P*ssing off business travelers is NOT a good idea....

[cdsilv]

The new clampdowns in airports generating long lines and expecting people to check laptops, MP3 players, cell-phones etc. and disallowing liquids will hit business travelers hard. I really think they've gone too far this time - I know that I'm supposed to fly on business in Sep and Oct, and if these rules stick, I'm going to try to get out of it - drive, or just not go.

Check a laptop? The way baggage gets abused at airports would probably wind up destroying my laptop, not to mention the theft problem.....

Signed,

Already pissed off and I'm not even at the airport yet....

[Kajsa]

1. Yep, that's all the airline industry needs, right now,

More and more passengers bailing on their flights.

[Suich]

2. I see huge problems ahead if people have to check their computers.

I don't even like to check a bag! And this also means I can't have a clear plastic bottle of Water????

Good luck with your business flights in Sept. and Oct.!

:hi:

[Ilsa]

3. My husband was looking at buying a small dvd player for his

next long trip, from texas to London. I guess there is no point now.

[ingac70]

4. Saw ugly things this summer at the airport....

Baggage flying everywhere, being run over by planes and baggage carriers.

Yep, lots of destroyed laptops will come of this.

Can you mail your laptop express to your destination? :silly:

[filer]

5. Security

Bend over. Body cavity searches are next.

[MrModerate]

6. Since business travelers actually keep the airlines afloat . . .

By paying high fares (the price of deciding on Wendesday that you have to be in Toledo on Friday), this is going to be a huge hit. I travel on business 5 or 6 times a year. I'm NOT checking my laptop unless they have a standalone, reliable handling scheme separate from regular baggage. In fact, the security guys at my company would have a shit-fit if I checked my laptop, and the IT guys'd simply pass out cold.

This is not going to work, folks. And it's going to take weeks and months to straighten out. Trillions of dollars. Many more major bankruptcies.

Thanks, George, for taking your eye off the ball, completely cornholing the "War on Terror" with your idiot invasion of Iraq, and making it possible for the terrorists to win another huge victory -- without leaving the ground. I have an active imagination and even I can't stretch enough to encompass what an incompetent sack of shit that man is.

[longship]

7. There's always Amtrak.

An economy sleeper is a very, very nice way to travel. Great meals (paid for with the ticket). Privacy. Lots of room to stretch out. A comfy bed. Porter service. Coffee/Juice/Danish in the morning (plus you still get a hot cooked breakfast).

My wife and I travelled across the continent this way and it was absolutely wonderful. Got the time? Travel Amtrak.

[deminks]

8. This will hurt the airlines that are already struggling. But Smirky

does not care a whip stitch about bidniz travelers that have to fly commercial. They are not his "base".

[Sgent]

9. I also frequent flyertalk

where it seems you have to have airline elite status (25,000 "butt in seat" miles / year) to be a member.

Most are thinking the restrictions are only temporary, but some are already canceling or delaying flights for the next month.