I want to be 'cleared'

After standing in one ridiculously long airport line after another, it looks like someone had the entrepreneurial insight to make the process easier.....for a price. Clear, a credit-card sized card chalked full of all necessary personal information helps travelers quickly circumvent those annoying baggage check lines.

This is how it works. Apply to Clear, you must submit your personal information and agree to all the terms and conditions of the card. After your application has been reviewed then Clear, then you must attend a face to face meeting, where the company can verify your identity. After a $128 dollar yearly membership fee, you are ready to fly around the world hassle free,

Well almost. Obviously, anyone who has been behind the guy with 12 carry-ons, stinky feet and no idea what he is doing, really wants this card. But this service is only available in 20 U.S. Airports, and of that number some are only available in certain terminals.

In my opinion this service is not yet worth it for the majority of travelers, but chances are it might be soon. The service who has 175,000 members currently has made it the largest private sector registered-travel program to date. And in June, Delta airlines became the first major carrier to back the plan and the Air Transport Association (ATA) highly recommends a private sector business to enter the screening process, because " the money would be better spent improving security for everyone." Ouch TSA!!!

Personally, I love the idea of getting this card and easily getting through security. But not until the process is a bit more universal. I am so excited that finally private business are beginning to intercede in the mess of security screening that TSA cannot handle. Read more...

Packing 101

After re-reading all of the conversation sparked by my American Airlines post last week, I thought I'd write another entry to talk about a class that should be taught in every grade-school around the world: Packing 101. Recent moves by airlines, and my experience traveling, has taught me two things: One, the airlines will continue to try and find ways to nickel and dime travelers, and two, people don't know how to pack. I mean seriously folks, how many times have you been at the airport and seen the couple pushing 12 bags towards check-in? Or how many people do you know that get away for the weekend and can't seem to find a way to bring less than three bags? What do you people possibly need that requires so many bags?

I know this is tough for you excessive packers out there so you may need to sit down: It is possible to get away for two, three, or four days with just a carry-on. Okay people, deep breaths... get a paper bag if you need to... it can be done. Here are some helpful packing tips to avoid having to pay (certain) airlines, and/or chronic back pain later in your life:

1. Roll your clothes: Sounds a bit odd I know but your clothes are going to be wrinkled anyhow, why not save space? Plus, what hotel, condo, or home doesn't have an ironing board? This method is a great way to save a ton of space. Try it. You'll be surprised.

2. Limit yourself to two pairs of shoes: Unless you've got a black-tie event to be at, you should be able to get by with two pairs of shoes for a long weekend. I can't tell you how many people I've traveled with that bring three or four pairs of shoes along and then just wear one pair for three days. I know folks, you want options, and if you want to pay for an extra bag be my guest, otherwise this is an easy way to save the most space.

3. Use extra space: Make sure you take advantage of all those cool side pockets and containers. This space is great for underwear and socks once you're done packing. Also, make sure to use the space inside of your shoes for odds and ends, as well as the pockets on the outside of the bag.

4. Know your limits: The standard carry-on bag dimensions allowed by most airlines is 45", or a 22" x 14" x 9" bag. Make sure you've got a nice bag that uses every inch of it! Read more...

I'm Never Flying American Airlines Again....

As Jessica alluded to the other day, American Airlines (AA) is now going to start charging $15 to their passengers for checking a bag.... (Head shaking). I saw this last week and thought to myself, Well, I'll never travel with them again. That was until today when I decided to change my stance to be: Not only am I not going to travel with AA again, but I'm going to tell others not to, and make fun of them as much as possible. This all came about today as AA released the following idiotic statement of the year:

American Airlines says its new $15 fee for a first checked bag will affect fewer than one in four customers and won't lengthen lines at boarding gates..

I actually re-read the statement to see if there was a footnote that stated the PR rep. for AA was actually a small child, or an otherwise ignorant human being who had never been to an airport. Unfortunately there was not, and I was left to break this insane statement down for you. This just in: Not only will AA charge you $15 to check one piece of luggage, their incredibly intelligent analysts actually think only one in four people check luggage, and this move won't lengthen lines..... Have they actually ever been to an airport? Don't they realize that those desk clerks lengthen lines two-fold already when they don't have an extra procedure to perform? Between security and decreasing flights, lines are out of control as is. I'm pretty sure AA's next brilliant announcement will be that their "analysts" are positive that by adding this fee, people won't attempt to bring larger bags on the plane. Uh, right....

My other favorite component of this AA release is that their PR people must have been sitting around saying, "I know! Let's compare what it would cost to ship a piece of luggage as a way to justify the charge." Right.... I guess that would make sense if people didn't already know that you have plenty of room to take it on the plane at no extra cost to the airline. I think their PR folks are doing a great job over there. I hope they gave them a discount on the charge to at least $10 per bag..... Read more...

Duty free?

Has anyone else ever taken a moment to think about how absolutely bizarre duty free goods are? I mean, we walk by these random places in the airport all the time.... we get hit in the knee by the once-a-trip random cart on the airplane selling things and we never think twice. Well I'm that type of guy who looks at these types of things and thinks: What the heck is "duty" anyway? Are they saying it's my "duty" to buy duty-less goods? Is "duty" free? Where did the "duty" go? It's all so confusing I'm not sure I can take it. And another thing, who originally sat around a table and thought "duty" free goods could only include Toblerone chocolates? I mean, I'm no chocolatier, but there's gotta be some chocolate in this world that is better than Toblerone.

Here are some other interesting thoughts on the oh-so-bizarre duty-free goods:

1. I've now been told on numerous occasions that perfumes in the duty-free section are more expensive than at your local department store. Numerous studies also show duty-free cameras are typically $30-$50 more than your average camera store. Some sort of reverse duty I guess....
2. There is a limit every individual has on buying items duty-free. Of course there is... The dealers of these goods want you to enjoy Glenlivet duty free, but just not a whole lot of it. If you surpass your personal exemption total (differs for each country), some guy at customs on your return calls in the "duty" hound to come add back the savings. Awesome.
3. Technically the bizarrely named "duty" is the customs tax paid to import something into a country. This doesn't mean the goods are free of that tax for the buyer. This means the shops don't have to pay a duty to import their merchandise, and are suppose to pass the savings on to the buyer.... Anyone want to place a wager on how often that happens the way it's suppose to?
Read more...