The presence of kids in the fast-paced world of airline travel can evoke as much controversy as McCain versus Obama. The harried business traveler not only has to worry about getting slowed up or annoyed by the incessant whining (real or imagined) of youthful travelers, they also have to be concerned about accidentally thumping a child on the head with a briefcase as they try to hurry to their gate.

In a nod to traveling tots, London Heathrow has created a VIP lounge specifically for families. It's not the first, but definitely sounds the coolest. That's right mom and dad, no need to put up with the icy glances of laptop jockeys in the regular first-class and business-class lounges. In fact, the kids' lounge in Heathrow's Terminal 5 doesn't even require a business class ticket. Known as KidZone, it has an ample buffet, computers and whimsical decorations. Entrance costs $27 per trip and is also included in the membership perks of clubs like Priority Pass. Virgin Atlantic has a similar lounge at Heathrow, while some state-side airports like JFK and LAX boast child-friendly facilities as well. American Airlines will continue the trend by opening no less than 9 KidZone-like lounges at major airports in the US. Food you can eat with your hands, no worries about making noise, and I bet they have Legos too. Sounds better than the regular VIP to me. I wonder if they let you in even if you are not traveling with kids.

Passengers on both sides of the Atlantic are barred from bringing liquids through airport security checkpoints. That might be changing soon. British airports hope to have scanning devices that can sense explosive liquids in place soon. Security services are already in the final stages of testing the machines. Once the testers give the go ahead, airports can put the scanners to work.

Four airports, including London Heathrow, have already purchased scanners. However, it is likely that the ban on liquids will not be lifted until all the country's international airports are similarly equipped and their security personnel trained to operate the scanners. In other words, don't get overexcited and try to carry that $200 bottle of cognac onto your flight out of the U.K. tomorrow.

Airlines have been complaining about the restrictions for some time now. They say that the rules make England's airports less attractive. However, the ban was first put in place after a terrorist plot to blow up airplanes using liquid explosives was uncovered. Being sure you're not going to get blown up is pretty damn attractive...or maybe that's just me. If the liquid scanners work in England, US airports will probably follow their lead in short order.

Do you remember London Heathrow's new terminal 5 that opened this year? It was supposed to be the crown jewel of Heathrow airport, with broad sprawling concourses, a host of restaurants and shops and top notch baggage handling.

While the terminal has had some serious teething problems, including hundreds of delays, cancellations and even some celebrity breakdowns on the first few weeks of operation, we though that things were starting to break in as the summer rush surged.

But a new report from The Daily Telegraph is saying that the airport is still having baggage issues and is losing nearly a thousand bags every day. I guess that there is still more work to be done on the new fancy pants luggage handling system.

Meantime, this is more reason to pack your luggage into your carry on if you're flying through T5. Combined with the fact that more carriers are charging for checked bags, packing light is looking more and more appealing.

[Via UPI.com]

10 tips for smarter flying

I wonder whether they should just tear down Heathrow and build a new airport from scratch. Heathrow consistently gets the worst ratings among airports. And with competition such as the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, that's saying a lot.

According to the latest statistics published by the Association of European Airlines, nearly half of flights left or arrived at Heathrow at least 15 minutes late during the first three months of the year, Telegraph reports. Not only was Heathrow rated as the worst of the 27 airports in the survey, but this was the 16th quarter in succession that it was rated among the poorest five performers.

Heathrow suffered particularly badly with air traffic control delays, which were responsible for 15.3 percent of flights arriving late. Loading and handling at Heathrow was also bad, being cited as the key factor in 11.1 percent of planes' delayed departure.

Even with the new Terminal 5, Heathrow just can't win.

Remember the Naomi Campbell incident back in early April? If you need your memory refreshed, Campbell was arrested after causing a scene over misplaced luggage in Heathrow's Terminal 5. Now Campbell is being faced with five different charges in connection with the alleged assault of a police officer who was called in to deal with her melt down, reports The Guardian.

Not that I am a fan of celebrity gossip, but I think we can use this as a good reminder of what airplane-induced stress can bring to you if it goes too far. Campbell is being charged with three counts of assaulting a constable, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of using threatening and abusive words towards the cabin crew.

I am sure that Campbell will be able to scrounge up some cash to pay for a good lawyer, but keep all this in mind next time you want to lose your cool over luggage. Refrain from attacking people and wait for your misplaced luggage in a timely manner, then you won't find yourself having to appear in front of a court with a good defensive argument for your crazy behavior.

I am sure that travelers who experienced the recent Heathrow Airport terminal 5 mess probably had a lot of negative comments to make about it. When flights are canceled and baggage is lost, it's hard to stay positive. So we complain, and then complain again when our complaints aren't heard.

When you are a top executive for an airline however, your negative comments regarding an airport are hard to go unnoticed. Such is the case of Don Langford, head of customer services Europe for American Airlines, who recently labeled Heathrow as "the worst of all airports" that American flies to in Europe. That's right folks, Heathrow is officially "a bit of a dump."

Langford's comments come just weeks after American moved most of its London flights from Gatwick to Heathrow. Gauging from Langford's remarks that Heathrow "is not just bursting at the seams. I think the seams have burst," consolidating American's flights to Europe's busiest airport may not have been the best of decisions.

Heathrow operator BAA responded to Langford's comments that "We are investing £4 billion over the next five years..... you've got to realize that if you are going to invest that kind of money it takes time to put things right." Let's hope things get put right real quick.

What strange things have been found on planes?

Click the image to read the bizarre story...

I guess even celebrities are not immune to baggage problems and stressing out at Heathrow. Apparently supermodel Naomi Campbell was arrested yesterday after causing a ruckus when she misplaced one of her pieces of luggage. She insisted on the airline finding it immediately and when they offered to forward it along to prevent the plane from leaving late she caused a scene.

When the police were called in to manage the dispute, Campbell flew completely off the handle and assaulted the police officer, which, apparently is against the law. She was thus subdued, handcuffed and removed from the plane along with her entire entourage of Campbellites.

If Google serves me right, this isn't the first time that Ms. Campbell has been in trouble for violent behavior. Victims include but are not limited to her nanny, her drug counselor and her assistant, with the total number of claims against her now up to eight.

Wouldn't you know it, attacking people doesn't seem to help the situation when you've lost your bags. Take a lesson from Naomi Campbell and stay calm next time they're misplaced.

As if London's Heathrow airport needs another PR nightmare, after the fiasco with Terminal 5. The growing homeless population that has lived inside the terminal certainly doesn't help Heathrow's reputation as a pleasant, smooth airport.

Time magazine reports that at 3 a.m.at Heathrow Airport, the scene of people sprawled across plastic benches in various poses of contortion looks vaguely familiar and vaguely odd.

"Each night, scores of London's homeless men and women take advantage of modern travel delays by posing as stranded passengers in order to sleep in a warm and safe place. They play a cat-and-mouse game with police, often donning floral shirts, fanny packs and other travel accessories to blend in," Time writes.

You could easily take this to perfection by adding a wheeled Samsonite carry-on, and, of course a paper cup from Starbucks. Seriously, what is it about floral shirts and fanny packs? Why are tourists so ridiculous?

Things are not working out so well at London Heathrow's new Terminal 5. Since the terminal opened three days ago, it has been nothing but baggage problems, cancellations and misery, BBC reports. One fifth of flights from the new terminal were scrapped today: 67 out of the 330 scheduled. 37 flights have been canceled for Sunday.

A total of 208 flights in and out of the terminal were canceled during the first three days so far. Some elevators are not working. People cannot locate their bags. Sounds like a nightmare.

The cancellations also created an unexpected heavy demand for hotel rooms. An average airport hotel room, normally around $150, went up to $500 for a double room on Thursday. After many complaints, the airlines have scrapped its $200 limit for delayed passengers' hotels.

Yesterday Queen Elizabeth II helped celebrate the opening of Heathrow's newest terminal, an $8.7 billion structure that is now the largest free-standing building in Britain. "My warmest congratulations go to everyone who has worked on this highly impressive building; it embodies many achievements of which you can be rightly proud," she said.

The terminal will be used exclusively by British Airways, whose shareholders footed the bill for this massive project. Proponents of the airport expansion say that the new terminal, which will first be used by passengers on March 27, will allow passengers to move more quickly through check-in and security. Environmentalists and other critics of the project say the new terminal will lead to more flights and more pollution. Which, of course, it will.

In other news, British Airways says they're modifying their security procedure to coincide with the introduction of the new terminal. Passengers who don't arrive at the airport at least 35 minutes before their flight is scheduled to take off will be stopped at security checkpoints and forced to re-book, instead of being allowed to run for the gate Home-Alone-style.

More here.