heave-ho!

…that said, it might be a little tougher if you’re visiting relatives for the holidays and you plan to take gifts with you. As we head into December, you’ll see a lot of these kinds of stories in the media, but here’s a really simply list to remember as you start holiday shopping:

• Shop online and have the company mail the item to your destination. You can spend a bit extra for gift wrapping, but you can also let your family members know to immediately place the mail under the tree.
• Buy something that’s flat, small, and lightweight. Small electronics are fine but be mindful that many of them are overpackaged (iPods use minimal packaging). CDs and DVDs come in pretty small boxes now, and they’re also pretty easy to tuck in your carry-on. Silk scarves, fine jewelry… be creative!
• Remember not to wrap your gifts before you fly. The TSA reserves the right to open everything, including your boxes.
• Don’t buy any stocking stuffers that are liquid, like hand lotion. All liquids still need to go in your 3-1-1 baggie.
• If you’re staying in a hotel at your destination, you can ship your packages to the hotel directly, so that you can take your time to do your gift wrapping once you get there. Beware that not all hotels accept packages for guests, so check in advance. Make sure to ship it well in advance so it gets there in time, and make sure you clearly mark your package with your check-in date, as well as confirmation number.
• For a big splurge, consider buying someone a trip! You can tuck a guidebook to that destination under the tree, be it a weekend getaway to a nice B&B, a trip to Disneyland or the Mediterranean.

One more thing (that most people don’t think about): You have to convince your relatives that you only want small, flat, light items as gifts—because you’ll have to fly home after the holidays, too. This one is the true challenge. Many years ago, a relative gave us a huge tin of popcorn for Christmas. We just opened it immediately and shared it with everyone so we didn’t have to take the tin home. Another year, that same relative gave us a very large kitchen appliance (I think it was a large crock pot) knowing we’d flown thousands of miles to visit. We promptly returned it to the store and exchanged it for something smaller and flatter.

It took a few years, but people finally started to remember. As a result, we got things like calendars and muffin top pans… stuff you can actually pack in your carry-on! Things that will help:

• If you get any electronics, make sure everything works before you lug it home.
• Make sure to remove any extra packaging. Do you really need the big case that comes with the watch, or do you just need the warranty card?
• If you get a lot of stuff, just mail everything home.
• If you get any food, share it with everyone so you don’t have any left over to lug home.
• If something is really too cumbersome, go to the store and exchange it before you go home.

Although I keep politics out of the Travelite FAQ, the past year and a half or so has been a truly eye-opening experience for me as America prepares to vote for the next leader.

If you are registered but have yet to vote—especially if you’re in a swing state like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida—you should expect lines to be very long. Don’t let the long lines discourage you; please stay in line, and please vote. It is the one voice you have, and together, our country is a wonderful choir of different voices.

Today’s post is a very different kind of packing list published at the Jack and Jill Politics blog:

Before you go to vote

• Confirm polling location: not always same as primary / caucus location. Check @ http://govote.org
• Print out voting rights: know phone numbers, rules, etc. Check out http://bit.ly/print-voting-rights
• Save election protection numbers in your cell:
  • 866-OUR-VOTE / 866-687-8683
  • Espanol 888-VE-Y-VOTA / 888-839-8682
  • Asian languages: 800-966-5946
• Check weather
• Note nearby public bathrooms

Voting day packing list

• Avoid political buttons or campaign-related clothing
• Bring I.D. just in case — see your state’s ID requirements here

(for yourself or others)…

• Bottled water. snacks
• Umbrella / trash: bags in case of rain.
• Jacket: in case of cold or to cover campaign clothing
• Folding chairs: for the tired, the injured, the elders
• Camera: to document fraud or simply history. share with Video The Vote or YouTube’s Video Your Vote project.

Activities to pass the time waiting in line

• Be alert for scams! for example, if somebody suggest you can “vote by phone” to avoid the line, they’re lying—call the hotline to report it
• Play six degrees of kevin bacon
• Remember favorite campaign moments
• Sing civil rights songs
• Make up new dances
• Meet your neighbors!

Finally…

• If you have problems voting, call the hotline numbers (1-866-OUR-VOTE / 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA)
• Femember that voting with a provisional ballot is better than not voting at all
• If you are in line when the polls close, you are still allowed to vote

Go vote, America.

I opened my inbox this morning and discovered email from travel supplier Magellan’s (one of my favorite) with the following subject:

“Ultra-Light Luggage! Check it in, or carry it on.”

Ooooooh, I thought. Just what me and Virgin Atlantic check-in crew were looking for! I excitedly went to read the mailer, and I see that the luggage they are promoting is from Eagle Creek. Hmmm…. a new item, perhaps?

I click the link in the email.

The $149.00 Eagle Creek Hovercraft Wheeled Underseat Tote from the Magellan’s travel supplies online store. Photo from Magellan’s.

Kachow! It takes me to a page describing the Eagle Creek Hovercraft Wheeled Underseat Tote. Basically a MiniMe version of the rolling upright. At 13.5″ by 13.5″ by 9.5″, it’s definitely within carry-on limits. But then I check its weight:

Five and a half pounds!

Let me tell you, even with a gnome-sized carry-on, the wheel and handlebar mechanism just adds so much weight. And I guess we all have different ideas of how light “ultra light” should be. Thanks to a reminder from Skip, we’ll probably travel with a couple of Outdoor Products Essential Carryon travelpacks. Well made enough, light as a feather (under two pounds), and only $29.99 from Campmor. How can you lose?

The “Essential Carryon” travelpack by Outdoor Products. One of the most plain travelpacks on the market, this one is also one of the lighest, at under two pounds. Photo from OutdoorProducts.com

My plan to pack my carry-on lightly enough to fit Virgin’s strict 13-pound limit (for our upcoming trip to Europe) is going well! Once I finalize my list, I plan on packing everything and putting it on a scale, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be OK. The challenge is in seeing if we can do the same for my husband, who is considerably taller and larger than I am. However, over the years he’s devised his own carry-on system; he already has the concept down pat, so he will just need to make a few adjustments in his wardrobe to lighten his bag. His biggest challenge will be his camera gear, since he wants to take his digital SLR with him. Depending on how much spare room I have, I may carry some of his clothes just for the Virgin Atlantic segments.

Edited to add:

I’ve gotten some requests to provide links for those retailers who carry this product:

• Campmor.com: $29.99
• OutdoorPros.com: $36.86
• LetMom.com: $37.23
• Great Outdoors Depot: $39.95
• CampBound.com: $49.95

Note: Although prices vary widely, check each site to see which is the best deal for you. Some sites, like LetMom, had a promotion (50 cents shipping for backpacks) that may be worth shopping around. Some sites carry a lot of other good merchandise you might want to buy, and in most cases you save on shipping if you shop for more goods from one place rather than a few items from a number of different vendors.

This is just a short post for anyone who paid their $100 to the TSA to get a Clear registered traveler card that lets you go through an express line at the airport security checkpoint.

A laptop containing uncrypted data for 33,000 customers (of 200,000 applicants) of the program was stolen from a locked office in San Francisco International Airport on July 26, 2008 (link to news article). Whoever took the laptop has a lot of the information you supplied in your application form, including your full name, address, phone number, passport number, and date of birth.

According to the program’s spokesman, the data did not include your credit card information or your social security number.

That’s a big consolation, I’m sure (NOT).

For now, the TSA has suspended new applications for the program (read the TSA press release). The TSA has not said whether it is notifying all of the 33,000 persons whose information was stolen, or whether they will pay to maintain a year-long credit check for affected individuals. That would be asking too much, although I think that’s also pretty fair, considering this sort of thing should have never happened.

What do you do, when you give $100 and all your personal information to a government agency so you can clear security… and then they turn around and let your information get stolen? Besides causing some people to have even less confidence in the TSA (even though the laptop and the program are handled by a contractor), what sort of security risks are these people in now? It’s not too extreme of a stretch to imagine the possibility of these names being used for fraudulent purposes, but what if it winds up causing some people to get on the security watch checklist?

Some things just make me shake my head.

The news isn’t particularly relevant for people who can travel without checking any bags, but Delta has just announced that those purchasing coach tickets for domestic flights on or after July 31 or traveling on or after August 5 (so buying your tickets a year in advance won’t help here) will have their fees doubled for their second checked bag, from $25 to $50 one way.

According to Delta, fewer than 20 percent of their passengers fit this bill. Delta is also increasing its handling fee for any special check-ins like surfboards or ski equipment.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I know airlines are scrambling, but come on—do airlines really want to so disenfranchise themselves from the traveling population? I mean, this just goes beyond offensive. I just cannot believe the gall of these companies.

I hope they are at least paying their public relations people well because I’m sure they have a really tough job trying to spin these obscene new policies. One really has to wonder what they think about the ordinary customer.

What if you’re a family with a couple of young ones who are too small to warrant their own seats and are also too small to carry their own bags? Talk about punishing the people who can least afford this—they have no plans to charge first class, business, or elite frequent flyers and are allowing them to check in up to three bags.

More than a few people have been telling me they now just fly Southwest, in part because they are so incensed with these shenanigans these larger carriers are pulling on consumers.

My husband and I are heading to Vegas this month to catch Star Trek: The Experience before it closes (geek alert: thanks go to Wil Wheaton for publicizing about this in his blog) and guess what? We’re flying Southwest.

Those guys didn’t pay me to embed this video but… when I first saw it I thought it was pretty funny. Now it kind of just makes me sad…

Watch the TV commercial from Southwest.

We’re also taking our vacation in Europe later this year, and guess what? We’re flying Virgin Atlantic.

I’m still sitting on more than 150,000 miles on United, and I have zero interest in flying with them, even though my Economy Plus seating option is still valid through the rest of the year.

I’ll tell you what. I’m about ready to just gather up all of my frequent flyer miles and donate them to Operation Hero Miles.

I was going through my morning e-mail and noticed a summer luggage sale announcement from an online bag seller. The e-mail’s subject title said something like, “Save Big for Summer Travel,” enticing me to see what sort of wonderful bargains I could find.

The e-mail listed the seller’s top recommendations for bags for summer travel. All but one were for rolling uprights (and the tenth in that top 10 list were packing cubes and pouches with the seller’s inhouse brand).

The wheels and handlebars of rolling uprights make moving around an airport with them a breeze, but the convenience comes at a stiff price. To me, rolling uprights are the SUVs of the luggage market. You might have a nice ride, but is it really worth paying $5.00 a gallon when you only get 15 miles per gallon?

Let’s take a look at what’s wrong—and outdated—about rolling uprights in today’s travel environment:

• The wheel-and-handle mechanism adds substantial weight to a carryon.
• The wheel-and-handle mechanism sacrifices internal capacity.
• Most rolling uprights don’t come with shoulder straps or even D-rings on the ends on which to snap a shoulder strap to; if you need to quickly walk up the stairs you are in for a real workout.
• The wheel-and-handle mechanism makes rolling uprights almost impossible to stow under a seat.
• The firm shape of most rolling uprights make them almost impossible to squeeze into a crowded overhead bin. No overhead bin space? Wave your precious carryon good-bye as the flight attendant hangs a check-in luggage tag on it.

To get an idea of just how much you are giving up for those wheels, let’s compare two very similar bags: the JanSport Weekaway convertible travelpack, and the JanSport 19″ Upright rolling carryon. Both are part of JanSport’s popular SuperBreak series. They make comparing the formats easy since the two are nearly identical, except that the Weekaway has stowable backpack straps, and the Upright has the wheels and telescoping handle.

If you were to place these two bags side by side, they would almost be identical in size. The main difference you’d notice is that when empty, the Weekaway deflates into almost complete flatness, while the Upright maintains its shape due to its firmer skeletal structure.

The Jansport’s Weekaway convertible travelpack on the left, compared to Jansport’s 19″ Upright model on the right.

JanSport Weekaway travelpack specifications:

• Fabric: 600 Denier Polyester
• Weight: 2 pounds 4 ounces (1.0 kilogram)
• Dimensions: 20″h x 12″w x 8.5″d
• Capacity: 2700 cubic inches (44.2 liters)

JanSport 19″ Upright specifications:

• Fabric: 600 Denier Polyester
• Weight: 6 pounds 1 ounce (2.8 kilograms)
• Dimensions: 19″h x 13″w x 9″d
• Capacity: 1900 cubic inches (31.1 liters)

Take a look at their weight. The Weekaway weighs a tad under two-and-a-half pounds while the Upright weighs over six pounds—yup, the wheel mechanism adds almost four pounds to the Upright. Not all convertible travelpacks are as light as the Weekaway, since most use the heavier Cordura than the lightweight denier polyester of JanSport’s SuperBreak series of bags—but what matters here is the actual weight difference between the two, since the extra weight comes almost completely from the wheel-and-handle mechanism.

Finally, compare their capacity. The Weekaway can carry 2700 cubic inches, while the Upright can only carry 1900. The 800-cubic-inch difference is specifically due to the wheel and handle mechanism:

The convenience of wheeled luggage is costing you a third of your carryon space. This difference is startling.

There’s a reason automobile dealerships are having difficulty selling their behemoth SUVs this year. A lot of people have wisened up to the need to be more economical, choosing instead to go with a lighter vehicle that sips gas.

If you are traveling by air this year and you are trying to pare down what you pack and figuring out what to leave at home, take a moment to consider what you’re going to pack your stuff in. Unless you have physical limitations such as a bad back that makes wearing backpack-type straps uncomfortable, consider leaving your rolling uprights at home and dust off that old convertible travelpack you bought 10 years ago.