Tuesday, January 08, 2008

More Airline Luggage Issues

A break from the gear reviews to note some boring but important news in the world of what you can and cannot carry onto an airplane in January of '08.

If you have a habit of carrying loose lithium batteries on the plane or in your luggage, stop it. In the U.S. anyway. You can have them in the device, in the original packaging, or in a Ziploc bag, but not loose. Most travelers probably don't know a lithium from an alkaline or a ni-cad, so this is not going to be pretty...

Southwest starts charging for a third checked bag. I personally don't think this is a big deal since almost nobody has an excuse for carrying that much on a plane anyway. Only 2 percent of passengers did and they were probably bearing gifts, but if you're in that 2 percent, learn to pack better.

Heathrow allows a second carry-on. Flying in or out of London has been a royal hassle for a while now, especially for those who carried say, a purse and a laptop. Only one carry-on was allowed. Cooler heads have taken over and Gatwick should follow.

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