All of Andersen’s journeys to other countries began in Copenhagen, so it’s appropriate that the big leather trunk Andersen used to bring along on his journeys is on display in the baggage claim at Copenhagen International Airport.

Photo courtesy Copenhagen International Airport

Based on current actions being taken to try to avert a credit crunch in the Eurozone and additional measures central banks are expected to take to avert financing problems facing Italy and Spain, on Wednesday the International Air Transport Association (IATA), downgraded its central forecast for airline profits from $4.9 billion to $3.5 billion for a net margin of 0.6%.

“The biggest risk facing airline profitability over the next year is the economic turmoil that would result from a failure of governments to resolve the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis. Such an outcome could lead to losses of over $8 billion—the largest since the 2008 financial crisis,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Tyler was speaking at a meeting held at IATA’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where a wide variety of ‘state of the industry’ reports and forecasts for security, safety, the environment and other aspects of the airline industry were also presented.

Now that so much of the check-in process is done electronically via kiosks, the web and mobile boarding passes, Paul Behan, IATA’s Head of Passenger Experience predicted that the ‘boarding pass’ will soon replaced by a ‘boarding token’ and said that “baggage processing, is still one of the greatest challenges in terms of simplification.”

Behan described several trials currently underway that allow travelers to print their baggage tags at home and another in which Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been embedded right into a suitcase. “This trial simply showed that you can embed an RFID baggage tag, program it at a baggage drop and then use the tag for sortation,” said Behan, but he said the next step is to use the system to make “interaction-free and tag-free baggage drop a possibility.”

Behan also noted that while many airlines already offer the ability to register a lost bag claim online, IATA is working with airlines to move the baggage tracking systems from interactive to proactive.

For example, he said that instead of having a passenger wait to see if their bag shows up at the baggage claim, “The passenger might get a proactive text or phone message from the airline saying they already know there’s a problem with a bag and that the process of locating their bag has begun.”

In the area of security, Ken Dunlap, IATA’s Global Director Security and Travel Facilitation, outlined ways in which airlines are working with airports and governments on a “checkpoint of the future” designed to change the passenger experience and enhance security. He said that while far more high-tech than today’s checkpoints, as designed, the checkpoint of the future only uses personal data about passengers that has already been gathered by other organizations. “That data is now used at the end of the journey [i.e. at customs and immigration]. We want to use it at the beginning of the journey as well to increase security.”

For now, most domestic airlines don’t charge for carry-on bag, or for coats, purses and other small personal items. But, as I wrote for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, few travelers would be surprised if more airlines began following the lead of Spirit, Ryanair and some other budget airlines, which do charge hand-luggage fees.

It may already be – unofficially – happening. In what George Hobica, founder of travel website Airfarewatchdog.com, terms a “relatively new trend,” some airlines are getting aggressive about weighing carry-on bags.

“Hawaiian has a 25 pound weight limit and actually weighs bags at the gate, snatching away bags that weigh more and charging a checked bag fee,” said Hobica. “EVA Airways has a 15 pound limit and several other airlines have limits as well. It’s touted as a safety precaution of course, but it’s also a sneaky way of extracting fees for carry-ons.”

For passengers not willing to take a chance at getting dinged with a last-minute charge, there’s another option: wearing your luggage.

A line of iPad-compatible vests, hoodies, jackets and trench coats from SCOTTEVEST(http:, each with between 20 and 30 built-in pockets and compartments, is a big hit in the “luggage you can wear” category.

For parents trying to carry both a baby and a bulging diaper bag, the convertible Go-Go Babyz “Sidekick,” is a diaper bag that doubles as a wearable baby carrier.

And then there’s the Jaktogo , a carry-on bag that can be worn as a coat. (Other versions include the Dresstogo and the Ponchotogo.)

Invented by John Power, an Irish-born engineer who was determined to find a way around carry-on limits imposed by the budget carriers he frequents in Europe, the Jaktogo has 14 various-sized pockets designed to hold more than 30 pounds of clothing, gadgets and gear.

“It’s certainly not a fashionable item you’d wear around town,” said Power, “And we won’t be showing it off in Paris or Milan. It’s ‘boarding-gate’ clothing that’s all about practicality and thriftiness.”

On Monday, November 14, 2011, John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California officially opened its new Terminal C, which offers travelers a new parking structure, new security screening lanes, new gates, new shops, new restaurants, free Wi-Fi, new artwork, workstations and plenty of places to plug in gadgets.

Flight of Ideas - by Beth Nybeck

You can see a map of the new terminal and a list of the new eateries and shops here but, unfortunately, if you’re heading to JWA’s new Terminal C you won’t be able to check your luggage.

Although the new terminal is open for business, the baggage handling system failed a certification test last week. So for now you’ll need to check your luggage in Terminal B.

All in all, the place does look pretty swanky and I’m hoping to visit in person soon. If you get there before I do, please share your thoughts on what you see and send along a few photos.

Supermarkets have them, so why not airports?

(From my story on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

Air travelers trying to avoid checked luggage fees by taking along extra – or extra large – carry-on bags often clog up the works at security checkpoints.

But passengers flying out of Pittsburgh International Airport now have incentive to pack light and check those bags.

As of Tuesday, September 13, 2001, travelers with just one carry-on item are able to breeze through the airport’s new Express Security Lane, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.

“Traffic has been increasing at our airport, and the checkpoint lines have been getting longer. This could pull up to 25 percent of the people out of the longer line and improve everyone’s experience,” said Bradley Penrod, executive director/CEO for the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

The express line received approval from the Transportation Security Administration and will be staffed by security officers who will send passengers with both a carry-on bag and another item, such as a computer bag or purse, to one of the other, non-express, checkpoint lines. Jackets will be allowed, but not carry-ons larger than 22″ by 14″ by 9″.

“The program at Pittsburgh International Airport is one example of TSA partnering with airports to improve the passenger experience, while providing world-class security,” said TSA spokesperson Greg Soule.

Frequent flier and registered traveler programs already promise some travelers a quicker path to the secure side of many of the nation’s more than 450 commercial airports, but Pittsburgh airport officials believe they’ve come up with a novel, universally accessible idea.

“Even TSA couldn’t confirm we were the first airport to do this,” said Penrod. “But we expect if it works here, other airports will start offering express lanes as well.”

That would have been me and a staff member of the hotel. We were out there looking for my luggage.

I’d arrived at the hotel that morning in time to meet John Gibeau, a bee keeper who’d just harvested 600 pounds of honey from a bank of beehives he’d installed on the hotel lawn a few months earlier.

Gibeau offered to give me a tour of the hives and I (bravely? foolishly?) followed him into the beehive corral where 60,000 bees were, well, already busy as bees making more honey.

Gibeau took apart one of the hives to show me and the small crowd that had gathered where the queen bee could be found. He let us taste honey straight from a hive, put what I think he said was an edible-but-not-tasty drone bee in his mouth (but didn’t eat it), explained why the bees kept bumping into me (I was in their flight path), patiently answered some more questions and then headed off with that pickup full of honey.

I checked into my room and rushed off to visit some attractions. And it wasn’t until 10:30 that night, as I began getting ready for bed, that I realized that I only had my computer bag with me. My other bag, stuffed with a week’s worth of clothing, was missing.

My only explanation was that I’d set all my stuff down by the bees and in all the excitement forgotten to pick it all up. And when the front desk said no, there were no unclaimed bags in lost and found, someone offered to go out there with a flashlight and look around.

We didn’t find anything. I went to bed thoroughly embarrassed, a bit perplexed and resigned to having to buy fresh and no doubt expensive outfits in the tourist district before continuing on my adventure.

It was a mystery and an inconvenience. But not a trip-ruining disaster. Because, somehow, my bag showed up the next morning.

No one can explain where my clothes spent the night, but I’m betting those bees are having a good laugh.

My hotel stay was hosted by the Fairmont Empress. My bag – a much used satchel I bought a dozen years ago at the Calgary Airport – still isn’t talking.

It’s already been pulled from YouTube, but a video-gone-viral posted by some soldiers returning from Afghanistan has forced Delta Air Lines to change its checked bag policy and allow active duty soldiers traveling under orders to check four bags for free when flying coach.

Delta changed its policy after being widely criticized for charging the soldiers $2,800 in extra bag fees.

Here’s more of the story that I worked on for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin blog:

The soldiers’ military orders authorize them to travel with up to four bags. But at the check-in counter at the Baltimore airport on Tuesday, they discovered that while Delta allows active duty military personnel traveling on orders to check up to four bags for free if they are traveling in first/business class, the limit is only three bags for soldiers traveling in coach.

Several of the 34 soldiers who had an extra bag were forced to pay $200 of their own money in fees in order to make their connecting flight to Atlanta. They then posted a video of their experience on YouTube, which was viewed more than 200,000 times before it was removed from the site. One soldier said his fourth bag was a weapons case containing “the tools that I used to protect myself and Afghan citizens while I was deployed.”

The Defense Department usually reimburses such costs, which the soldiers may not have known, the Associated Press reports.

Former Congressman and Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., called Delta’s fee “outrageous.” ”Here you have these heroes who have fought for our country overseas … to come home to the $200 charge per soldier? It’s outrageous.”

It’s not unusual for returning soldiers to check weapons on a commercial flight if the weapons have been certified as unloaded, Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Washington office, told the Associated Press.

“A $200 bill for extra baggage by a government-contracted airline is the worst welcome home any soldier could receive,” Davis said. “We know this is a business issue and that the troops will be reimbursed if they are authorized additional baggage in their orders, but the shock of even being charged is enough to make most servicemen and women simply shake their heads and wonder who or what it is they are protecting.”

In response, Delta Air Lines also apologized to the soldiers.

“First and foremost, we want you to know we’re continuing to work with the soldiers individually to make this situation right for each of them,” a company spokeswoman posted on the airline’s blog. “We regret that this experience caused these soldiers to feel anything but welcome on their return home. We honor their service and are grateful for the sacrifices of our military service members and their families.”

Several other airlines have followed Delta’s lead and also changed their checked bag policies for active duty military.

According to the airport’s Trish Burke, from Wednesday May 4th through Friday May 6th (9 a.m. to midnight) arriving passengers will be greeted with live music and by volunteers wearing springtime dresses and Derby hats and offering the traditional Kentucky treat: bourbon balls.

The airport terminal will be decorated with roses and jockey silks and many food and beverage outlets will be offering special Derby dishes and drinks.

When Derby fans head home on Sunday, May 8, the Louisville International Airport will send folks off with music, complimentary bottles of water and special exhibits of Kentucky-made crafts.

And, here’s a nice touch.

During Derby Week, many people will be buying souvenir bottles of Kentucky bourbon and some of those people will forget that you can’t take those bottles through the security checkpoint.

To help make sure that a lot of those bottles don’t have to be left behind, the Louisville International Airport will have a “Liquor is Liquid” campaign in place, with volunteer Airport Ambassadors at the ready to wrap glass liquor bottles in packing material so that the bottles can be put into checked baggage.

Here’s a sample.

Travelers at Vancouver International Airport can take care of dry cleaning, shoe-repair and medical/dental services during a layover in the terminal. But those heading home from a fishing trip with a 100 pound halibut in tow can seek out the services of the Fish Valet and the special “visiting fish” freezer at the on-site Fairmont Vancouver Hotel.

There’s a putting green in the terminal at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport, but the USGA-approved, nine-hole Sky City Nine Eagles Golf Course adjacent to Hong Kong International Airport’s Terminal 2 out-poshes that. Nine Eagles has a Thai restaurant, club house, putting greens, and plenty of night golfing opportunities. Soon Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport will have a golf course next door too.

When it comes to posh airport bars, GateGuru data analyst Zachary Einzig gives high marks to the Encounter Restaurant, perched on top of the recently-restored Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Inside, the Encounter’s space-age décor is something the Jetsons would appreciate. Outside, the views of the airfield are out of this world.

There are more… check back to find out which airports offer libraries, saunas, exotic gardens, bike rentals, museums, breweries, make-your-own sundae machines, and weekly tributes to Frank Sinatra.

Have a favorite posh airport amenity? Please add your comment below.

Every Sunday here at  StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday: a day to unpack our carry-on and take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive goodies you can find for sale at airports.

This week’s souvenirs come from San Francisco International Airport, which is getting to ready to open the new and very much improved Terminal 2 to the flying public.  They will be a grand opening celebration for T2 on April 9th (anyone can go, but you’ll need to sign up for a free ticket). Virgin America and American Airlines begin using the terminal for regular flights on April 14th.

I’ve already posted a sneak preview of the terminal. See SFO T2 sneak peek -Part 1 and SFO T2 sneak peek part 2 - and check back later for more.

When I visited the new T2, the shops were not yet open, so I wandered over to the SFO International Terminal to see what I could find.  Sadly, the Sephora store is gone, but Freshen Up! is still there.

Located right next door to the Airport Travel Agency (on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal, near the entrance to Gates G91-G102) and open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., this no-frills spot offers shower rooms, massage chairs, a place to iron your clothes and a wide variety of travel-sized items at surprisingly reasonable prices. 

In addition to things like toothpaste, diapers, shaving cream and other sundries they also stock underwear, socks, shirts, pantyhose and other items travelers might find useful when they’re stuck at the airport on a long layover or while waiting for that delayed flight.

A 20 minute shower at Freshen Up! will cost you $11. A 30-minute “deluxe” shower is $15 and includes shampoo, lotion, shower shoes a towel and nice soap. Store your bags at the travel agency next door and they’ll give you a coupon good for an upgrade from the standard to the deluxe shower.

Now that you’re clean – go shopping!

And if you see a great airport souvenir that’s inexpensive, ‘of’ the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a special travel souvenir.