Late Thursday afternoon  (January 14, 2010) Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano released a(nother) new statement about additional aviation security precautions being rolled out at the nation’s airports.

What will those new precautions entail?

According to Napolitano’s statement, “…Some of these measures include enhanced random screening, additional federal air marshals on certain routes and adding individuals of concern to our terrorist watch list system.”

None of that sounds all that new. But on the ground, says a TSA spokesperson, that means that, depending on what airport you’re in, you might notice “an increase in measures such as…behavioral detection officers and a wider use of tools like explosive trace detection.  Not just at the checkpoint but throughout the airport environment.”

The bottom line, says Napolitano: “…travelers should allot extra time when flying…”

Allotting extra time, of course, means getting to the airport even earlier than you do now.

But even with all these new procedures, it’s a fair bet that your trip through the security checkpoint will go smoothly and you’ll end up just hanging around the airport waiting for your flight.

If you’re at Miami International Airport (MIA) this Saturday, January 16^th, you can spend that extra time watching a fashion show in the Central Terminal (On Departure Level, Terminal G by the $10 Boutique).

The show will last for an hour, from 1:30 to 2:30, and feature women’s, men’s and children’s clothing and accessories from a variety of airport vendors. There will also be sampling of Toblerone chocolate, and a performance by Venezuelan composer, producer and singer Claudio Corsi, who now lives in the Miami area.

Not planning on being at Miami International Airport this Saturday?  If you’re across country at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), you can fritter away a few extra hours playing pinball – for free.

The free pinball machines are part of SFO’s exhibit about the history of pinball that will be on view through April 2010.

Categories: Air Travel, Events, Exhibits, Fashion, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Rules, Security, TSA
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Thanks to a YouTube video that’s gone viral, millions of people around the world now know that in March 2008, United Airlines baggage handlers broke Dave Carroll’s guitar. Instead of just admitting it and paying for the repairs, the airline kept telling the musician to go away.

He didn’t.  He made a video and the rest, as they say, is music and social media history.  United Airlines changed its tune, promised to do better in the future and, when Carroll refused compensation, donated $3,000 to non-profit music foundation in his name.

Does that mean United and other airlines now won’t break anyone’s guitar? Don’t count on it.  But now everyone is paying more attention to how instruments on airplanes are handled.

Want to make sure your instrument arrives safely? Here’s a video and some tips from the folks at Taylor Guitars and the American Federation of Musicians:

• Know your airline’s policy on transporting instruments. Look it up on the airline’s Web site, print it out and take it with you. “Many flight attendants do not know their own airline’s policy regarding carry-on guitars. If you can calmly explain that your instrument is within their mandated guidelines, and actually show them those guidelines, you will be way ahead of the game.”
• Each airline has a maximize size for carry-on items, measured by linear inches. On many airlines, including Continental, American, and United, the limit is 45 linear inches.  So know your instrument’s size in linear inches.  That’s the sum of the length, width and height of your travel case.  “In many cases, even though your instrument case does not fit in the ‘size wise’ metal contraption at the gate, it might still be within the linear-inch maximum.”
• Carry a fabric tape measure with you.  It can come in handy if you’re challenged about your dimensions of your instrument case.

For more on this topic, see my Well Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com: Get in tune with your airline’s instrument policy.

Categories: Baggage, Music, Rules
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If you’re still trying to figure out whether or not you’re going to take that scheduled trip to Mexico, one of the variables is certainly the policy set forth by your airline.  Will they refund your ticket price? Waive the change fee? Allow you to go Montreal instead of Mexico City?During the initial flu-frenzy, many airlines set and then revised their policies, in most cases extending the dates during which they’d waive change fees.

For a round-up of the airline swine flu change policies as of Friday, May 1st, 2009, see this handy chart put together by the folks at Airfarewatchdog.com.

Keep in mind, though, that policies might be in flux and that many airlines have announced significant cuts in their scheduled flights to and from Mexico even since this list was put together.

So, as always, the advice is – check your airline’s Web site and/or call to get the latest information.  Then – check again.

Source: Airfarewatchdog.com May 1, 2009

Categories: Cancellations, Fees, Rules
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New European Union (EU) rules make it likely that travelers will be able to place cell phone calls on flights in EU airspace as soon as this summer. Air France is already testing such a service on one “cell-phones-allowed” plane that I got to fly on yesterday between Paris and Geneva.

Technically, the service isn’t quite ready-for-prime-time, but passengers I spoke with were just fine with that. “No way do I want to listen to someone talking on their cell phone next to me on a plane,” one man told me, “I hope this never gets going.”

Will in-flight cell-phone service be offered in the United States anytime soon? Not if some lawmakers have their way. Read about their plan to ban in-flight cell-phone service forever in my Well-Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com.

Categories: Cell Phones, Etiquette, Rules
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