Clear Baggage Identification - Revisited

Web: www.fishfoto.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com

3/07/2008 - Clear Baggage Identification - Revisited

While I have covered the topic of clearly identifying checked baggage in the past, both about what information to place on your bag, as well as clearly making your bag identifiable, I still frequently receive questions regarding this topic.

As I pulled the bag that contains my mobile lighting kit off the baggage carousel yesterday at Washington's Dulles Airport (IAD) I thought I should shoot a few photos to demonstrate another very effective method of clearly labeling your baggage.

As any traveler knows the vast majority of suitcases being rolled through airports are black ballistic nylon bags. As you watch for your bag to come around the baggage carousel it is hard to look past the sea of black luggage; should your bag be delayed it becomes hard to describe your bag when you tell the baggage office agent that you are trying to locate your black ballistic nylon roller bag.

For me, when I travel with my lighting equipment it is critical that it arrive with me, or be able to quickly located by an airline and returned to me. While thousands of bags are separated from their owners annually never to be seen again, I'd find it impossible to believe an airline could misplace any of my bags given how they are marked......especially my lighting bag, which must be checked due to the size and weight of the bag.

Having had my lighting bag 'delayed' a number of times while connecting to the last flight of the night out of Philadelphia (PHL) into Providence (PVD) I became frustrated when the airline would often tell me they could not find my bag in the baggage facility (despite it being wrapped in bright tape, which was listed clearly in the description of my bag on the baggage forms), further delaying the bags return to me. Twice, when my lighting bag was delayed my luggage tags ended up becoming lost, once losing both my luggage tag and the checked baggage tag placed on the bag by the airline with my name, flight and destination information. While I have my name and contact info placed clearly inside my bags, airlines often only look for contact info as a last resort, if at all.

Rather than become subject to an airline's inability to locate and identify my baggage all of my checked bags now have my name and contact information written or labeled in more than one location on the outside of the bag. This identification system is in addition to my luggage tag and the baggage tag placed on my baggage by the airline.

My lighting bag, a Lowepro "Pro Roller 2" is an extreme example of my exterior markings. The labeling of this bag is not only a huge deterrent to airport thieves, but it also makes it impossible for an airline to tell me they cannot locate my bag. Should my bag be accidentally transferred to another airline, or be placed in a baggage office, anyone can quickly and easily find the name and contact information of the owner (me).

What did I do to this one bag?

For starters on the front and back in bright yellow paint marker are large drawings of five cartoon fish. The largest fish is wearing a backward baseball hat; the second fish is the Susie Fish (Mom) and it has large sunglasses and a pony tail; following Susie is the Lauren Fish (my daughter) with a bow on it's head; next up is the Max Fish (my oldest son) with a beanie & propeller hat; taking up the rear is a Little Simon Fish (the youngest) with a forward baseball hat on.

If 'The School-of-Fish' on the front and back of the bag are not a good enough visual aid to look for when writing out the delayed baggage form, hopefully they can find the name 'FRISCHLING' written on the to top in bright yellow with some ease. If for some reason my Fish Family and last name in huge capital letters are easy enough to spot, hopefully the cannot miss my full name written in bright yellow on the side and the back along, along with my phone number and e-mail address (never mind this bag, like my other bags being covered in bright Flamingo Pink duct tape).

I'm not suggesting everyone go out and make large cartoon drawings on their bags (unless you want to) however you should make sure to clearly place your name and a contact phone number in more than one location on the outside of any baggage you plan on checking.

Happy Flying!

--Click Images To Enlarge Them--

Carry On Baggage Etiquette

Web: www.fishfotoworldwide.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com

18/6/2008 - Carry On Baggage Etiquette

With airlines continuing to add fees for checked baggage there has been a significant increase in carry-on baggage coming on-board. As the amount of carry-on baggage continues I fee compelled to revisit a topic I have touched on before..... carry on baggage etiquette.

I understand that we all have a need to carry as much as we can on board. I understand that when airlines publish "one carry on + one personal item" we all envision our 22" roll-aboard as our 'carry on' item while our 20' roll-aboard is our 'personal item.'

The truth is this, you can get it on board, if the airline lets you, but you may need to make some concessions. So, here are some basics on carry on baggage etiquette that will bring you good traveling karma, and make life easier as well try and jam as much as we can into our carry on bags.

-Once on-board we all have a tendency to shove as much of our "stuff" in the overhead bins as we can. No one likes having their legs cramped on a flight, especially smaller regional jets, but if you can place your larger bag in the overhead and your smaller bag under the seat in front of you then everyone should have some space in the overhead. The bag under the seat in front of you can be removed from under the seat in front of you and generally positioned behind your legs to increase your legroom while in flight. I know there are always exceptions to this rule, but it generally works for most backpacks and briefcases.

-When placing your bags in the overhead compartment use common sense. Nearly all overhead bins are designed to accommodate a "legal" sized roll-aboard bag. These bags should be placed in the overhead wheels first, not sideways which takes up considerably more space. When placing an item such as a brief case in the overhead try and stand it up so it takes up as little space as possible in the overhead. If you have a coat that needs to go up, wait until the bags have been loaded into the overhead then lay your coat over the top, a coat will often be able to slip in-between some of the gaps allowing more of the overhead bin space to be used.

Be warned, being an overhead bin space hog can lead to 'bad flyer karma.'

Happy Flying!

13/6/2008-Weekly Roundup: Go Flying On Fish Winners; Flying With Fish Quoted In Major Newspapers; The Think Tank Skin Set; New Airline Fees!

Web: www.fishfotoworldwide.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com

13/6/2008-Weekly Roundup: Go Flying On Fish Winners; Flying With Fish Quoted In Major Newspapers; The Think Tank Skin Set; New Airline Fees!

This week’s weekly round-up begins with this.....the announcement that Flying With Fish will be launching an entirely separate business-to-business venture in the near future. I'd spill the beans now, but I think I need to keep a lid on it for another week. I am really quite excited at the potential this new venture can have, and it should also help me keep Flying With Fish ad free (which has been my goal for quite a while).

I like the idea that Flying With Fish is a free unbiased resource for those seeking information on travel. I like to keep my thoughts unshaped by sponsors and advertisers. The problem with keeping Flying With Fish as a non-revenue generating source is this.....I now have a demanding full-time job (my photography career) and Flying With Fish that occupies roughly the same amount of time as a full-time job. Researching information, tracking down contacts and sources for information, and handling the sheer amount of e-mail I receive takes its toll.

The answer to this? A non-competing entity aimed at business-to-business travel information built on the information I founding Flying With Fish on!

Stay tuned..............


This week Flying With Fish kicked off with the announcement of not one, but TWO, winners of the 'Go Flying On Fish' contest. I could not choose just one winner for the US$100 Southwest Airlines flight credit. Rather than feel conflict on who the winner should be, based on the merits of their contest entries, I chose John Davis is a political science graduate student and aspiring professional photographer, from Sparks, Nevada and I also chose Trenton Moore, a high school student and very talented macro photographer, from Central Florida. You can read why I chose these two contest entrants to each receive a $100 Southwest Airlines flight credit here: 9/06/2008 - 'Go Flying On Fish' Contest Winners Announced.... Yes 'Winners,' I Chose More Than One!!

On Monday and Tuesday of this past week I was prominently quoted in stories in both the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times regarding the new TSA "Self Select Lanes" now in use at some airports. To read how I was quoted, check out these two posts on Flying With Fish
9/06/2008 - Flying With Fish & The TSA Self Select Lanes Quoted In The International Herald Tribune
....and
10/06/2008 - Flying With Fish In The New York Times

This week I wrote a two-part entry on the Think Tank Skin pouch system, and a great way to combine the Think Tank Skin kit with a backpack to turn two carry-on bag kit into a single legal carry on bag for nearly any airline you'll fly. Over the past two months I have traveled with Think Tank Skin kit, flying approximately 45,000 miles through more than half-a-dozen countries, and I don't think I could have designed a better system if I was given an opportunity to create my own pouch system. You can read the details of the Think Tank Skin set in these two entries:
9/06/2008 – Think Tank Skin Pouch & Belt System : Light, Easy & Simple Solution For Traveling With Your Camera Gear
....and
11/06/2008 – Combining Two Bags To Create A Single Carry On For Flying Photographers

The end of this week came with irritating news from both United Airlines and US Airways. United and US Airways have announced that they will begin to charge for the first checked piece of baggage, following the lead of American Airlines. US Airways also announced other changes, such as charging for drinks in-flights, including water, soda and coffee. US Airways has further stripped out their frequent flyer program making it possibly the worst program of any legacy carrier of "global alliance airline" in the world. You can up on the new baggage policy changes here: 12/06/2008 – United Airlines Adds Baggage Fee : US Airways Takes Its Nickel & Dime Tactics To A Whole New Level!

In addition to the new baggage fees being instituted by United Airlines and US Airways, it seems that American Airlines has found a new way to force passengers to check their carry on baggage.

I have heard from multiple frequent flyers that American Airlines appears to now be doing random spot measuring and weighing of carry on bags at their hub in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). This random spot-checking is at times resulting in forced checking of carry on bags and the collection of $15 on the spot for the checked bags. I find this to be a horrible and unethical practice by American Airlines.

Flying in the United States I have only had one airline deny me boarding with my Think Tank Airport Addicted Backpack (which is legal carry on-size). This denial of boarding happened three times, all three times were while connecting flights on American Airlines at DFW back in 2005. This practice, which I have never encountered at any other US airport, or with any other US carrier, had been the single reason why I have chosen to not fly American Airlines in the past 3+ years.

Happy Flying!