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Regular readers know how frustrated I have been with inconsistent liquid-ban enforcement and the subsequent confusion over duty free purchases that ensues, like the finger-pointing contradiction-fest I experienced in Munich a while back. Travelers changing planes on multi-leg international flights (say, flying from New York to Frankfurt and on to Johannesburg) were especially hard-hit, with several different layers of regulation hitting them and their liquid cargo.

For the traveler with liquids in tow, two items may be of interest.

First, the European Commission adopted new rules for travelers changing planes in the EU member states, plus Switzerland, Norway, or Iceland. If the airport where you purchased your duty-free liquor adheres to “the two ICAO state letters (1 December 2006 and 30 March 2007), which set standards for tamper evident bags and security levels for supply chains to airport retailing,” then your precious cargo will not be confiscated by European airport personnel or law enforcement authorities. This effectively means that the European Commission now recognizes the security procedures of other airports as acceptable and adequate.

Of course, the problem is, how do you know that your departure airport fits the bill? And it may take some time before the new rules filter down to the people who enforce these rules on the ground. Still: A step forward for common sense.

Second, a reminder from Upgrade: Travel Better contributor Tyler Colman on the rules regarding duty-free limits on wine (or other alcohol, for that matter.) Very often, airport and airline staff unfortunately tell passengers about the “limits” on liquor, when in fact they’re referring only to the duty-free limits. As if the duty free limit is all you’re allowed to carry into the country. Not so!

If you’re flying back to the United States, you can carry in several cases of wine if you like, assuming 1) that you check it as baggage, packed nicely in a padded wine box, 2) that you have receipts indicating the purchase price of the wine, and 3) that you declare the wine to the customs agents when you arrive, and on your declaration form. You can bring plenty back from your travels, if you are willing to pay the taxes, but you only get very limited amounts duty-free. And how much are those taxes? 3%. THREE! That’s nothing! And travelers report that customs agents can’t be bothered to fill out the paperwork on such small amounts, so you might get off with a duty-free case or two.

Of course, carrying that much back means you’re dragging boxes through airports and possibly paying the airline an excess baggage charge. But don’t let anyone tell you you can’t take it with you.

Cheers!

Update:
Reader Steve writes in to point out that I glossed over an important point in Dr. Vino’s post: The rules on how much alcohol you can bring into the country are also set by the state where you land. A snippet from Steve’s e-mail, with a story of zealous liquor enforcement, below:

Your posting on booze coming back into the US is true, but incomplete.

While it is true that the Feds place no restriction on the amount of alcohol you can bring in some states do (or at least used to). So if your first port of entry is NY and NY State only allows two bottle (which used to be the case) then you can be forced to throw everything out beyond that.

That is exactly what happened to me, however it was almost 20 years ago and it is likely (though not certain) that the rules have changed. But since states are still firmly in control of these laws if you intend on bringing in more than the federal limit it would be prudent to call the ABC of the state you will be clearing customs in and ask what the regulations are.

Thanks, Steve!

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Upgraded: Airport food
A positive trend: The resurgence of local restaurants, snacks, and food gifts at airports across America. Ironically, these local brands are often being brought in by the national mega-vendors like HMS Host, who sense that people are tiring of finding the same five food options in every airport. (Thanks Dr. Vino!)

Upgraded: Irony
The passenger who recently flew internationally despite being diagnosed with tuberculosis and warned not to travel? His father-in-law is a microbiologist at the Center for Disease Control in (wait for it…) the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination. What are the odds?

Downgraded: US Airways tray tables, again
They just keep classin’ the joint up, don’t they? First it was tray table advertising in coach. Then they added ads to the tray tables in first class. Apparently people were able to ignore the ads sufficiently, though, so they’re adding editorial content from BusinessWeek magazine. Why? “Research showed that passengers remembered the ads better when they were accompanied by editorial content.” Other blogs are already deriding this (see here and here for two examples) and I’m all too happy to pile on. May I suggest that the following recent BusinessWeek articles be considered for lamination onto US Airways’ tray tables:

• “The Worst Airline Meltdowns: US Airways, Philadelphia, December 2004“
• “S&P Cuts UAL, AMR, US Airways, and Continental“
• “Airlines Brace for a Bumpy Ride“

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The next time I’m in line for security, or customs, or passport control, or heck, the supermarket, I’ll try to remember this video. Taken in February 2007 at London’s Heathrow Airport, the video shows people lined up to pass through customs.

The line just. keeps. going.

via The Gate

It’s been a tough few weeks, so the posting machine has been running a bit slow. Time to clear some of the backlog:

Survivor: Skybus edition
Jaunted’s Mark Johnson played anthropologist in the airline world last week, doing some participant-observation onboard ultra-cheap negative-frills airline Skybus. The whole saga, with videos and pictures, can be found here. Photo above is Mark’s pic of a $9/hour Skybus flight attendant selling goods (on commission). Ah, the ubiquitous Toblerone, official chocolate of 35,000 feet. But ice wine? And those crew uniforms look remarkably like the folks in those hotels.com TV ads…

Bonus: Skybus is adding three cities to their roster. “Hartford/Springfield” — which is really Westover Metropolitan (CEF), 19 miles from Bradley (BDL). “Jacksonville/Daytona Beach” — which is really St. Augustine/St. John’s County (UST), a whopping 42 air miles from Jacksonville (JAX). And San Diego. Yes, it’s really San Diego. One out of three ain’t bad.

At least he didn’t threaten the flight attendants
The TSA reportedly detained director Mike Figgis for five hours at LAX, after he told security screeners that he was in town to “shoot a pilot.” What, LAX employees never heard the television-industry parlance of “pilot”? UPDATE: This never happened. Mike Figgis himself says it’s BS. But it’s a good story, I tells ya.

Arthur Frommer had better watch out
Latest competitor to Fodor’s, Frommer’s, and Lonely Planet? Borat!

Canadian citizenship for Kip Hawley?
Even though the Canadian government has created their own security lists, Canadian airlines are still using American no-fly lists. Will TSA Director Kip Hawley freedom baggies be far off?

I’d rather pay for my mortgage with miles
Gary Leff wants to pay his mortgage by credit card, so he can earn points. And it will soon be possible, via American Express and a small set of lenders, who take a $395 fee up front. Years ago, I checked out a rental apartment that let you use Visa to pay your rent. (I didn’t rent it.) The apartment sucked, but think of the miles I left on the table!

Villa livin’
Wendy Perrin has written a great guide to finding an affordable villa or vacation home. But the prices she mentions are still not ultra-cheap. I’m already a villa convert: In December 2005, my wife and I rented a small beachfront house in Anguilla. The house had its own pool, looked across the strait to the beautiful, mountainous island of St. Martin (or St. Maarten, if you prefer), and cost a little over $200 per night. It had no butler service, and, while comfortable, it wasn’t “luxury,” but it was amazing value.

Spend green to go green?
The city of Denver wants passengers to buy carbon offsets when they fly out of DEN. They’re setting up kiosks that let you buy offsets just like you might buy that Mutual of Omaha travel insurance. At the same time, Republican Congressmen are, perhaps ironically, championing a greater role for the federal government: regulating carbon offsets. Might not be a bad idea. I’m all for supporting the environment, but I’m suspicious of the offset idea. This skeptical op-ed in the Times of London doesn’t help.

Explosive curry
Explosive curry damages a Boeing 747. Say no more.

Boxers = Boeing, briefs = Airbus
Great moments in headline writing: “Hong Kong tycoon buys B787 jet after seeing passenger in underpants.”

Yes, that hamster is happy to see you
Jetlagged? Try popping a Viagra. After all, it works for hamsters!

Downgraded: Presidential security
The Secret Service is overburdened. So they’re bringing in the TSA! If presidential candidates look like they haven’t washed their hair, because their shampoo was confiscated, this will be why. God help us all.

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Love is no longer in the air
An amorous couple that got busted for their inflight PDA will have to resort to conjugal visits soon. A jury convicted Carl William Persing of interfering with a flight crew last November. In the original complaint, he was accused of being overly amorous with his lady, and that he had his head in her lap in what was perceived to be a sexual manner. (His original defense was that he suffered from a medical condition that required him to rest his head. I guess they gave up that line of defense.) But a felony? And why did he take the fall, while she was let off the hook? It takes two to tango!

Fight terrorism! Shop!
Britain’s airports have been criticized for their long advance check-in times for a while now. Four hours before your international flight? Puh-leeze! Now the airlines themselves are getting into the criticism game. The leadership of British airline bmi has gone on record to claim that the British Airports Authority uses the terror threat to boost its revenue at airport stores.

Fight terrorism again! Assign seats!
No open seating for airlines in India: Assigned seats are now mandatory. Why? The Indian Directorate of Civil Aviation argues that “the move will ensure keeping the centre of gravity within limits at all times during flight,” and that “allocation of seats will also avoid confusion among passengers over seating arrangements and in cases of emergency, specific seat numbers given to certain passengers will be helpful for investigation purposes.” Okay… well, I like seat assignments, but is the center of gravity ever really an issue at Southwest? Seems like they really want to know where the baddies are sitting…

Europeans get better fares when they shop in the USA
European travelers looking to get a deal might consider booking their intra-European flights on US-based travel agency sites. The Times of London reports that fares are often lower on this side of the pond. But beware: Some sites don’t take credit cards that aren’t issued by US banks.

Deciphering pilot-speak
Patrick Smith provides a glossary of things you’ll hear on the PA system in flight. Some of it is niggling over the present tense, especially in variations that involve the word “do.” (As in “I do speak” vs. “I speak” or “I am speaking.”) Fight the good fight, Patrick!

It’s tax day, and what better opportunity to ask what taxes you’re paying when you travel, and where that money is going?

Of the big three — air, hotel, and car rental — air travel within the U.S. is the most tax-standardized (which isn’t saying much). Hotel occupancy taxes vary by municipality, and car rental taxes range wildly depending on how badly the state or local government wants to stick it to out-of-towners.

Air taxes, on the other hand, are more readily summarized. But when you learn about how some of those taxes are spent, you may not be happy.

Bob Porterfield of the Associated Press does the heavy lifting for us and tallies them up — 7.5% federal taxes, $3.40 segment taxes for each leg of the flight, $2.50 security fees per segment, and the airport-imposed passenger facility charges of up to $4.50 per landing.

But the real kicker is where some of those monies — in particular the 7.5% federal taxes on all scheduled air tickets — are going:

The federal government has taken billions of dollars from the taxes and fees paid by airline passengers every time they fly and awarded it to small airports used mainly by private pilots and globe-trotting corporate executives.

Fan-freakin’-tastic. Not only do these folks get to opt out of the mass-market security hassles, they get subsidized by the general public till to do it.

You may be asking if private aviation pays a different set of charges to cover its use of America’s overstretched aviation systems. Yes, and no. Mostly no.

Passenger taxes are collected in noncommercial aviation only in instances involving the fractional ownership of private jets, air charter operations and small commuter flights. Instead, it contributes to America’s air transit infrastructure in the form of a fuel tax that covers just a fraction of the services it uses.

For the most part, private jets don’t pay taxes, and certainly not nearly the percentage of taxes to which commercial travelers have gotten accustomed.

So are private jets paying enough? Nope.

A study released in February by the FAA said it cost $2.4 billion just to provide air traffic control for private and corporate planes in 2005. The industry contributed just $516 million in fuel taxes that year.

So how do you fix the disparity? Uniform, distance-based taxation? Fuel taxes? Landing fees? I don’t know, but I’d love to hear your ideas.

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Downgraded: Lavender
Update: The controversial and lame American Airlines website for women got a minor redesign, as Meg at the Consumerist noticed. See the before-and-after screenshots above. The criticism must have gotten to them. Gone is the lavender flight search box, though it’s still a dumbed-down version with fewer options than the main search page. Is this progress?

Upgraded: US Airways, Downgraded: Southwestern temperance
The booze is back in the Land of Enchantment! US Airways is once again serving alcoholic drinks on flights to and from New Mexico. Recall that they got busted for serving liquor without a license. Tipple with impunity.

Downgraded: Late night arrivals at Detroit; Upgraded: Odds of a PBOR
It happened again. Passengers were stuck on a plane for hours, bathrooms had no water, etc. A late-arriving Spirit Airlines flight from Cancun couldn’t be processed after landing (at 11 p.m.), because Homeland Security’s Customs/Immigration agents had gone home for the night. It took until 4 a.m. the next day for passengers to be let out. Update: Or the plane landed early! And Customs’ computers were down. And passengers left the plane at 12:30 a.m., if you believe Customs. Or later, depending on who’s telling the story.

Upgraded: Lufthansa first class seating
No preview images yet, but Lufthansa is upgrading their first class cabins, beginning with winter 2008. The new seats were meant to debut with the A380, but given the delivery delays, they’re just rolling them out anyway.

Upgraded, potentially: Baggage screening
Assuming the bill survives a veto threat from President Bush, airports across America could receive new equipment that supposedly screens baggage faster and more accurately than previous versions. Why the veto threat? The bill also contains a provision permitting TSA agents to unionize.

Downgraded: Flights from LAX
United Airlines and Los Angeles World Airports are having a spat about the rent. United says the rent hike is a violation of the lease agreement, but until the dust settles, they’re charging passengers who board a flight at LAX an extra $10 to cover the difference, even though the actual costs to the airline are allegedly a lot less. Now Delta and US Airways have followed suit and raised fares out of LAX by the same $10. Lovely.

Upgraded: Baltimore!
Layover at BWI? Grab a glass of wine at the newest branch of Vino Volo, the chain of in-airport wine bars. Other locations include Washington Dulles, Sacramento, and Seattle. (Via Jaunted)

In the old market of Sarlat, a new language is increasingly being heard: English. Attracted by the quality of life, including good food and good weather, the English have been buying second homes in the remote Dordogne region of France over the past few years. Why the new interest? Ryanair started direct service to Bergerac (EGC) from London Stansted (STN).

While in Europe many peripheral airports have aggressively courted low-cost carriers, the trend in America has lagged behind. That may be changing.

Scott McNally wrote in his column last week in the Wall Street Journal about the rise of peripheral airports. He cites the new LA/Palmdale Regional airport 50 miles from LA, the Gary, Indiana airport now calling itself “Chicago/Gary” and the fact that the Port Authority bought the lease on the Newburgh airport 55 miles north of Manhattan.

Will we see this as a cheap (if not fast) route to big cities as has been the norm in Europe? Sadly, it seems not. United is scheduled to provide service to LA/Palmdale via their regional jets. Where are the low-cost carriers in the US? Will these far-flung areas experience new growth like the Dordogne with the English? Sound off in the comments below. Interestingly, Ryannair recently said they had to start flying to major airports in order to continue growth.

–Tyler Colman

For your entertainment: Thirty seconds of airport luggage conveyor-belt hijinks!

This is what happens when the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, along with US Airways, puts four planes worth of luggage onto one baggage carousel at the same time.

Video from:
Friday, March 2, 2007
US Airways # 773
Philadelphia to Las Vegas

Thanks to Consumerist.com editor Ben Popken!

Rent an iPod inflight, catch up on Sabado Gigante
Here’s an airline that’s thinking outside the box: For about $5, Mexican discount airline Volaris will rent you an iPod loaded with Mexican TV shows and popular music. (American sitcoms y musica gringa coming soon.)

If Seinfeld ran an airport
Airport food is notoriously overpriced, but at least there’s food available, which is more than you can say for the departing planes. The latest entrant into the in-terminal dining segment: Cereality, the restaurant chain devoted entirely to cereal. Benet Wilson reports that a mini-version of the chain with limited selection opened at Newark Airport. A full-fledged restaurant, with 40 cereals and 40 toppings, opens at Chicago O’Hare (terminal 1, concourse B) soon. The idea is brilliant: Near-universally-liked food, HUGE profit margins.

Very superstitious, writing on the tail
Brussels Airlines’ logo consists of 13 dots that create a “B.” Superstitious passengers refuse to fly with the airline because of that number. Airline adding a 14th dot. Oy.

View the Opryland Glacier from your riverboat cruise ship?
Much like Nepal tourist advertising recently pictured photos that were actually in Peru, Tennessee’s promo materials were discovered to feature photos of mountain bikers in Alaska. Maybe Elvis is alive and well and living in Kodiak.

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The hubbub about the proposed passenger bill of rights last week is still alive and well, if my e-mail inbox is any indication. Several readers have written, asking for more information, or ways of supporting the cause of such a bill. (Let’s call it the PBOR for short, giving it that official-sounding government-ese acronymic flavor, and cutting down on my typing…)

The draft PBOR is posted here and at the angry passengers’ blog. A petition is available, too, if you want to show your support.

Congress is taking the PBOR seriously, and I think that’s a good thing, but even if such a bill passes, would it be enforceable? How do you determine blame? And if so, what are the penalties?

Most of the goals that the PBOR sets out are rules or requirements, but the only penalty that’s referenced is for flight cancellation or delay of 12 hours or greater.

For example: “Establish procedures for returning passengers to terminal gate when delays occur so that no plane sits on the tarmac for longer than three hours without connecting to a gate.” No doubt, that’s a reasonable goal, but whom do you blame, and what are the consequences, if this doesn’t happen?

I sat on the ground for hours once at O’Hare, flying back from Philadelphia, after a snowstorm wreaked havoc on Chicago aviation. (This was the same day, in 2005, when the Southwest plane went off the runway and into the streets of Chicago.) The 737 I was on was parked for hours on the outskirts of the airport, waiting for a gate to open. The rear toilets overflowed. It was one of the few times that I wished I was at a European airport like Frankfurt, where every other flight is parked out in the middle of nowhere and passengers are bused back to the terminal. There was no bus for us. Just a long wait, until another gate opened up. But with so much snow falling, few aircraft actually left their gates.

So who was to blame? The airline? The airport? The weather?

The problem with any such legislation isn’t the determination of what the desired outcome should be. It’s the determination of who is to blame when that outcome isn’t reached.

Related:
- Update: How to support the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights
- Do we need a passenger bill of rights?

The war on runway safety
Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport hasn’t worked out as everyone hoped, with cost overruns, insufficient bathrooms, and shoddy workmanship. But now, by virtue of its failure to renew its safety certificate, it’s officially unsafe. Runways have been plagued with cracks and debris. (You’ll be pleased to know that the airport is still operating as normal. Nice. Wouldn’t want to let safety get in the way of the schedule!)

The war on skycaps
Skycaps at Boston’s Logan Airport have filed a class action lawsuit against American Airlines. The suit alleges that the airline’s policy of charging $2 per bag for curbside check-in is cutting into the skycaps’ tips. Indeed, many people assume the fee goes to the skycap, but it actually goes to the airline. The fees exist at plenty of other airports and with plenty of other airlines. Will more skycaps organize and sue?

The war on horse meat
I really don’t know what to make of this. “American Airlines and Delta Air Lines said early Thursday afternoon that they had suspended transport of horse meat to overseas markets – mainly France, Belgium and Japan – where it is consumed.” Horse butchers are angry. It’s a long story.

The war on fusion cuisine
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture will soon travel the world, inspecting Japanese restaurants and certifying their authenticity. I realize that this is as much cultural nationalism as it is a marketing device, but it’s moronic. California rolls aren’t authentic to Japan, but they’re a standard of sushi restaurants in America. Deal with it. It’s a globalized world, and the notion of a “pure” cultural product is a sham. And it’s been a sham for some time. We’ve been globalizing for hundreds of years. (The spice trade, anyone?) But if the Japanese taxpayer wants to pay for this culinary boondoggle, have at it. (Thanks Dr. Vino!)

The war on broken in-flight entertainment
I get as irritated as the next guy when the audio-video system is broken on a long flight, but attacking the staff is probably not the way to go. Customers on board several Qantas aircraft that have been experiencing technical trouble with their video system “are becoming openly abusive and threatening” to flight attendants in flight. Not cool. Better bring a book.

The war for Delta
US Airways really, really, really, really, really wants to buy Delta. They’re now offering to raise their offer by another $1 billion if the creditors agree to postpone a meeting to discuss Delta’s in-house restructuring. Wake me up when this is over.

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