Kids travel

That first flight and that screaming baby

My Alaska Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Seattle Tuesday afternoon provided a great refresher course on what’s great – and what’s not – about modern day air travel.

The great part: the people you end up talking to.

The not so great part: crying babies.

On this very full flight there was one inconsolable child who cried and screamed pretty much the entire flight. I was sitting a row behind the family and I could see that they were trying to remain calm and solve the problem, but nothing seemed to work.

I thought I was a hero there for a second when the crying stopped after I passed the little girl the frog-shaped flashlight I travel with. But after a few seconds, she went right back to weeping and everyone on the plane went back to rolling their eyes and plugging their ears.

That’s the not so great part.

The great part: meeting people who aren’t bored (yet) with flying.

In my row, there was a 15 year-old girl going home to Seattle who apologized for making me and Mr. Middle Seat get up so she could take her seat by the window. She told us she’d insisted her mother get her that seat because she was nervous about flying alone.

Mr. Middle Seat chatted her up during the flight and as we all got up to leave he asked her if she was still nervous. She was, she admitted, because now she was afraid she wouldn’t find her mother in the airport.

I offered to walk out with her and on the way she told me that on the first leg of the trip, she couldn’t find her friend for at least a half hour when she landed in Las Vegas.

After asking assorted – unhelpful – people for help, she ended up crying and calling her mother, who said “Do I have to fly to Las Vegas to get you?”

So we walked off the plane together, down the concourse, down two sets of escalators, past the baggage carousels and out to the curb. A second-nature trek for me, but definitely daunting and confusing when seen through the eyes of a newbie traveler.

My new buddy called her mom, who said she’d be pulling up momentarily. And I said good-bye to what I hope is now a more confident traveler already planning her next great adventure.

Gatwick treats old and young travelers; Dulles doles out cake

The search for the UK’s oldest traveler is winding down at Gatwick Airport.

Citing researching that shows 56% of O.A.Ts (Old Age Travelers) over 70 are traveling more often than they did when they were younger and a “staggering” 61% of those aged 85 and over are out on the road more as well, Gatwick airport has been trying to find the oldest “holidaymaker” and give them a trip for two to Las Vegas on British Airways and three nights at the 5-star Vdara Hotel and Spa.

The deadline is June 29, 2012. Rules and details here.

Gatwick Airport also has something for very young travelers.

As part of its free audiobook download program, the airport is offering recordings of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the Three Little Pigs, the Ugly Ducking, Sleeping Beauty, the Three Billy Goats Gruff, the Princess and the Pea, Rumpelstiltskin, the Tortoise and the Hare, Puss in Boots and Little Red Riding Hood. You can download the stories at the airport or give a listen on SoundCloud here.

They do it at theme parks so why not at airports?

Earlier this month the 500 millionth passenger at Washington’s Dulles International Airport was surprised with soda, cake and cupcakes and given a Dulles Airport swagbag with a $50 gift card from Shop Dulles Airport.

To the moon or to the center of the earth

I’m sure I’ll have to update this come Sunday morning, but long before April 1, 2012 rolled around in my time zone, I made a few April Fools’ Day sightings.

From the Republic of Vanuatu comes word that Richard Branson has launched “Virgin Volacanic” in order to take travelers to the center of the earth

“Using patented carbon-carbon materials pioneered for deep space exploration, Virgin is proud to announce a revolutionary new vehicle, VVS1, which will be capable of plunging three people into the molten lava core of an active volcano.”

First up (or should I say down) is Etna – Sicily, Italy, followed by:
• Stromboli – Aeolian Islands
• Yasur – Republic of Vanuatu
• Ambrym – Republic of Vanuatu
• Tinakula – Solomon Islands

The first trips are scheduled for 2015. More details here.

Also, we have news from WestJet about a kids-free flying experience:

Details of Kargo Kids, including booking information and a simple, easy-to-understand demonstration video, is available on the WestJet website

Air New Zealand announced “STRAIGHTUP Fares” for those willing to fly while standing in the aisle holding onto a hand bar.

And Spirit Airlines, ever the prankster, announced $9 (each way) flights to the moon.

Tracking a toddler’s airport pat-down

I spent much of Monday morning trying to track down the parent who posted the video (below) of a 3 year-old in a wheelchair getting a very thorough pat-down at an airport security checkpoint.

It turned out the video was shot in 2010 and had been posted on YouTube over the weekend. But that didn’t stop it from going viral.

Here’s my story about the video – and the TSA’s response – that posted on msnbc.com.

A video shot in 2010 showing a 3-year-old boy receiving a pat-down from a TSA agent went viral today. The toddler was wearing a cast and sitting in a wheelchair.

In an annotated videotape of the incident posted March 17 on YouTube, the father is heard reassuring his son, whom he calls “Rocco,” while a TSA officer is seen patting down the squirming boy and taking swabs of the chair and the cast. After asking the parents to lift the boy’s shirt and offering them the option of going to a private screening area, the officer is also shown swabbing the boy’s back.

The video has been viewed more than 400,000 times. [updated]

Before conducting the check at the Chicago Midway Airport, the TSA officer tries to reassure the boy by asking what he likes — “Tigers? Animals?” — and then asks the boy to sit up. During the inspection he also tells the parents what he is doing and tells Rocco that he’s a good boy.

Comments added to the video by his father, said, “I was told I could NOT touch him or come near him during this process. Instead we had to pretend this was ‘OK’ so he didn’t panic.”

Reached Monday morning,  the boy’s father, Matt DuBiel, said the video was made in spring 2010 during a family trip to Disney World.

“We had a baby five weeks ago, and I was looking at some old family videos on Saturday night, and I got incensed and emotional watching it.”

DuBiel says he posted it on YouTube to share it with family members who have heard him talk about the incident but who hadn’t seen the video.

Noting that the incident took place more than a year ago, TSA, in a statement, said: “Due to the fact that this passenger was traveling in a wheelchair and had a cast he would have been unable to pass through the walk-through metal detector or imaging technology and therefore received alternative screening, a pat-down and use of explosives trace detection.”

“It doesn’t matter when it was,” said DuBiel. “That’s the TSA and that is my son. And he is wearing a body cast. The TSA agent did the best he could with a ridiculous situation, but someone should have stepped in and said, ‘That’s enough.’ ” He said he didn’t make a fuss at the time because he was worried about getting the whole family through security. The family was traveling to Disney World.

“At the time, they didn’t  have the rules in place for children that they have now. But, regardless of the new or old rules, my position is that it’s unacceptable to treat a toddler this way.”

Last fall, the TSA revised its rules for children 12 and under, saying they no longer have to remove their shoes at security checkpoints. The agency’s policy for Children with Disabilities states that “if your child is unable to walk or stand, the Security Officer will conduct a pat-down search of your child while he/she remains in their mobility aid, as well as a visual and physical inspection of their equipment.”

“While recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection, our officers continue to work with parents to ensure a respectful screening process for the entire family at the checkpoint,” TSA said Monday.

 

Tidbits for Travelers: ATL, AUS and presidential places

Cell phone lot at ATL

No matter what type of car you drive, if you travel to or from Atlanta, you’ll be pleased to know that on Thursday, February 16, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (finally!) opens its first cell phone lot for drivers waiting to pick up arriving passengers.

The 160-space lot is along South Terminal Parkway at the east end of the Park-Ride Reserve lot and has no flight monitors, portable toilets or other amenities.

Refrigerators at AUS

At the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, six decorated refrigerator doors are on display in the baggage claim area, at carousels two and four. The doors were used as canvases by high school students as a way to promote the importance of recycling and will be on display through the end of February.

Where to go for Presidents Day

And, if you’ve got Presidents Day off you may be trying to figure out where to go to get in touch with a presidential past. Here are some tools and tidbits that may be helpful.

From Friday, February 17 through Monday, February 20, the Presidents Gallery at Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C. is offering free admission to anyone who shares a birthday with a U.S. president.

The folks at Roadside America, keen collectors of odd travel destinations, have just released a Roadside Presidents app for the iPhone. They’re charging $2.99 for it – but you can bet that it’s full of all manner of oddball Presidential landmarks and museums.

And, from my post on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, here’s a list of some towns and attractions with special Presidents Day events on tap:

Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., Ford’s Theater, the site of the April 14, 1865, assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, is hosting a Presidents Day open house on Feb. 20. Among the free activities scheduled are storytelling, Civil War-themed ranger talks and a presentation by costumed actors that includes a reconstruction of Lincoln’s assassination.

Every Four Years: Presidential Campaigns and the Press, a new exhibit opening at the Newseum Feb. 17, traces the way the media has covered presidential campaigns from “William McKinley’s 1896 front porch campaign to Barack Obama’s 2008 Internet campaign.” In addition to notable TV campaign ads, the exhibit includes campaign artifacts such as handwritten notes taken by John F. Kennedy during a 1960 presidential debate and the “Florida, Florida, Florida” white board used by NBC’s Tim Russert on election night 2000.

Bonus: The Newseum’s exhibit, First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets, runs through 2012.

Virginia
As the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, Virginia proudly calls itself the “The Mother of Presidents” and has dozens of historic sites paying special Presidents Weekend tribute to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.

There will be free admission on Feb. 20 at George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, where a costumed General Washington will be on hand for activities to include the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Washington’s Tomb, music and military performances and a (shh!) surprise birthday party.

During Presidents Weekend, actors portraying founding fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison will be visiting Colonial Williamsburg.

Alexandria will be marking the 280th anniversary of George Washington’s birth with a celebration that includes a Birthnight Banquet & Ball (Feb. 18), a Revolutionary War Reenactment (Feb. 19) and the George Washington Birthday Parade (Feb. 20). Historic sites around Alexandria, such as Gatsby’s Tavern Museum, where early patrons included George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, will offer free admission on Presidents Day as well.

Bonus: A free, self-guided walking tour of 21 of the 140 sites in Alexandria associated with George Washington is available (PDF).

Massachusetts
In Boston, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is celebrating Presidents Day with discounted admission from Feb. 18-26. An activity-filled Family Festival Day on Feb. 21 includes the opportunity to meet actors playing presidents and first ladies such as Thomas Jefferson and Dolley Madison.

Sleep like a president
Presidents Day weekend activities can include sleeping where a past president got some shut-eye.

“Every president from Eisenhower to George W has stayed at the Greenbrier in West Virginia, a historic hotel that still brings in weekend splurgers,” says Robert Reid, U.S. travel editor for Lonely Planet.

Another option: the Presidential Suite at the Waldorf Astoria New York. Every American President since Herbert Hoover has stayed in the suite, which is decorated with the personal desk of General Douglas MacArthur, one of John F. Kennedy’s rocking chairs and other presidential artifacts.

Presidential treatment doesn’t come cheap. A weekend night in a two-bedroom executive suite at the Greenbrier is about $900, while nightly rates for the Waldorf Astoria’s Presidential Suite begin at $10,000 – and include a background check.