Our first tip is: Make your luggage easier to find! There are fours ways to do this.

	1.  Buy unique and colorful luggage: Although many people are only using carry-ons due to the added fees of checking luggage and added time to get through security, checked luggage is still a necessity for long trips, family vacation, destination vacations, etc.  So, instead of standing around the carousel picking up each black bag that comes by, purchase something unique that you’ll KNOW is yours when you see it.  Choose luggage that is loud either in color or print.  International Traveller in particular has some great animals prints and polka dot designs.  Heys is another company that also has a myriad of bright colors and prints to choose from.
	2. Use luggage tags: If you already own some great luggage or you want another way to identify your colorful/patterned bags from the rest, use luggage tags.  These inexpensive accessories are a great way to personalize your luggage and make great gifts for the avid traveler in your family or group of friends!
	3. Attach bright handle wraps: If luggage tags aren’t your thing or you want yet another way to make your bag stand out from the rest, use handle wraps.  Equally as inexpensive as luggage tags, wraps also serve as protection for your handle, increasing the life of your bag.  And when it comes to heavy lifting, handle wraps provide added comfort for your hands.
	4. Use a Tracking ID Tag: Let’s face it.  Sometimes luggage gets lost.  To ensure that this isn’t something you have to worry about this holiday season, purchase a Victorinox Tracking ID Tag.  Once you register your tag online, Victorinox will reunite you with your bag no matter where it’s found in the world FOR FREE!  The tag includes an ID number and a 24 hr, 365 day-a-year collect phone number that the finder of your bag can call from anywhere in the world.  Victorinox then notifies you, arranges pickup and then makes sure the bag is delivered right to you at no cost.

Follow this Holiday Travel Tip, and you’re sure to find your luggage faster.  Keep an eye out for our other travel tips and let us know if you have any tips of your own!

Yes, this story does have a relatively happy ending though.  The song has become a viral hit, with close to 1.5 million views in the past 4 days; Taylor guitars has offered to fully repair Dave’s guitar, which he says still doesn’t sound the same, and they promised him a discount on his next purchase, and even United Airlines seems to finally want to address this issue, after a whole year of ignoring it.  The moral of the story is, if the airlines lose and/or break something of yours, just put up a video on YouTube.

Enjoy the video…

Virgin Galactic has started taking advance bookings, at $200,000 per flight, in 2005, and over 45,000 people have already signed up.  Yes, the majority of the world’s population will still not be able to personally witness space, at least not at the $200,000 price tag, but one has to be interested and excited about the prospect of the beginning of space travel.

How will this airport support the hundreds  of employees it will need to keep on staff?  Reportedly they have struck an agreement with the airlines that they will pay a certain fee per passenger that comes through that airport.  Either way, this represents a huge savings for the airlines because they will save on salaries, pensions, insurance, etc.  If the privately owned airport experiment works, we might see a restructuring of the national airport system, and if that happens, we will hopefully see a decrease in ticket prices.  Though that’s probably very wishful thinking.  My questions is how this will affect service, safety, and performance?

• Pack smart – try to make it so that your luggage does not get searched by separating all your bulky plastic and/or electronic things.  Separate these items with clothes so that they don’t get clustered together in an undestinguishable and suspicious image on the x-ray monitor.  In case your bag does get searched, pack in a way that makes it easier for the TSA security people to unpack/repack your bag. Rolling your clothes works well.
• Don’t forget the not-so-new carry-on liquid law.  No more than 3.4oz bottles that all have to fit into one ziplock bag.  It can get spendy buying mini-bottles of all your favorite personal hygiene liquids, so buying a TSA approved bottle kit is the way to go.
• If you are bringing a laptop, get a TSA checkpoint friendly bag.  These bags have a separate compartment for only the laptop which lets you leave your laptop and accessories in the laptop bag when going through the checkpoint.
• Mind what you wear – try to avoid jewelry and belts if possible, especially belts with large metal buckles.  I am actually notorious for forgetting about those, setting off the metal detectors, and then acting like a fool searching through my pockets trying to figure out what could be setting it off.  Sandals or slip on shoes are the best – try to avoid shoelaces.
• Make sure you have your ID and boarding pass out.  Yes this is the most obvious and most basic, but you would be surprised – or maybe you wouldn’t – by the number of people that seem to be amazed when they are asked for their ID and boarding pass.  At that point, said people begin hectically searching their bags and pockets.  Please have these out in advance…it will benefit you, and everyone behind you as well.

If you have any other specific tips for getting through the security checkpoints faster, please post them here.

The biggest improvement is that not only do these machines give screeners a top-down look, they also give a side-view at the same time. The machines can be programmed to look for specific items, if need be. The images are in HD and color to show the best images possible. There are already 797 machines in airports nation wide with the TSA looking to get 900 total in airports.

Hopefully, it’ll save some time standing in the waiting lines to get past the security checkpoints eventually. New York is a major international hub and any improvements would be greatly appreciated, I’m sure of it.

Though it likely won’t save you from a Grizzly Bear attack, and I highly suggest that you don’t try your luck, it will definitely protect your belongings, and it will stand up to the very harsh treatment of airline baggage handlers, who sometimes treat your luggage like a Grizzly might…

• Like in Tulsa, as was mentioned in one of my previous posts, Salt Lake City Airport is also implementing the full-body scanners at their security checkpoints.  This is part of an ongoing test that the TSA will be conducting to see how effective the scanners are, and how travelers respond to them.
• In Cleveland, like in a few other airports around the country, construction has begun on a free parking lot, for people picking up arriving passengers. These so-called “cell-phone lots” are a response to the post-9/11 policy prohibiting drivers from waiting around the arrivals area. Here, drivers will be able to park and wait for the call from their friends or family stating that their flight has landed.
• In Atlanta, a lawsuit, by a local gun group, to allow firearms on the premises of one of the busiest airports in the nation, has been defeated. I generally try to stay unbiased, but why would you need/want to bring a gun to the airport?
• In Minneapolis, a local TV investigation has uncovered a security loophole. The investigation, by KSTP, found many airport employees going through security checkpoints unscreened. They would walk through without their bags being checked, without having to take off their shoes, etc. Why is the average airport employee trusted more than the average airline passenger?

If you have any thoughts on these topics, or know of other stories like this, feel free to post them here.