WillCAD said:
If electronics are banned from US flights, that's when I will stop flying. I don't care about a Chapstick, or even about not being able to take a bottle of water on the plane with me, but I refuse to put $3000 worth of camera and computer gear into a checked bag which cannot be locked (by law), and just trust the TSA screeners and the airline baggage handlers to get it all to my destination intact and with nothing missing. I'll drive instead.
I totally agree. I read the following article regarding laptops and had a fit. There is NO way I am putting my laptop in my luggage. If they do ban laptops, then I won't be going anywhere. Who in their right mind would put their laptop in checked luggage? I may as well take a sledge hammer to it now and have the satisfaction of knowing I destroyed it myself instead of having baggage handlers ruin or steal it.
Get Used to Checking Your Laptop
By JULIE SCOTT
TORONTO (CP) - Business travellers should get used to the idea of parting with their laptops at the check-in counter even though Canada hasn't officially banned computers from carry-on luggage, says one industry expert.
Michele Ferrari of HRG North America, a corporate travel management company, is
advising her clients to pack their machines with their checked luggage in order to avoid unnecessary hassles at the airport.
This week's terror arrests in Britain prompted British and U.S. officials to ban many items that are found in nearly every business traveller's briefcase.
Laptop computers, iPods and cellphones are currently banned from the passenger cabin on all flights to the U.S. from Britain and on British Airways flights from the U.S. to the U.K.
Canada has taken steps to increase security, banning passengers from taking any liquid or gels onboard, but hasn't added laptops to the list.
Ferrari says checking the computer may just be easier.
"The problem is once you get up to the security gate and you haven't packed your laptop it could potentially be even more of an inconvenience," she said Friday. "Or you could potentially miss your flight if you have to go back and check it.
"Given the general rule that laptops are no longer allowed as carry-on, we are advising travellers to pack their laptops," she added.
Jacques Duchesneau of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority also urged passengers to check laptops.
"My suggestion is, could you help us to help you and put these things in your checked baggage, not in your carry-on," he said Friday during a news conference in Ottawa.
Ferrari is the executive vice-president of client management for HRG North America, which helps corporations manage their business travel needs. She acknowledges that even the most seasoned business travellers will have to adjust.
"The frequent traveller is absolutely going to be inconvenienced," she said. "There's no two ways around that. If you are a road warrior and you're used to throwing a few things in a carry-on and getting on the plane, for now, those days are over."
In addition to telling clients to pack their computers, Ferrari also has a couple of other tips.
She says having the information stored on the machine backed up somewhere else is crucial. That way, if the laptop doesn't survive the trip, you can still retrieve lost information.
"They should back up their laptops, which frequent travellers don't tend to do," she said. "There's some new behaviour modification that we have to introduce."
She also says companies should check into their insurance policies to see if damaged or stolen laptops are covered, and find out if employees travelling with laptops may have coverage with their credit card.
"There are a few things that you just need to be more conscious of than you would have been historically," she said.
Air Canada hasn't changed its position on laptops. For now, the airline is sticking with its policy to recommend passengers carry their laptops on the plane.
The airline says on its website it's not responsible for laptops that are checked.
"Until the rules change, we're keeping the old system," Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said Friday.
As for passengers who are flying Air Canada out of Heathrow in London, where laptops are not permitted in carry-on luggage, Fitzpatrick said special measures have been taken.
Valuables such as laptops are taken from the passenger and carried in a special container for the flight and then returned personally to customers when they get off the plane.
"That seems to be working pretty well," said Fitzpatrick.
For travellers who want more peace of mind, the Colorado-based Otter Products may have a solution.
According to the company's website, the new OtterBox laptop case promises to "protect your laptop like no other case available."
Business has picked up in the last couple days, says company spokesperson Kristin Golliher.
"The response has been incredible," she said. "Our website sales are going crazy right now because people have to have a solution to carry their valuables. When you check your luggage, it's very nerve-racking."
The case costs $169.95 US.
Surprisingly, Ferrari says most of her clients are accepting the fact they may have to get on the plane without their laptop or leave it at home.
"I think more often than not, what the front-line folks are hearing is that 'Look, I'd rather be safe,' " she said. "Most people are fairly resigned to it. There's certainly a sense that we hope it doesn't go on forever."
http://channels.aolsvc.aol.ca/travel/article.adp?id=20060817133609990001
