It started with US Airways, and quickly snowballed into an industry-wide trend. Beginning in May, no longer will you be able to check two pieces of luggage free of charge. Six major airlines – American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, and US Airways – will all charge $25 for passengers to check a second bag. Several smaller carriers – Air Canada, Alaska Air, Air Tran, and JetBlue among them – have enacted similar policies.

Travelocity’s FAQ page is constantly updated with the details of each policy.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Packing & Baggage, Travel News
Email this | Comments (0)

We’ve said it before and we’ve even said it again, but yet another one is biting the dust as Continental is now instituting a second-bag fee, making it the fourth airline to do so after United, US Airways, and Delta have all taken the plunge. But is it really so terrible?

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member dinkime

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Packing & Baggage, Travel News
Email this | Comments (2)

Your Definitive List of Seaside Essentials

Sand in the swimsuit? The only thing that grates more is being unprepared at the beach. From the hottest gadgets to the latest travel memoir, toss these items into your tote and be perfectly primed for fun under the sun this summer.

Sunscreen: Sure, you lathered up before you left home, but reapplying every two hours burns you up. Pack Sunguard Sunscreen Wipes for hassle-free protection from UVA and UVB rays.

Towel: You'll be in high cotton this summer with the Land's End Beach Blanket, which accommodates two people and boasts clever stakes to keep it planted in high winds. And thanks to its sand-resistant flatweave backing, you'll leave the beach behind.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Beaches, Packing & Baggage
Email this | Comments (1)

It can happen to anyone. You may be vigilant about checking in online, careful to arrive at the airport early, and insistent on flying direct, but even the most well-honed travel savvy is sometimes no match for simple math and Murphy’s Law. Just 2% of bags are declared irretrievably lost by airlines each year, seemingly innocuous odds that become more dangerous the more frequently you travel. Sooner or later, it will happen to you.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member dinkime

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Packing & Baggage
Email this | Comments (0)

Effective January 1, 2008, passengers carrying lithium batteries on airplanes -- in both checked on carry-on luggage -- must adhere to new regulations, according to Travel Weekly.

Loose lithium batteries can no longer be placed in checked baggage. Passengers may have up to two loose lithium batteries in their carry-on baggage, but the batteries must be in their original packaging OR in two separate, resalable plastic bags.

Items that commonly use lithium batteries, such as cell phones and cameras, can still be carried on or checked as long as the lithium battery is inside them.

Loose lithium batteries are considered hazardous because they can overheat and ignite, causing fires. Read the news release in its entirety from the Department of Transportation here.

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Packing & Baggage, Travel Alerts
Email this | Comments (0)

According to the Los Angeles Times, lost luggage may be a thing of the past. A new technology, already in use at Hong Kong International Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, promises a most efficient way to track bags separated from their owners.

Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, uses a passive radio transponder embedded in a luggage tag that's put on your bag at check-in to track your bags. Other airports are looking into implementing RFID, though it's unlikely any will do so before the busy holiday season, when an increase in air travelers means an increase in mishandled luggage.

The current system, which uses bar codes, is imperfect, as any of the thousands of passengers who lost their bags last summer can attest to. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, nearly 8% of luggage was mishandled this past August -- down slightly from the previous August, but no consolation to anyone who spent three days in the same underwear.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Packing & Baggage, Travel News
Email this | Comments (1)

But no cash please. More and more airlines are moving towards a cashless in-flight experience, according to the Los Angeles Times. Seems that it's not enough to make you pay for things that were once free, but now the airlines want to tell you how to pay too.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Packing & Baggage, Travel News
Email this | Comments (5)

For all my gripes about flight delays and airline-service slips this summer, I have to admit that when I book a ticket to Rome, I generally end up in Rome. My suitcase’s final destination, on the other hand, is often quite literally up in the air. And since tighter carry-on restrictions have turned my fellow toiletry fiends and me into reluctant bag checkers, it seems inevitable that we’ll face down empty luggage carousels increasingly often.

The only thing worse than the moment you realize your luggage is lost is the process of retrieving it, especially if you’re traveling abroad. And sometimes, your bag permanently checks out, never to be seen—or stowed—again.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Packing & Baggage
Email this | Comments (1)

About a year and a half ago, I was obsessed with finding a universal sink plug. I was about to set off on a three-month backpacking jaunt around Southeast Asia, staying in the sorts of places that cost the same per night as my daily Starbucks habit in the States, and apparently a universal sink plug was de rigueur. I mean, honestly, all the guidebooks said so.

So after several weeks--and various forays into many, many stores--I finally found one. Into my backpack it went, along with my mosquito repellent, my sunscreen, my travel detergent, and a hundred pocket-sized packets of tissues. After thrice-daily applications, the mosquito repellent and the sunscreen were gone within a week; the travel detergent was equally as indispensable, given the frequency with which I used the communal laundry facilities in youth hostels (can you imagined carrying a Target-sized container of Tide around Asia? I think not.) And the pocket-sized packets of tissues proved, time and time again, to be as important as you would imagine them to be in a series of third world countries where toilet paper in public restrooms is not exactly high on the list of priorities.

But the universal sink plug? Didn't even use it once.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Packing & Baggage, Trip Tips
Email this | Comments (6)

One of the nice things about living in the 21st century is how easy everything is. We tend to take a lot for granted, such as running water, electricity, and the wonders of the Internet, but we are still obsessed—some people more than others—with new devices that make light work of whatever it is we are doing. Gadgets are toys for the adult set and many are made specifically for the traveler. From eye masks and neck pillows to noise-cancelling headphones and travel games, we’re always looking for ways to make our journeys as easy and comfortable as possible.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member Rufusni

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Budget Travel, Guides & Planning, Packing & Baggage
Email this | Comments (3)

Having lived in eight different countries before reaching double digits, and with family now spread out across the globe, I've taken my fair share of international flights. They're long and they're boring, but they don't have to be unbearable. Here's a few things I've found that help:

* While business and first class usually give you an amenity kit for the flight, good old coach doesn't do it anymore---and if you're like me, you'll likely be flying coach. No matter! Just pack your own amenity kit; I usually just find an old toiletry bag and fill it with an eye mask, a pair of earplugs, some Evian spray, a lip balm, antibacterial hand cleaner, a few Advils, some Wet Ones for freshening your face after a sub-par sleep, and a moisturizer. That way, you've got everything you could possibly need for your comfort all in one place, and don't have to go rooting around in your bag for that Chapstick every few hours.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Health & Wellness, International Travel, Packing & Baggage
Email this | Comments (16)

“Kilts. Bells. Lake. Fun.” These four words are on my friend’s wedding website, and this weekend I’ll be seeing those words come to life near Lake Huron in Michigan, where the Sean Connery-esque dress code will be a quirky nod to Scottish heritage.

No longer do traditional wedding destinations like Vegas and Niagara Falls get all the “I do” action. For that reason, the dress code is getting more and more varied—in the Maldives, for example, brides and grooms can don their scuba-gear finest and get married underwater, using hand signals and bubble-blowing to exchange their vows. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a white wedding in the custom-carved chapel at Sweden’s Icehotel is all about wearing layers—the bride pictured on one website is wrapped in fur.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Michigan, Packing & Baggage, South America
Email this | Comments (2)

I’m off on a quick trip to Chicago next month, and I’m trying to resolve the dilemma of bringing two laptops. There’s my work one, of course--I’ll want to stay in touch with colleagues and check e-mail--and then there’s my personal one, the shiny white iBook with all my music and bookmarks and photos. I’ve always carried one computer with me on my vacations--the idea of potentially being out of touch makes me hyperventilate just a tad--but am I over-egging the pudding a little with two?

It seems we can't stop, any of us. According to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released last week, one in five people took their laptop on their last vacation, and the same number admitted to doing some work when they were supposed to be relaxing. Twice as many checked their e-mail.

My biggest problem, really, isn’t which laptop to bring--or whether I should even bring a laptop; frankly, that’s not up for discussion--but how I’m going to get both on the plane with me. Most airlines only allow you to bring one laptop bag, in addition to another piece of carry-on luggage. What I need, I think, is the bag equivalent of the double stroller. Anyone know where I can get one of those?

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Business Travel, Packing & Baggage, Polls & Studies
Email this | Comments (2)

I've taken 13 flights in the past two months, and if there's one thing I've learned – besides mastering that "Lost in Translation"-like blank stare on people movers, escalators and airtrams – it's that good things really do come in small packages. By small, I mean 3 oz. or less.

This really crystallized for me after watching a woman, who was undoubtedly somebody's mom, cause quite a ruckus at security because she was forced to check her designer purse (or risk having the nearly $300 worth of beauty products that it contained tossed in the garbage). Then, there was another passenger who accused security of stealing her jewelry (while her husband moseyed toward the gate). I had a good chuckle because she was merely being asked to remove her necklaces before walking through the metal detector.

Read more»

Back to Main
Posted in Air Travel, Packing & Baggage
Email this | Comments (1)