“It’s time to think of the inside of your carry-on suitcase as real estate: Make the most of what you’ve got, keep it functional and make neatness count.

The carry-on bag could be the solution to some of the summer travel season’s likely woes — including checked baggage fees on American Airlines and possibly other carriers — but it also has the potential to cause headaches. You don’t want to find a rumpled mess when you arrive at your destination or spend your vacation shivering or sweating because you weren’t ready for the weather.

It is possible to pack fashionable clothes in an efficient way. Some tips from the pros:

Choosing a good bag
Wendy Perrin, consumer news editor for Condé Nast Traveler, uses a standard rectangular-shaped bag with wheels for business trips because clothes are less likely to become wrinkled. For recreational travel, however, she prefers soft-sided duffel bags.

“One way to pack play clothes to fit into space more economically is to roll them and stuff them into a bag like cigarettes into a cigarette box,” she says.

Perrin doesn’t buy into bags with a lot of compartments, mostly because all those zippers, flaps and folds add unnecessary weight. Instead, she separates undergarments and socks into one zip-top plastic bag, tech gear such as cords and batteries into another, and toiletries all in yet another. (Any liquid needs to be stored in a see-through bag.)

“You want to start with the empty cavern and make your own compartments with smaller packs,” agrees travel-gear store Flight 001 founder Brad John.

John says that you might be asked to open carry-on bags during a security check. It will go much more smoothly if items are organized than if everything comes spilling out.” (via msnbc.msn.com )

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“Delta is now charging $25, if you want to check more than one bag starting May 5, but they’re also backdating the fee. You can get it waived at check-in, but only if you bought between February 4, and April 4. This is of no help to reader Jason, who bought tickets back in January, and is now subject to a surprise $100 fee (he and his wife are both bringing two bags each). He writes, “If I would have known that when I booked I may have thought twice about Delta. I feel I was misled!” Jason tried emailing customer service but got nowhere. He might try sending them an executive email carpet bomb, based on the info in this post“(via consumerist.com)

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to see this article.

JetBlue announced that it has changed its checked bag policy to allow customers to check one bag at no charge and a second bag for a $20 service fee. This new policy becomes effective for customers traveling on or after June 1, 2008.

Pointswizard.com Spin: How soon will these policy be on all airlines? The press release is here

“Ever wondered what happens to your bags after check-in? Or what the chances are that they will actually make it to your destination? Lost luggage is a big deal for travellers – and a major headache for airlines.

The taxi to the airport was on time, the queue for check-in was a paltry half-mile long, the girl at the desk smiled and you smiled back and got a window seat. You even remembered both passport and ticket this time. With a sigh of relief, you wave bye-bye to your suitcase as it jerks out of view on a conveyor belt, into the bowels of the airport, and go in search of a self-congratulatory cappuccino.

But what happens to your luggage next? Every year, tens of millions of air passengers willingly entrust their luggage to a tangled system of conveyor belts, sharp corners, wet floors, clumsy hands and trucks, without a clue what goes on behind the scenes, relying on blind faith that they will see their valuables again.” (via independent.co.uk)

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“In a move that other U.S. airlines may copy, Florida-based discounter Spirit Airlines plans to charge for every checked bag.
After June 19, customers may pay $5 each for their first two bags while booking online. At the airport, the charge goes to $10 for each of the first two bags. Additional bags will cost $100 each.

Some European and Canadian airlines already take a similar approach, but privately held Spirit will be the first U.S. carrier to charge for every checked bag. Spirit passengers are allowed one carry-on. Spirit links major U.S. cities to vacation spots in Florida and the Caribbean.

For Spirit, the change is expected to decrease the amount of checked baggage it handles as fliers consolidate bags or pack lighter, says Barry Biffle, Spirit’s chief marketing officer. Handling less baggage should improve the carrier’s operations. It also can help the airline hold down ticket prices, he says.

“People would prefer to have lower fares and this is one of the ways you can make that possible,” Biffle says.

Aviation consultant Robert Mann, of R.W. Mann in Port Washington, N.Y., says he believes it’s a matter of time before some U.S. airlines copy Spirit.

“They’d all like to do it,” Mann says.

Other than possible resistance from passengers, airlines also may be inhibited from following Spirit by practical considerations. It’s inefficient, for example, for an airline to handle a cash transaction at an airport counter.

Spirit management studied the change for the past year and updated technology to handle the charges, Biffle says. Based on its research, management expects that about 10% of passengers won’t like the change in policy, Biffle says.

“The positive reaction that you get out of the 90%,” Biffle says, “is, ‘Wow, you can keep fares even lower?’ “

Between 50% and 70% of Spirit’s fliers now check bags. The checked-bag strategy comes just a month after Spirit became the first U.S. carrier to limit customers to one bag of free checked luggage. It currently charges $10 for the second checked bag.

In 2006, Spirit completed the conversion of its fleet to new Airbus A319 and A321 aircraft from old MD-80s.

The planned change on luggage is part of a broader Spirit initiative to become an “ultra-low-cost carrier.”

Spirit has lowered most of its highest fares by 20% or more, Biffle says. After June 19, Spirit plans to discontinue business class.

Spirit also will start charging $1 for beverages, an idea that consultant Mann claims will be “dead on arrival.”

A year ago, commuter carrier American Eagle cut short an experiment to charge customers $1 for drinks because of poor response.” [Via USA Today]

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Thanks to Robert F. for the story