Body Scanner's and Airport Travel in 2011

If you’re getting ready to travel or take a vacation you may need to brush up on changes the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) have made to airport security procedures.

Since 2004-2005, TSA has implemented new security measures and deployed enhanced technology, which reflect TSA’s evolving approach to aviation security. Among TSA’s many layers of security include Advance Imaging Technology (AIT) or body scanners.

Please take a few moments to view a special report that CBS News conducted on this very subject last year.




You may find yourself in a situation where you debate taking a pat down or using a body scanner: weighing your privacy against the efficiency that this technology is supposed to bring to air travel.

If you have ever had this internal debate while waiting for your flight in the security checkpoint as the large family with kids or elderly couple takes there time in front of you here’s our advice to help you in your decision.

If you have time: Go with a pat down
One of the biggest issues traveler’s have with body scanners is not necessarily the potential health risks, but invasion of their personal space. Namely once an individual is being scanned, they have no idea whether a female or a male is viewing their scanned body; but TSA regulations stipulate that men must frisk men, and women must frisk women. So if privacy is of concern to you opt of a body scan for a pat-down if you have time to spare. A general rule of thumb is arrive to the airport two hours before your flight, so the time spent waiting to get through security will equivocates to maintain your dignity and privacy.

Special Scanner Clothing
Frequent travelers often stock pile or at least segregate from their general wardrobe, clothes that they use specifically for travel. While I cannot suggest one particular avenue to purchase such clothing (since people have different tastes in clothes and come in different sizes) I can suggest a special type of clothing that will ensure your privates remain private if you choose to go through with a body scan, and would be a great addition to your travel wardrobe.

Marc Carey of Kentucky has invented a special type of undergarment that is intended to blur the images body scanners take using a special ink on the garment. If you wish to purchase these undergarments you can at the website http://www.scannershirts.com/ the clothing definitely gives travelers a way to ease their privacy concerns although officials of TSA suggest that they may lead to additional scans.

Be Engaged During a Pat-down
Although this may go without saying, often people who are being patted down by a TSA officer disengage mentally and are not paying attention to the person frisking their body, since they want the experience over or because other travel concerns are occupying their attention. While TSA officers are sworn to high standard of ethics it’s important that if you feel violated you inform someone and voice your concern. Make eye contact with officer and be sure that they only do their job correctly.

In closing, our thoughts on body scanners pertain to their operators and new standards that may have to be implemented to make this technology work. Since the new Advance Imaging Technology appears as if it’s going to become the norm at airports, males and female should be separated in the security line, so that Men are viewing scanned images of men who go through the body scan and women are viewing scanned images of women. It doesn’t seems as if airport security will be getting any less invasive in the near future and AIT does has promise in terms of keeping the flow of people moving in and out of airports.

We welcome your comments!

TransGap

Locating luggage

*This is the last installment on our series about luggage.

Finding the "right" luggage can be a challenge. Many factors come into play -- price, style, and durability quickly come to mind -- with different weights attached to each attribute. Trade-offs, inevitably, must occur. The key to finding the perfect luggage comes from separating your non-negotiables from necessities, distinguishing nice-to-have from need-to-have, to pare down your choices to a tractable number.

The first thing many people look at is also, probably, the most pertinent: price. On the website http://www.luggage.com/ prices vary from $18 to $2751 dollars. That last number isn't an anomaly.


Prices vary enormously depending on the brand. This large carry-on from Gucci (on left) is $1990. It does, however, have wheels.

You can find out more at http://www.gucci.com/.

By contrast, this Samsonite bag (on right), that is eerily similar, is steal at $179.95.



Innovative and revolutionary are two words most people don't associate with luggage. However, there have been advances and changes that are worth looking into when it comes to luggage.



SkyRoll, the "world's first roll-up garment bag", is a likely contender for the most innovative luggage bag. Since you don't fold your clothes -- you simply wrap them around -- they won't get creases.

As the picture to the left shows, it's not a traditional suitcase. It is designed for carry-on only and can complement your existing luggage.

You can find out more at: http://www.skyroll.com/




Some people think Samsonite is synonymous with luggage. They might be right. The brand has certainly penetrated pop culture as this clip from the movie "Dumb and Dumber" clearly illustrates.


To recognize and reward our readers who religiously view our blog, we would like to remind them to review our offer on our website -- http://www.transgaplimo.com/ -- for a $50 Visa card. Many, if not most, of our clients are recurring riders or have referred others and have already qualified for this offer.

We haven't forgotten about you

We've just been very busy. We should be back to regular posting relatively soon.

In case you were wondering, we use Google AdSense to track the number of people who visit our blog. We noticed, and are glad, that people are visiting us on their own accord instead of us having to goad them to come.

Lost Luggage

*This is the second part on our series about luggage.
Thanksgiving -- as well as other holidays -- will soon be upon us. If you travel to visit your family be careful and try not to lose your luggage.

Losing luggage is no laughing matter; it makes you feel lousy. If this has happened to you, try not to lament. Over a million people lose their luggage each year. This is not a new, or relatively recent, phenomenon; at least logistically.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics -- http://www.transtat.bts.gov/ -- there are ~ 620 million enplaned passengers with 9,098,000 departures per year. Statistically speaking somebody or something is bound to get lost.

As the comic writer below shows, losing luggage is a likely occurrence.

Being put on the wrong flight, left behind, or "we don't have the foggiest idea where they're at" are just a few of the excuses airlines will give.

The next comic shows where luggage really ends up.

There are a few things you can do to minimize and mitigate the risks:
1. Know your luggage. The ability to describe its shape, color, brand and any other identifiable markers will be advantageous when you need to file your report.

2. Include contact information. If somebody finds your luggage they need to be able to contact you.

3. Mark your luggage. Adding a bit of color will help make your luggage stand out from the sea of black suitcases. Adding a bit of flair

The video below reveals the right way to recover lost luggage.

Washington Redskins

*We interrupt our previously planned series on luggage to bring you a special report on Washington Redskins football.



During the spring and summer baseball games were a common and often requested ride. Now it is fall and that means one thing: Football season. Since many of our clients are sports fans we have decided to cover the Redskins in today's blog as they are in our backyard.

Below we have reproduced the Redskins schedule with the time for all of the home games.
Schedule
9/19 Redskins vs. Texans 4:05 PM
10/10 Redskins vs. Packers 1:00 PM
10/17 Redskins vs. Colts 8:20 PM
11/15 Redskins vs. Eagles 8:30 PM
11/28 Redskins vs. Vikings 1:00 PM
12/12 Redskins vs. Buccaneers 1:00 PM
1/2 Redskins vs. Giants 1:00 PM

All home games are played in the town of Landover, Maryland at Fedex Field.
The address is:
1600 Fedex Way
Hyattsville, MD 20785

It's a relatively short drive and all of our drivers know how to get to the area.

The stadium opened in August 1997; it holds 91,704 people; and the nearest airport is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Another option, in case you can't get ahold of tickets, would be to take a tour of the Redskins stadium. Tours last 90 minutes and start every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 A.M. The price is much cheaper -- $15 an adult, $10 for children 4-13, and free for children under 3 -- when compared to tickets to a regular season game.

For more information, visit the Redskins website at: http://www.redskins.com

This link will help you find hotels near the stadium if you are coming from out of town.
http://hotelguides.com/maryland/fedex-field-md-hotels.html

Airline Luggage

*This is the first in a three-part series on baggage. The first will deal with baggage fees; the second with lost luggage; and the third on the different types of luggages. We plan on showing a video to accompany our articles. The first is a news clip with customers venting their frustration.

Almost all of our clients will, at one time or another, fly: air travel is ubiquitous; a part of the modern landscape. Baggage fees, unfortunatly, are a concomitant by-product. In today's blog we will bring to your attention the relatively recent rise of baggage fees as a way for airlines to raise revenue.

In a recent article from travelandleisure.com, there has been a 2,186% increase in airline revenue from baggage fees from 1990 to 2009. In 2009 alone the airlines generated $2.7 billion in baggage fees; a 488% increase from 2007. This rise can be traced back to 2007 when Spirit became the first contemporary U.S. carrier to charge for bags regardless of weight.

The baggage fees were -- at least at first -- ostensibly tied to fuel costs. However, even after fuel costs dropped by 2/3 the extra fees have remained. The best bet to beat baggage fees? Use your carryon.

http://www.kayak.com/ has a table that lists fees from the major airlines. Included on the list: checked baggage, meals, pets, unaccompained minor service, and seat assignment/legroom. A cursory glance at the list of fees show a large variance but a few general points can be made: the first bag is sometimes free; bags get progressively more expensive; and checking bags online makes a difference.

The following rules and regulations are from the Transportation Security Administration regarding carryon items:

Per TSA regulations, carryon items are limited to one bag plus one small, personal item.
Personal-type items include purses, briefcases, cameras, food containers, or laptops (case included).
Southwest Airlines limits carryon bag dimensions to 10 x 16 x 24 inches.
All Customers and Employees and their items are subject to a thorough, physical search.
The following items are not considered carryon bags or personal-type items and are not counted against the "one-bag plus one personal-type item" limit:
A child restraint device for a ticketed child with a reserved seat or when complimentary, available space exists.
Assistive/mobility devices for individuals with a disability. There is no limit to the number of assistive/mobility devices a Customer can bring onboard the aircraft.
Outer garments or other wearable articles of clothing.
Food for consumption during flight contained in disposable packaging.
Walking canes or umbrellas.

http://www.tsa.gov/

New York City

We think Frank Sinatra said it best when he sang "New York, New York".



So to end our series on day trips we will be focusing on a city every needs to see at least once in a lifetime, New York City.

There are a variety of ways to get to NYC -- airplane or car or train -- depending on how long you want to spend in transit. A car ride from the Washington D.C. Metro area is around 3 1/2 hours; train ride is around 3 hours ; and an airplane ride is a short 1 hour and 12 minute trip.

New York isn't our most population destination, but it isn't a statistical anomaly either. Recently we had two clients request rides from Bethesda and Washington D.C. to JFK airport and the Bronx, respectively.

NYC is home to some of the most iconic American landmarks. We would personally like to recommend two: the Guggenheim mueseum and the United Nations.

The Guggenheim Mueseum -- http://www.guggenheim.org -- is located on 1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street) New York, NY 10128.

The United Nations Headquarters -- http://www.un.org -- is located on an 18-acre site in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhatten. Guided tours are operated daily and you can even get your own UN stamps!

In order to prepare you for your trip to NYC we have included two more videos. The first video describes how not to look like a tourist; a must for those who try to blend into their environment.


The second video gives a few insights into how to do NYC cheap: only $35 a day.



In addition, part of our plan for expansion includes an office in Park Avenue, Manhattan.