Fun_People Archive
25 Apr
Airline Carry-on & Template News (attention guitarists!)

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 100 12:11:35 -0700
To: Fun_People
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Subject: Airline Carry-on & Template News (attention guitarists!)

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Forwarded-by: Kevin Johnsrude <kevinj@roguewave.com>
From: Robert Corwin <photorc@MINDSPRING.COM>

There's an interesting article in the New York Times about baggage
templates, which should be of interest to travelers with guitars.  Here's
an excerpt:

"On Monday, Continental Airlines , the nation's fifth-largest airline, sued
UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, and the
management council at Washington Dulles International Airport. Both parties
are accused of conspiring to limit competition by installing baggage-sizing
templates used in shared X-ray security screening machines that do not
accommodate larger carry-on bags.


This means Continental passengers, who are generally permitted to stow
larger bags aboard the planes than passengers of other airlines, are likely
to face more inconveniences at security checkpoints. Because of the
templates, oversized luggage can no longer fit through the X-ray machines,
and security personnel must now hand check bags or ask passengers to repack
their luggage into smaller bundles in order to examine the contents. Such
disturbances, Continental said, would undermine its lenient carry-on policy,
dampen customer satisfaction and cause defections to other airlines."

United tried to install the templates in Denver, but was forced to remove
them.  United, by the way, has the worst baggage handling rate of any
airline.  Continental has invested $15 million to enlarge overhead
compartments to accommodate larger carry on bags.

You can read the whole article online at:
http://partners.nytimes.com/00/04/24/news/financial/24tsc-continental.html?P
artner
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