The Luggage Blog

Today is Blog Action Day when thousands of blogs post recommendations of ideas and steps individuals or companies can take to help make a stand and lend a helping hand to those in need.  Blog Action Day will help raise awareness, start a global discussion and add momentum to an important cause.  As we all know poverty exists all over the world and every little step than you can take is a step towards change!

Here at The Luggage Blog we recommend a couple of great things that one can do to help out.  We suggest that you donate your unused frequent flier miles or even your lightly used luggage and travel accessories to a charity of your choice.

Many travelers rack up tons of frequent flier miles over time and never even use them! So basically, they are just going to waste!… Well if you didn’t know this already, you can actually donate your unused frequent flier miles to charity, which will definitely help out those in need!  Here’s a list of some airlines that participate in donating unused frequent flier miles:

• American Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Airlines
• Northwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways

Not only could you donate your unused frequent flier miles, you could also donate your lightly used luggage to a charity of your choice.  I’m sure that there are many charities around the world that would be glad to accept these types of donations.  However, you always want to check with each charity to determine their acceptance guidelines.

Robinson Luggage, a leading luggage retailer in the Philadelphia area, recently held an in-store event doing just that.  For two weeks customers were able to bring in their old luggage and get 25% off a new bag.  The event ended on September 30th and Robinson Luggage gathered around 80 bags that will be donated to Career Wardrobe of Philadelphia, a non-profit organization that helps assist women in transition back into the workforce.

I’m sure there are many other ways and ideas to give back to your community but we wanted to share these two that we thought were a great way to help out others’ in need!

Photo by Mr. Kris

Message In a Carry-On - TSA Communication Plates [Evolution of Security]

Image by Evan Roth

Images by fotopusch and dragonroy

As if we need another reason to love Southwest Airlines, Forbes just named Southwest America’s Most Reliable Airline.  Forbes points out that one would usually assume that the cheapest fare come with a price… but Southwest proves that low fares don’t have to mean poor service.  So not only are they the only airline that’s not charging you to breathe, they’ve risen to the top when it comes to quality service.  Forbes measured each airline based on delays, arrivals and of course, mishandled luggage complaints.  Over the last 5 years Southwest rose to the top with on-time flights more than 80% of the time and a low cancellation rate of 0.65%.  Congrats Southwest and keep it up!

Picture by GirlieErin

Well it seems as though Tumi is always doing their best to come up with new and exciting collections.  Believe it or not, luggage can be pretty exciting and I think Tumi has done just that with their introduction of the new T-Tech Adventure Collection.

One of Tumi’s newest is the T-Tech Adventure Collection.  T-Tech Adventure is full of bright colors and the name says it all with the adventurous styles and designs that went into this collection.  The entire collection is made from Tumi’s exclusive X-Tech fabric, which is extremely durable, abrasion resistant and soft to the touch! Oooohhh you might just have to get one of these new bags!

Tumi has even created a new informational website, designated to the T-Tech label only.  This website explains all of the collections under the T-Tech label.  The new outdoorsy yet urban look of T-Tech separates itself from the oh so modern classic iconic style of Tumi.  Judge for yourselves!

View the T-Tech Adventure Collection on Luggage Online.

The liquid ban got some attention recently when Virgin Airways called for a review of the carry-on limits, particularly concerning liquids.   At the time the Department of Transportation said it had no intentions of changing the restrictions stating “…a generic capability exists to create liquid bombs from domestic items.”

Not even a month later the TSA sings a different tune.  They’ve announced that they foresee the liquid restrictions to be more relaxed.  ” TSA Chief Kip Hawley says,

“I think realistically in one year we, the TSA and foreign colleagues, will be a position to relax liquids restrictions. We are within a year of having the ability to differentiate threat liquids through the screening process.”

The reason for the change of heart? A new X-ray machine that can detect explosives.  The machines are already in use, but the software that detects the bombs is still being tested.  With the new technology liquids will most likely still have to be removed first, but the limits on quantity may be relaxed in ‘09.  In the meantime? Get out your 1 qt baggies and 3oz bottles.

TSA Likely to Relax Liquid Ban in 2009 [MSN Travel]

Photo by msmail

Aside from airline fees, one of the top complaints traveler’s have lately is the amount of time it takes to get through security.  The TSA has tried to address this issue by implementing self-regulated lanes designed for different types of travelers.  The only downside to system where each passenger decides their level of expertise is that people may tend to chose whatever line they think will be quickest, regardless of how often they travel… leaving the people who actually DO travel often stuck waiting behind someone less prepared (as usual).

A few airlines are taking matters into their own hands and plan to provide special priority lines to their frequent travelers.  American Airlines announced last week that they’re starting their Priority Access, giving their top customers dedicated security and boarding lines to speed up their trip.  Today Southwest Airlines announced Fly By,  which will provide a priority security lane to Business Select and Rapid Reward A-List customers.  Both programs are said to begin sometime in late October.  This sounds like great news for frequent travelers who are sick of getting held up in long lines.  While we’re not sure how TSA policies play into this, we suspect you’ll still have to remove your shoes.  But at least the people in line with you know the drill and are probably wearing slip-ons.

Southwest Airlines Introduces Priority Security Lanes at Select Airports
American Airlines Adds Airport Perks for Top Travelers

Photo by Ingorr