=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2006/08/25/BUGLDKN2VS= 46.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, August 25, 2006 (SF Chronicle) PLENTY OF BAGGAGE/WILL FLIERS CARRY ON? Tougher luggage rules increase unce= rtainty for airline passengers David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer When Angie Fernandes returned home from London's Heathrow airport two weeks ago, she praised the grace-under-pressure performance of her carrier, British Airways -- even though the luggage she was required to check under tight new travel rules didn't arrive at her home in Hayward until two days after she did. When Robert Vargas deplaned at San Francisco International Airport from Chicago on Tuesday, the Wisconsin executive had no problem retrieving his checked luggage. It was smoothly and quickly loaded on his United Airlines flight, which he described as "strictly routine, nothing out of the ordinary." These two experiences reflect the uncertainty that has characterized the way baggage is handled as airlines, airports and travelers sort out the implications of what British authorities said was a thwarted plot to blow up U.S.-bound jetliners with liquid explosives. Air travel specialists say the baggage situation is evolving and varies significantly depending on whether flights are domestic or international. Within hours of the first arrests by British police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration banned liquids and gels from carry-on luggage. That sparked a surge in the amount of luggage checked by airlines -- generating confusion among travelers about just how much luggage they can carry on. The tighter restrictions and associated fears of flying came at a bad ti= me for U.S. airlines, which have lost about $40 billion since the recession at the beginning of the decade and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Several U.S. carriers had posted rare profits in the second quarter of this year. The TSA's ban on liquids and gels still stands. But guidelines for the size of carry-on bags differ in the United Kingdom and the United States. British authorities are still limiting U.S.-bound passengers to one very small carry-on. The United States is using the same standards that were in place before Aug. 10 for all flights except those going to the United Kingdom. For days after Aug. 10, news reports of the bomb plot snarled the travel plans of tens of thousands of fliers and virtually shut down Heathrow, the biggest and busiest of London's four major airports and the one most geared to international travel. "Security was very intense," remembers Fernandes, who flew to Heathrow from Barcelona, Spain, on Aug. 11 after winding up a 14-day Mediterranean cruise. "I had to get rid of my purse (in checked baggage). It had my cell phone in it. I kept my passport and credit cards, but had to throw my book away. But British Airways was great. They kept everyone informed with updates every 15 minutes. And once we boarded, they passed through the cabin with free toys for children." Fernandes' flight took off three hours late and her luggage and purse didn't make it on the same plane. But British Airways delivered all her things to her door two days later at no charge, she said. At SFO, which handles more than 90 percent of the Bay Area's internation= al flights and hosts four airlines that fly to London, flights were delayed and security lines were long for a day or two. But luggage rules were -- and are -- less intense than at Heathrow. And SFO has been operating normally in recent days. United, the dominant carrier at SFO with nearly half of all passengers a= nd flights, is using the same domestic carry-on rules in place before Aug. 10, according to spokeswoman Meghan McCarthy: one bag that can fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you. The single carry-on allowed on flights to or from Britain must be smaller than those allowed in the United States, she said, because British authorities impose stricter limits than their U.S. counterparts. McCarthy acknowledged that new restrictions have prompted passengers to check bags they might have carried on before Aug. 10 -- including sensitive laptop computers so beloved by business travelers. She said United doesn't have statistics on how much the volume of its checked luggage has increased. The greater volume of checked luggage hasn't required any hiring of baggage handlers, McCarthy said. "At SFO, our resources were sufficient to handle it," she said. "Our baggage system has worked very well." Airportwide, checked luggage handled by all airlines has grown by about = 20 percent in the past two weeks, SFO spokesman Michael McCarron said. But the increase in checked luggage hasn't led to breakdowns or bottlenecks in baggage claim areas, he said. Indeed, all seemed routine at the baggage claim area in SFO's Terminal 1 on Tuesday afternoon, as Delta passenger Dawn Daley lifted her oversize wheeled bag and her laptop off a carousel. "It was less hassle than I thought it would be," said Daley, who explain= ed that she carried only a clear plastic bag with prescription medicines, a printout of her e-ticket and a paperback book through short security lines prior to boarding a flight from Atlanta. "I thought about canceling" the trip, she said. But her meetings in Santa Clara seemed important to the software designer and the relative painlessness of the flight made her pre-travel anxiety seem unnecessary and feel a little silly. Business travelers say associates are using Federal Express or UPS to se= nd bags ahead, not wanting to risk losing their luggage when they change planes or arrive without laptops, fresh clothing and the supplies they need to be properly groomed for meetings. FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey said the company doesn't divulge daily changes in freight volume. He noted the courier does offer luggage delivery services to travelers who want to skirt airlines and airports. Items deemed security risks by the TSA, such as liquids and gels, have to be clearly labeled and packaged and sent separately from standard luggage, he said. In the two weeks since Aug. 10, United and American Airlines, which fly = to London, say they have seen no evidence of significant cancellations by nervous fliers. Similarly, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airlines, which fly between London Heathrow and SFO, say bookings have held steady. This, however, doesn't account for would-be travelers who had thought of booking a flight then decided not to travel. That phenomenon, of course, is impossible to measure. At SFO on Tuesday afternoon, Florida holiday-maker Brandon Jones sat in the airport's version of the Arabian Peninsula's desolate Empty Quarter -- the unused former International Terminal, where renovation has been put on hold for lack of funds. Jones, sitting alone on a curving bench after arriving via Dallas-Fort Worth, said he'd like to travel again in the fall but isn't sure if he'll do it given the new flying environment. "It's not so much fear, as I'm just tired of all the hassle: getting to the airport hours early, taking off your shoes, standing in the security line -- and now wondering if you're going to get body-searched because you took the wrong thing in your carry-on bag," he said. "I'm not sure it's worth the trouble." Indeed, Kevin Mitchell, head of the Business Travel Coalition, an association of corporate travel planners, said tighter rules could make business travelers think twice about taking all but the most essential trips. "The newly imposed restrictions on liquid carry-on items will represent one more hassle for business travelers who prefer not to check baggage," Mitchell wrote in a coalition analysis. Additionally, he observed, "If the TSA were to ban laptops and overnight bags, then business travelers would cut short- and long-haul travel substantially. ... Airlines with weak balance sheets would be at great risk; the entire industry would be further weakened." Tips for travelers -- Arrive at the airport three hours before your flight. -- Be prepared to put most liquids and gels in your checked baggage. -- One carry-on bag is allowed on most domestic flights. -- Rules for carry-ons are tighter for flights to and from the United Kingdom, due to strict British regulations. -- Be prepared for a second visual inspection of your carry-on at the gate, especially if you are flying to Britain. -- Rules are in flux. For updates, check airline Web sites as well as the Transportation Security Administration at www.tsa.gov. Source: Chronicle research, U.S. Department of Transportation E-mail David Armstrong at davidarmstrong@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --------------= -------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2006 SF Chronicle