Posted by Andrew Hickey on Dec 30, 2009 in Guest Nomad
Today's Guest Nomad is Lauren Cannon from Ploked.com
Lauren Cannon is the editor in chief of the up-and-coming social media guide Ploked. She has written articles for The Huffington Post and Technorati, and is the creator of the edupunkinitiative, Side Venturesome Project. You can follow her on Twitter @laurenthedark.
“My voice is my passport. Verify me.”
The above was a recurring line in the long lost 1992 film “Sneakers,” featuring a retro all-star cast including the late actors River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier. If you haven’t seen the film and are preparing for an international flight in the near future, you may want to open a new window while reading this and log into Netflix. Why? Well, for two very important reasons:
1) You won’t be seeing anything decent on a screen for awhile, and
2) You’ll need to train yourself to get used to hearing the aforementioned line while referencing a pop culture piece other than “1984″.
I’m not going to rehash the recent would-be terrorist events that occurred over the holidays, but I would like to draw your attention to an issue that I’ve yet to hear much about in the news – passport security.
Given the reports that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded the almost ill-fated flight sans passport with the aide of an elusive, smooth talking accomplice, rest assured that the State Department will have a few tricks up its sleeve when it comes to the issuance and inspection of new passports.
In 2007, passports with the embedded radio-frequency identification chips began being issued (e-passports) and, as of this year, a passport book or card is required to reenter the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.
Given the surges in technology, increasing economic tensions, and events that have threatened national security, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that, after the elimination of carry on luggage, third rate HBO films, and the implementation of pay-per-use toilets (except during the last hour of flight), passports issued in the coming decade will have a lot more information referenced on the surface, and even more in the fine digital imprint.
In actuality, increasing security in the passport sector is probably more logical than restricting access to in-flight luxuries and potty breaks. However, I predict the airlines will be the most vocal opponents of these new regulations after their already hard hit profits tank even more due to these policies.
Since something on the surface has to change to make it appear as though we’re that must safer, I suspect that the airlines will point their malnourished fingers right back at the government, demanding more accountability on their end.
What does that mean for us? It means we’re about to enter the travel Matrix and, unfortunately, no one can be told what that is. It means that people who want to experience the world outside of their own borders may be at the greatest risk of identity theft or, dare I say it, Big Brother tracking, leaving digital imprints that may possibly be stored in the databases of other countries as some type of extensive permanent record.
I say this not as a fear mongering tactic, but as someone who will be watching very closely as the new sanctions start rolling in from the woodwork. The National ID card received a significant amount of backlash at its very mention but, as less than 30% of Americans have a passport, how many will speak for us when it’s decided that globe hopping is a justification for a full disclosure strip search? I say, renew your passports now so that you’re at least clear for another decade.
However, by then, fingerprint security panels may be the only way to enter an airplane bathroom. All won’t be lost, however, because the wait times will be significantly reduced for the boarding of international aircraft.
After all, all you’ll need then is your voice to verify you.
A Christmas present that no traveler had asked for this year was delivered by the Transportation Security Administration just hours after a Nigerian nut-job named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to ignite a device and blow up a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
The T.S.A. is now making it mandatory that all U.S. flights order passengers to remain seated for the last hour of travel. Th means no getting up to grab that ipod from the overhead compartment or take a quick bathroom break before arriving at your final destination.
In addition you can not have anything on your lap for the last hour and certain international flights will be deactivating the backseat map trackers that show you where exactly the plane currently is during your trip. Even worse is that some airline’s map tracking software is connected to the in-flight entertainment. So you guessed it, many long flights around the globe will now have their televisions turned off while flying the increasingly aggravating skies.
The T.S.A. is also only allowing one small carry on which means you will wind up checking in another bag and spending even more money on those pesky fees. I do not understand most of these new rules at all.
What if someone needs to use the bathroom in the last 60-minutes of flying? Will they pick and choose who can go potty depending on what they look like?
What does turning off a map tracking screen do for bettering overall passenger safety? Will the terrorists get completely thrown off their game plan now because they can not view the little cartoon plane slowly scrolling across a screen with the airplane’s speed, altitude and time of arrival?
It is getting to the point that we will soon all have to arrive at the airport a week before the flight, not be allowed to check in bags or carry any onto the plane, be completely covered in bubble wrap, blindfolded and stored in overhead compartments for safety reasons.
What the hell is going on with air travel? I would love to hear your thoughts on the new T.S.A. rules and how it will effect your travel plans. Will you travel less? Maybe hop a train or take a road trip instead? Leave a comment below.
With the summer travel season almost over (sigh), it is time for the airlines to look towards fall travel. Now while fall has always been a soft season for the travel industry, it is going to be especially hard this year to convince people to spend money that many just do not have. Everyday we see on the news or read in the papers about thousands of job losses per month. Many people I know have been given the pink slip this year and the last thing they want to do is spend big moolah on a plane ticket.
So the airlines have all been announcing sales for later this year and I have to admit many are looking pretty nice. Here are just a few that have caught my eye over the last week or so.
JetBlue:“The But Wait, There’s More!” sale is offering up cheap fall travel on more than 56 destinations that the low-cost carrier serves. Some of the great fares include:
Long Beach and San Francisco for $39 one-way
Fort Lauderdale and Nassau, Bahamas for $29 one-way
New York (JFK) and Boston for $49 one-way
Chicago and Long Beach for $109 one-way
Austin and Orlando for $99 one-way
Plus many more! Book by Wednesday August 5, 2009 for travel between September 8 & December 16, 2009
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To see where else you can Jet to this fall and for full details and restrictions, visit JetBlue.com.
Southwest Airlines: “It’s On” at Southwest as they prepare for fall travel with a summertime sale that ends this week. Some of the great fares include:
Albany and Orlando for $99 one-way
Austin and Chicago for $99 one-way
Burbank and Las Vegas for $49 one-way
Denver and San Francisco for $99 one-way
New York (LGA) and Baltimore for $49 one-way
Plus many more! Book by this Thursday July 30 for travel between August 18 and November 18, 2009
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For more information on this sizzling Southwest sale, plus rules and restrictions, check out Southwest.com.
Virgin America: To see what Sir Richard Branson and company has “On Sale Now” for fall travel, check out their website. But in the meantime here are some fares VA are offering customers:
San Francisco and San Diego, Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or Orange County for $49 one-way
Seattle and Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Orange County for $69 one-way
Boston and San Francisco or Los Angeles for $119 one-way
New York and Los Angeles or Las Vegas for $119 one-way
Washington DC and Los Angeles or San Francisco for $119 one-way
You must book by Tuesday August 11 for travel between August and November 18, 2009
Southwest plane flying above Brooklyn. The low-cost carrier is officially a "Noo Yawk" resident as of June 28. (Picture courtesy of Southwest's Flickr page)
While I was getting ready for a return to New York after a three week trip in Poland, the people at Southwest were making some noise of their own in the Big Apple. The low-cost airline officially debuted at LaGuardia airport this past Sunday. The day was filled with festivites that included a breakfast with NY style bagels for customers and employees and a special live performance from Southwest’s rapping flight attendant.
New York City travelers now have another option when they book airfare from LaGuardia. Southwest Airlines will produce eight daily nonstop flights, with five daily nonstops to Chicago Midway and three daily nonstop flights to Baltimore/Washington.
In addition Southwest will provide direct or connecting service to their more than 45 routes from NYC. Some of the major cities include Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco. To check out all of Southwest’s destinations via LaGuardia and other airports, check out Southwest.com .
Southwest Airlines customers will fly out of LaGuardia Airport’s Gate B4 in the Central Terminal Building.
Southwest is at it again. The low-cost airline is offering yet another summer sale in select cities nationwide. Here is the low down.
Some of the cities in the sale include New York (LaGuardia), Chicago (Midway), Boston, Austin, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and many more. For a full list of destinations, click here. Below are some of the rules and restrictions:
You must purchase by June 18, 2009.
You must travel by October 28, 2009.
Travel is only valid on Tuesday & Wednesday flights.
14-day advance purchase is required.
Travel not available to/from Washington DC (Dulles); Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines.
To read the rest of the “Details” and to book a ticket, click here.
