Much is being made of President Obama’s recent announcements about tightening up security, and we applaud those. Yet while intelligence and security agencies can and should do a better job of offering protection to the public, they still cannot do everything.

Just as the “twelfth man” can help a football team achieve a victorious season, so too can the public help with security. And these days, it’s more and more important that we are watchful as travelers, particularly when we fly.
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If there’s one thing I’ve learned from television shows such as
Law & Order and CSI, it’s that once something exists on a hard drive, it can never really be erased.

This is the first thought I have whenever the topic of full-body X-ray scan comes up. It’s the new-new thing in airport security, designed to thwart the latest danger to air travelers, which is, among other threats, your 16-year-old daughter.

To protect the traveling public, airport security is going to take pictures of her, naked, to make sure she has no weapons.

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Boeing’s “Dreamliner,” or 787, is the first aircraft in a generation to use a suite of new, forward-looking technologies and materials that represent a departure from previous production aircraft. Its new electrical architecture requires miles less copper wiring; its body requires 1,500 fewer aluminum sheets; and for you trivia buffs, each plane will need about 50,000 fewer fasteners than earlier models of a similar size.

Built with advanced carbon fiber construction, the 787 is much lighter than it would have been using traditional materials, resulting in 20 percent fewer emissions and 20 percent greater fuel efficiency, although its speed will remain about the same as a 747.

Inside: Larger luggage bins, bigger windows, and cleaner air.

Outside: Curved wings.

And yet: No telling when you’ll be able to fly in it.

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American Airlines is the next-to-last major U.S. airline to announce baggage fees for international flights. Coach passengers will soon be charged $100 round-trip for a second suitcase to Europe, India and the Caribbean; but first-class passengers will not pay the fee.

United Airlines is the only remaining big U.S. carrier that doesn’t (yet) charge fees for a second bag to Europe; but industry experts expect they will join the party soon. Why? Simple ‒ because airlines make millions of dollars on luggage fees, and they need the cash.

So, how can you avoid the fee?

Strategy No. 1: Fly by private jet, or fly first class with a commercial airline. This is our favorite option for all the obvious reasons.

Strategy No. 2: Use airline miles to upgrade to first class. Another really good option.

Strategy No. 3: If you can’t fly first class, then book a foreign carrier (they don’t levy the second-bag charge).

Strategy No. 4: Conserving cash? The most thrifty solution is to trade US airline mileage points for coach travel on foreign carriers. Expect to make compromises in your preferred flight dates or schedules to make this happen.
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To the dismay of every iPhone/iPod-connected twenty-something, there are still a few humans who have not yet seen the music video, United Breaks Guitars. Some haven’t even heard of it.

It’s a good story so let’s catch up.

About a year and a half ago, singer-songwriter Dave Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell, were headed to a performance. They flew United Airlines with a connection in Chicago. There, at O’Hare Airport, Carroll says baggage handlers chose to throw his guitar rather than stow it. The damage was significant, and the repair estimate came in at around $1,200.

Carroll tried to get United to accept responsibility for repairs; but after a year of getting nowhere, he informed United that his band would make not just one, but a trio of music videos to commemorate the way the airline had treated him.
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