The Luggage Blog

The Transport Security Administration (TSA) has launched a new program called Secure Flight that aims to better protect you.

So what does this mean for you? When ever booking a flight traveling to, from or within the United States TSA will be double checking your information against your Official Government Issued ID or Passport. Basically this means that the full name, gender, and date of birth you use to book your flight must match your ID and or Passport.

The following Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD) will be required when making a reservation:

• Name as it appears on government-issued I.D. when traveling
• Date of Birth
• Gender
• Redress Number (if available)

Why are they doing this? SecureFlight serves to prevent individuals on the No Fly List from boarding an aircraft and to identify individuals on the Selectee List for enhanced screening. After matching passenger information against government watch lists, Secure Flight transmits the matching results back to airlines.

If your planning any upcoming flights, be sure to double check everything matches prior to booking to ensure a hassle-free flight.

We found this informative video on The Middle Seat Terminal, a great travel blog from The Wall Street Journal. Sit back, relax and enjoy…but do pay attention for some helpful air travel tips!

As the first phase of TSA’s Secure Flight is put into place, they will now begin asking passengers to enter their full name – as it appears on the government issued identification they will be traveling with – when making airline reservations.

The fact that this wasn’t enforced previously did surprise us. I know that when I travel next month, I will make a point of double and triple checking that I enter my one year old, hyphenated name - including my middle initial. Do you always use your full name when booking airlines, or do you drop off a middle initial or alter your name in some other way?

TSA.gov created a wonderfully informative page regarding rules, regulations and tips for traveling with children. The Traveling with Kids page includes several videos as well as a link to an additional page for traveling with children with disabilities. No better place to get your info and advice than straight from the source! Plan ahead and save a few whines by visiting TSA.gov today!

For a great selection of kids luggage, like the Heys Disney Collection (with LED light-up, inline skate wheels) featured below, visit LuggageOnline.com.

Heys USA 18in. Disney Cars Carry On $76.95

In keeping with our TSA Employee theme, check out this report from TheLedger.com:

It tells the tale of a former TSA worker out of Newark International Airport in New Jersey who admitted to stealing over $400,000 worth of cameras, computers, cell phone and other electronics. Pythias Brown was caught after he sold goods stolen from a CNN employee on eBay.

So the next time you head to the airport, carry on your valuables!

photo credit

Seasoned fliers know the drill: take off your shoes, dump the latte, and whip out that quart sized bag of liquids. Now, thanks to the TSA, those traveling with a laptop can keep it inside of their bag. In an effort to streamline the security process and reduce damage to and loss of laptops, the TSA called upon manufacturers to create bags that provide a clear and unobstructed view of the laptop for x-ray screening. Several producers of briefcases and travel goods answered that call and checkpoint friendly laptop bags have hit the market.

Tumi, the leader in luggage and briefcases, added a checkpoint friendly bag to their Alpha Series of business cases. The Tumi T-Pass Medium Capacity Laptop Brief features a split-opening panel along the back of the bag. It also includes foam blocks for accommodating smaller laptops. Briggs and Riley’s appropriately called, 17in. Speed Thru™ Case, uses a clam shell design to house the SpeedThru™ pocket. The laptop section features an orange lining, so you can easily tell that it is open. For a smaller version, look to Codi’s Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Case. Also making use of the clam shell design, one side is a dedicated compartment for the laptop; the other provides additional space for files and accessories.

While the TSA still reserves the right to ask passengers to remove their laptop from its case, any of these briefcases- with specially designed compartments-improves your chances of zipping through security lines.

Visit tsa.gov for more information regarding TSA’s laptop bag procedures.