May 14th, 2013 at 11:00AM: If an airline damages a piece of your luggage, surely they will pay to repair or replace it, right? Don't be so sure. I've been very lucky over the years in checking bags but my luck ran out on a flight to Chicago from San Francisco over the weekend, when I found out that there are plenty of loopholes that airlines use to avoid paying for damaged luggage.
I prefer to travel light and bring my ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
luggage posts
Airlines Use Loopholes To Avoid Paying For Damaged Bags
May 14th, 2013 at 11:00AM: If an airline damages a piece of your luggage, surely they will pay to repair or replace it, right? Don't be so sure. I've been very lucky over the years in checking bags but my luck ran out on a flight to Chicago from San Francisco over the weekend, when I found out that there are plenty of loopholes that airlines use to avoid paying for damaged luggage.
I prefer to travel light and bring my ...The Day I Was Mistaken For A Terrorist
May 7th, 2013 at 12:00PM: For some reason, people sometimes mistake me for a terrorist. Once I got interrogated by an air marshal for merely looking out a window, and the following year in London I totally freaked out several people on a bus.
The second incident was, I suppose, partially my fault. I boarded a city bus with a large suitcase, which I put on the luggage rack. Since the rack was right next to the door, I ...Galley Gossip: The Worst, Funniest And Most Common Bad Passengers I've Encountered
Mar 27th, 2013 at 10:00AM: From time to time I get asked questions about bad passengers. I thought I'd share a few of them here.
What's the worst passenger behavior you've witnessed?
I've caught passengers taking other people's luggage out of the bin to make room for their own bags. I'm not joking. They'll pull out a bag, drop it on the floor and walk away leaving it in the middle of the aisle for the passengers ...Save Money And (Maybe) Time With The Right Luggage, Packed Efficiently
Mar 23rd, 2013 at 12:00PM:
I am one of the lucky ones: a traveler who has never experienced the inconvenience of lost or damaged luggage. I like knowing that but have never dared talk about it out loud, for fear of jinxing the luck or angering the luggage gods. Instead, when others tell their tale of woe concerning luggage mishaps or go on about inadequate reimbursement from airlines, I politely nod in sympathy. Still, I ...Photo Of The Day: What's In Your Bag?
Jan 10th, 2013 at 5:00PM:
Feeling nosy? Then you might enjoy today's Photo of the Day. Flickr user and designer Lacko Illustration provided an extremely detailed look inside his bag. There's even a legend on the bottom to accompany the objects in case you can't tell from the photo. Judging from the razor blades and Glock drives, he probably doesn't take this on planes, but it's still fun to look inside someone else's ...Gadling Gear Review: Incase EO Travel Roller
Dec 17th, 2012 at 8:00AM: Choosing the proper luggage for travel can be a very personal experience. After all, with any luck you are selecting a travel companion that will be with you for many years to come and will accompany you on everything from weekend escapes to longer excursions abroad. A good set of luggage can be quite an investment too, which is why it needs to be stylish, versatile and durable. The new EO Travel ...Budget Justice: How To Survive On Spirit Airlines
Dec 4th, 2012 at 9:00AM: Like many others, I operate on a shoestring budget, more often than not, out of stubbornness. I prefer to call it budget justice, a principle of savings that guides people like me to needlessly circle the block for a free parking space only to miss the event that got me into my car in the first place, or, worse yet, to time and time again book flights on Spirit Airlines, the ultra low-cost carrier ...A TSA Agent Answers Questions From The Community
Nov 20th, 2012 at 4:00PM: If you are flying this week, you are probably anticipating long security lines, many tiny bottles of liquids, and a lot of time shuffling through a metal detector in your socks. Last night on Reddit, a TSA agent participated in a Q & A (known as an "I Am A..." or "Ask Me Anything" on the site), and the community asked some great questions on security, stereotypes and weird encounters. See ...Lost Luggage Has A Season And It Is Here Now
Nov 2nd, 2012 at 4:00PM:
Lost luggage was once a major problem for airlines but they have been doing better lately. Perhaps with the introduction of fees for checked bags, airlines are paying more attention to what happens to luggage. Maybe it's those fees that are driving airline passengers to pack less, carry on more and give airlines less to lose. Whatever the reason, lost luggage is less of an issue than it once ...Gadling Gear Review: Ozone Ultralight Roller Bag
Sep 17th, 2012 at 9:00AM: I look for three things in a roller bag. The bag should be easy to handle, easy to pack and be as light as possible. Osprey has tacked the weight issue head on with their new Ozone line of roller bags, and they score on handling and packability, too.
The bag comes in three sizes: an 18-inch (backpack size), a 22-inch (maximum carry-on size), and a 28-inch (you'll have to check this one, ...What Does Your Luggage Say About You?
Aug 20th, 2012 at 1:00PM: We've seen travelers dragging everything from Louis Vuitton to what looks like a used trash bag through airport security of late, and new research shows that most travelers are closer to the latter than the former.
A new study from Virgin Atlantic shows that one in five of us (20%) can't remember the last time we bought new luggage, while more than half (55%) would only upgrade their suitcase ...Gadling Gear Review: EXO Hardside Luggage From eBags
Aug 20th, 2012 at 9:00AM: With all that electronica the modern traveler hauls from Point A to Point B and back again, it's natural to be worried about things getting crunched, crushed and smashed. Hard-sided luggage is the solution, especially if you're checking a bag, and eBags has a new line of branded gear; I tested one out on a recent trip.
There were two less than perfect things I discovered right away about the ...Gadling Gear Review: Gregory Border Laptop Day Pack
Jul 22nd, 2012 at 10:00AM: Been hunting around for the perfect pack to hold your laptop, lunch, water bottle, jacket and spaghetti plate of chords? Yeah, you're not the only one. Good news! I've found one that I really like – and trust me, I've tried a dozen of these things and I'm keen to their flaws. The Gregory Border, a new TSA friendly laptop bag, has got it all figured out – really.
This pack is airport ...Gadling Gear Reveiw: Osprey Atmos 50 Backpack
Apr 9th, 2012 at 8:00AM: I'm one of those people who almost exclusively uses a backpack when traveling. I simply prefer carrying my gear on my back rather than dragging it behind me in a piece of luggage, particularly when navigating through a busy airport. Over the years I've managed to collect a number of packs in a variety of sizes, which makes each of them useful depending on the length of the trip. Whether it's a ...Travel Smarter 2012: The best gear for your 2012 travels
Mar 19th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
Bad gear is dead weight, you might as well toss it right into that bin with the stuff that the TSA says you can't take on the plane. A bag that has cheap zippers, clothing that doesn't dry quickly when you've washed it in the hotel room sink, refillable bottles that don't stay shut and ooze shampoo all over the shirt you packed especially for that client meeting... Packing smart is just, well, ...Airline Madness: Lack of overhead space vs. Inattentive parents of crying babies
Mar 13th, 2012 at 10:00AM: Airline Madness is Gadling's tournament of airline annoyances. You can catch up on all of the previous tournament action here.
The first round of Airline Madness rolls on with #5 Lack of overhead space going head-to-head with #12 Inattentive parents of crying babies. Thanks to baggage fees and idiots who don't know how to pack properly, there never seems to be enough room for everyone's ...Eagle Creek Traverse Pro Roller Bag
Feb 16th, 2012 at 9:00AM: I'm not ashamed to admit that I've made the full jump to the roller bag. It's what I pack now, unless I'm traveling super light, and then I just take a little day pack. The perfect bag remains just out of reach, though I've noticed some real improvements since I got my Costco standard sized carry on a few years back. Luggage is lighter and more versatile these days, and generally more thoughtfully ...Gadling gear review: Hummingbird Carry-on Zip
Jan 9th, 2012 at 8:00AM: Picking the right bag to carry with us on our travels can be almost as important as selecting the items we put inside of it. Our baggage must be versatile, rugged, distinctive, and now days, easily fit inside an overhead compartment. The Carry-on Zip from Hummingbird meets all of those criteria, and then some, providing travelers with a simple, but very useful, bag for active excursions. ...Powerbag - part bag, part portable power source
Dec 31st, 2011 at 1:00PM:
The Holiday season may be over, but that shouldn't stop you from paying attention to gift ideas (for yourself). If one of your New Years resolutions is to travel without landing at your destination with an empty iPad or phone, then we recommend checking out the assortment of bags from Powerbag. Their lineup covers everything from a basic sling, to a complete mobile office on wheels.
Now, a ...Guerrilla's Airporter Pack: A Backpacker All-in-One Bag
Dec 26th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Man, do I see a lot of luggage. Roll-aboards. Day packs. Laptop/iPad/digital whatever storage solutions. And honestly, most of them don't quite make the cut. Part of the reason I have so many of these things is that I continue to quest for The Perfect Bag. Light, versatile, the right pocket for that one thing that always gets loose and floats around inside my luggage.
I'm impressed when a ...
