The Perils of Traveling by Private Jet

Smoke-Free Hotels On the Rise

Los Angeles Native Jonny Olsen: Huge in Laos

Saving Chekhov’s Yalta ‘White Dacha’ Home

How Can I Save on Transportation During a Round-the-World Trip?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

13 Great Travel Horror Movies

The Hollywood horror archives are filled with tales of bad trips. To celebrate Halloween, Eva Holland and Eli Ellison sift through the carnage to pick their favorites—and lose a little sleep doing so.

Matt Weiland: Through 50 States With 50 Writers

The coeditor of “State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America” talks to Frank Bures about the book, the WPA and how the United States hasn’t been “bulldozed for speed”

Love Herring in Sweden

From artery-clogging casseroles to a fermented concoction that smells alarmingly like vinegary flatulence, Lola Akinmade digs in to a smörgåsbord of herring and explains how to best appreciate Scandinavia’s favorite fish. 

The Water Is Wide

Bronwen Dickey considers Tim Butcher’s “Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart,” which takes readers deep into the Congo

Vagrant Ruminations of a Compulsive Traveler

Where does the urge to hunt for that “fleeting fix of elsewhere” come from? Peter Wortsman recalls a life of travel inspiration. 

Notes From an Unofficial Tourist Greeter

Summer is over, and so is Julia Ross‘ season as an ambassador to travelers in Washington, D.C.’s Woodley Park neighborhood. She’s happy to be off duty.

Beware the Carry-On Baggage Bulge

I tend to be a contrarian when it comes to airplane baggage. I haven’t checked a bag in years but I might start soon and the reason may surprise you.

The main reason I don’t check is because of time lost checking and waiting for bags that go in the hold. The “311” rule on fluids amplied the benefits of my strategy because more people chose to check rather than fool with increasing complicated rules for carry-on bags (more space in the overheads).

So, if the costs for checking bags goes up and carry-ons increase that can only mean fewer bags going in the hold. Does this mean checking bags will take less time....if it does I may soon start checking as much as I can. After all, time is money.

keith

So here’s what I’m wondering. The overhead bins are now stuffed to bursting with borderline “acceptable” carry-ons. I roll up late with my polite regulation size bag and there’s nowhere for it to go because every inch is taken. The flight attendant passes my bag to the handlers to check it… do I have to pay for that?

According to the WSJ story, Pam, you wouldn’t have to pay: “[T]he airlines say that the new fee won’t be collected in airplane cabins from customers who can’t find space for their allowed carry-on bags.”

What ever happened to traveling light?  I take only a reasonably sized carry-on whenever possible, but I usually check a light bag with just essentials and carry on a small satchel.  Whenever I fly, I notice rather large, bulging carry-ons stuffed into the overhead bins.  Upon landing, it takes a long time for their owners to wrench them out.

If airlines would simply enforce their own rules on carry-on bags, there would be no problem with folks with regulation size carry-ons finding space.  All airlines have an outline with specific height and width dimensions of carry-on bags at check-in yet allow flyers to blow past that and get onboard with suitcases and hangup bags twice the “legal” size. And, I’ve seen flight attendents actually help these people stuff obviously oversized bags into the overhead. Just when I thot she was going to make him check the bag, she helps him!  Why is that?